Title – From Seed to Plant

By – Connie

Primary Subject – Science

Secondary Subjects – Math, Language Arts

Grade Level – 2

Standards Addressed:

Life Sciences Standards:

Standard 2.a. Students know that organisms reproduce offspring of their own kind and that the offspring resemble themselves and one another.

Standard 2.e. Students know light, gravity, touch, or environmental stress can affect the germination, growth, and development of plants.

Standard 2.f. Students know that flowers and fruits are associated with reproduction in plants.

Mathematics Standard 3.2:

Students use repeated subtraction, equal sharing, and forming equal groups with remainders to do division.

Language Arts Writing Standard 2.0:

Students write compositions that describe and explain familiar objects, events, and experiences. Student writing demonstrates a command of Standard English and the drafting, research, and organizational strategies outlined in Writing Standard 1.0.

General Goal(s):

Students will be able to identify plant parts, where seeds come from, and how they grow, what plants require to survive.

Specific Objectives:

The purpose of this lesson is to learn the parts of a seed and to study the effects of lack of sunlight on plants.
This unit is connected to the Language Arts Dinosaur unit we have been studying. The most commonly-held hypothesis about what wiped out all dinosaurs is that a meteorite hit the Earth and threw so much ash and dirt into the atmosphere that the Sun’s light was blocked for many years. This killed off all plants, which starved the herbivorous dinosaurs, which in turned destroyed the food supply of the carnivores.

To study the effects that lack of sunlight would have on plants, students planted two flower seeds. When they germinated, we kept one in sunlight and placed one in the closet. They are both being watered. Students are charting the growth of each flower in a science journal.

Now students will examine how those flower seeds germinated, and will learn the proper names of seed parts.

Key Words:

Photosynthesis, germinate, seed coat, embryo

Required Materials:

“Parts of a Seed” poster;

The Tiny Seed

by Eric Carle, magnifying glasses, lima beans, science journal, seed worksheet (attached), math worksheet (attached), writing paper

Anticipatory Set (Lead-In):

Review the poster “Parts of a Seed.”

Teacher begins a discussion by asking, “Why do you wear a coat outside?” (Because it gets cold or wet.) Explain that a seed also wears a coat to protect it. Also discuss the “embryo” inside and the stored food, and why the fledgling plant would need it (for food before its own leaves are exposed).

Read the book

“The Tiny Seed”

by Eric Carle.

Step-By-Step Procedures:

Complete the seed worksheet.

Display lima beans that have been soaked in water to soften them. Give one to each student. Students use a magnifying glass to examine the outside of the seed. Peel off the seed covering. Split the seed in halves. Look for the parts shown on the chart. Draw the lima bean and write the names of the parts of the seed.

Plan For Independent Practice:

(Language Arts) You find an odd-looking seed and plant it. The seed grows into_______________. Write an ending to the story.

(Math) Our class planted 18 flowers in the school garden. On the flower worksheet, group the flowers into groups of 2, 3, 4, 5, or 9. How many groups could you make out of the 18 flowers? Were there any left over?

Assessment Based On Objectives:

Teacher will evaluate drawings and labeling of lima bean seed, and correct the “seed” worksheet. Teacher will grade the language arts story on the standard writing rubric of 4-1, 4 being best. Teacher will review the math worksheet as to accuracy.

Extensions (For Gifted Students):

Students may further investigate seeds by delving into how they move, what they need to germinate. Various types of seeds can be sprouted (germinated) and experiments can be done involving planting in water, sand, soil, mud, or left out to the air. Many fine teacher books on plants exist that provide a variety of experiments to illustrate the role of roots, stems, leaves, seeds, and fruit of various plants.

E-Mail

Connie

!