The Big Seed

Overview

After listening to a story summary about a mystery seed and plant, children choose several seeds and draw the plant that will grow from each seed. Then they play a guessing game with a partner in which they use the appearance of the seed and plant as clues to help them name the plant. Children conclude by exploring several award-winning Web sites. In these sites, children take a virtual tour through some themed children's gardens, visit an online gallery of children's plant and garden drawings, and sort crops “picked” in a garden.

Objectives

Identify what plant will grow from a seed.
Conclude that when a seed is planted, it will produce only a plant of the same kind.

Materials

Computer and modem
Web-browsing software
Printer
The Big Seed Activity worksheet (one copy for each child)
Variety of seeds with which children are familiar; for example, sunflower, limabean, radish, apple, pea, peach.
Crayons or markers
Paste or tape

Steps

Read the story summary to children. Talk about how Bess plants and caresfor her seed and plant. Explore why Bess thinks it is a marigold and why she becomes concerned when it continues to grow. Discuss the important discovery that Bess makes about her mystery seed and about herself.
Distribute The Big Seed Activity worksheet,crayons or markers, and paste or tape. Read the directions to the children. Display the seeds and have each child select two different seeds. Have children paste, tape, or draw the seeds in the small box near the top of the seed pack. On the front of the seed pack, have children draw the plant that the seed will become.
Assign partners to play the guessing game. Have children display their seed packs and ask their partners to name the plant using clues provided by the seed's and the plant's appearance.
Reconvene as a group and explore several of the many themed gardens at the 4-H Children's Gardens of the Michigan State Web site at http://4hgarden.msu.edu. Be sure to explore the virtual reality movies at many of the sites. Encourage children to be on the lookout for sunflowers and other plants they recognize.

Home Connection

Children and their families can learn how to plant fruit and vegetable seeds and can have fun exploring a variety of gardening projects at the Family.com Web site at http://family.go.com.

Extension

Children can visit the art gallery at the Kindergarden Web site at http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/kindergarden/art/Gallery1.htm, which features drawings of plants and gardens. Inspired by what they see, children can then add their own drawings to a classroom display.

At the Funschool Web site at http://www.funschool.com, children can sort fruits and vegetables growing in the "Fun in the Garden" activity of the Grade 1 game collection.

Product Links

Take children on an Internet Field Trip to learn more about the life forms around them. Visit Houghton Mifflin Science DiscoveryWorks and find out about the characteristics of living things.