teaching strategy

Increasing Student Independence with Classroom Plants

As special educators, we are always working to foster student independence, and have them leave our classrooms as independent as possible. When I was a classroom teacher, I had a classroom pet, as well as a few plants that were wonderful for students having natural and meaningful classroom jobs. As someone who loves plants but doesn’t exactly have a “green thumb”, we went through quite a few plants before we landed on a few that could survive in our classroom!

Why plants?

Caring for living things helps students stay engaged, build their self esteem, and can really help with community building as the class is working together and rooting for one common goal.
The cool thing about plants is that they all require different things to thrive. The hard thing about plants is that they all require different things to thrive! A double edged sword. Writing out directions for plants and giving students the responsibility to know what each plant needs is just another level of independence for them. In life we often have to read directions to know exactly how to do or care for something, so this is super functional!

On to the plants!

These plants can be found at your local nursery, Home Depot/garden store, or you can actually purchase them on Amazon! The links below are to Amazon if that’s a route you choose to take.

Pothos


These plants require low light, and little water – nice and low maintenance. You can also “propagate” your Pothos plant to grow new ones, which can be a fun experiment for your class.

Snake Plant

Another low maintenance plant friend – low light, low water! These are slow to grow but also very hearty and… hard to kill… so basically, classroom approved!

Air Plants

I LOVE air plants because they’re so easy and have a lot of character! They won’t get very big, so they’re a great option for small spaces, like if you’re a clinician working in an office. Be sure to shake off the bottom of the plants so they don’t sit in any water, or just use a spray bottle when they need some water!

Succulents

Everyone loves a succulent! They are pretty easy to care for as long as you have some sunlight!

What about accessories?

A watering can and a spray bottle are two tools that were essential in my classroom for this to go successfully. You can even write reminders or prompts for specific plants on the watering can/spray bottle to help students stay consistent and keep the plants healthy.

Do you have plants in your classroom? Are you willing to give it a try? How do you think these beauties will increase student independence in your class community? Let us know what you think!

Love,
Allie