Environmental Experiment One
In the last month of school my students planted lima bean seeds (they grow the fastest). The students experimented to see if the seeds can grow under different conditions. The seeds are planted under the different conditions as described in the book “The Tiny Seed” by Eric Carle (placed into a cold refrigerator or freezer, water, sand with no water and in a garden like setting). An observation booklet can be found below.
Germination Experiment
Experiment Two
The seed would be placed between a damp paper towel (not really wet). On occasion the paper towel would be misted. This is placed in a plastic bag and hung near a window on a bulletin board. This allows the students to observe the growth. Once the seed starts sprouting, it would be placed in soil.
Follow-up Observation Sheets
Observation Booklets Planting in Plastic Bag
In the links below you will find a simple observation booklet where the children just draw picture of what they observed. The other version requires them to write about their findings.
Different Environments
Experiment Two
Seed or seeds are planted in different conditions such as:
sand, water, fridge and soil
The students write a brief description of their findings.
Plant Life Cycle
In the booklets below the student cut and paste the pictures in the correct order in terms of plant growth. There are two versions. Version one is just the picture version. Version two requires the students to describe briefly the plant cycle.
Access More Ideas!
The Plants theme includes the emergent reader “The Tiny Seed Retelling” and many more ideas to engage your students in learning about plants!