Activities inspired by children’s literature
What Happens to Seeds?
Wondering what will happen, waiting for a change, watching a young plant unfold—these
are what make experimenting with seeds so enticing. Early experiences with planting seeds
can lay a foundation for further learning as children progress from direct observation
and collecting data to understanding how to design and conduct experiments.
This Month’s Trade Books
How a Seed Grows
By Helene J. Jordan.
31 pp. HarperCollins Children’s
Books. 1992.
ISBN 0060201045.
Synopsis
In this book, general statements about seeds are interspersed in the story as two children discover what happens when they plant seeds. Maple trees, sunflowers,
oak trees, and bean plants are shown with the seeds from
which they grow, introducing the idea that seeds come
in many varieties. The concept that each seed will grow
into the same kind of plant that it came from is reinforced several times. This book is a good introduction to
the idea of tracking changes over time, as the children
dig up a seed in a sequence of days to see what is
happening to it under the soil. Questions are raised and
answered on the same page, so this book is best for
students who will not be doing an experiment but rather
following the growth of a seed.
Seeds and Seedlings: Nature Close-Up
Photographs by Dwight Kuhn, text by
Elaine Pascoe.
48 pp. Blackbirch Press. 1996.
ISBN 1567111785.
Synopsis
This book covers it all—the shapes of seeds, how seeds
grow from a flower, what’s inside seeds, how seeds
sprout, how seeds travel, growing plants without using
seeds, and planting in soil—along with many easy-toimplement seed investigations for both preschoolers
and older students. The beautifully composed photographs, where nothing distracts from the purpose of
revealing the science of seeds, will excite students’
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interest immediately, and the
text is clear and concise. Careful descriptions make sure that
students account for all the variables. Open-ended questions
abound in the section on investigations but are not answered until
the “Results and Conclusions” section at the end of the
book, freeing teachers to share whole pages with their
students as they plan their experiment.
Curricular Connections
Questions inspired by seeds and plants can be the subject of activities and experiments that address several
National Science Education Standards, including the
life science concepts of characteristics of living things
and life cycles of organisms. With seed activities, even
the youngest children can explore the question, “What
is alive and what is not?” and learn that each plant
produces a specific kind of seed, which in turn produces
that same kind of plant.
In elementary grades, students begin to develop the
physical and intellectual abilities of scientific inquiry,
and seeds provide an ideal tool for simple investigations. Seed activities can give young children experience
asking questions and answering them through their own
observations. Older elementary children enjoy designing experiments that explore the factors that influence
experimental subjects (in this case seeds) and at this
point learn about controls and variables.
Experiments with seeds also offer many opportunities for observation and recording data. Frequent, consistent measurement is part of most seed-sprouting experiments, and you can expand these science
experiences into other parts of the curriculum by adding
the use of science journals for simple drawings with the
date included or writings of questions, musings, hypotheses, and explanations.
–Inspired Investigations
Trade Book–
For children in preschool or primary classrooms, this
may be their first experience with seeds. Before undertaking any plant-growing activities, students need
to consider such questions as What are seeds? and
Are they alive? Upper elementary children can examine the conditions that affect seed sprouting and
seedling growth.
–2: What Is a Seed?
For Grades preK–
Begin by reading How a Seed Grows to introduce the
concept that plants grow from seeds. Have a discussion after the reading and record students’ comments
to assess prior experience and knowledge.
Next, have students explore the inside of a seed.
Soaked, large dried bean seeds can easily be cut in
half lengthwise with a plastic knife. Each child can
then use a hand lens to see details, such as the seed
coat and embryo.
Now that students have seen inside a seed, they are
ready to determine if seeds are alive. Have students
sort a mixture of small stones and large seeds that
resemble each other. Decorative white “landscape”
pebbles and large white bean seeds work well.
Have the class list the criteria for being alive. If you
ask, “How do you know that something is alive?”
many children will reply, “If it looks like it.” Move-
ment and various signs of growth are more specific
criteria commonly voiced by children when reminded that the discussion includes all living things,
plants as well as animals. Some children might add
that living things need food. Because none of these
criteria seem to apply to seeds in their dormant state,
students will use prior knowledge to predict whether
or not the seeds and stones are alive and will grow.
Questions for discussion or writing include What
does ‘being alive’ mean? and Do you think any change
will happen to the seeds and stones if we water them?
Once students have predicted which of the small objects will grow, “plant” some stones and seeds in two
clear plastic cups, each stuffed with paper towels. One
cup can hold the small objects that the students predict
will not grow and the other the objects that they predict
will grow. Put seeds in between the clear cup wall and
the paper towels so they are visible through the cup.
Add enough water to dampen the paper towels and
maintain this dampness until the seeds are fully
sprouted. Then recall the preactivity discussion and
ask the students if their predictions were correct.
Sprouting mixed seeds shows students that a particular type of seed produces a particular type of plant.
A spoonful of mixed birdseed can be sprouted on a
damp paper towel placed on a dish inside a plastic bag.
Keep the bag out of direct sunlight to discourage mold
growth. As the seeds sprout, students may notice that
they do not all sprout at the same time. As the sprouts
grow, ask the students if the seedlings all look the same,
drawing attention to the differences in the resulting
plants. Students will come to understand that each
seed has the potential to become a particular kind of
plant. And, just as puppies only grow up to be dogs,
and chicken eggs hatch into baby chickens, each seed
will grow up to be the kind of plant that it came from.
Now students are ready to grow their own seeds
and track their growth, just like the children in How a
Seed Grows!
–6:
For Grades 3–
Comparing Seed Environments
Many older children have either had some experience
growing or caring for plants or are aware that plants
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need water to grow. In this activity, students discover
that multiple factors affect seed germination and
sprout growth. Teachers may want to read aloud the
short sections “Inside a Seed” and “How Seeds
Grow” from Seeds and Seedlings as an introduction to
seed-sprouting activities.
This simple experiment for third-grade students
can be expanded for upper elementary students by
allowing them to design their own investigation. Students can browse Seeds and Seedlings for experiment
question and set-up ideas.
The exploration involves determining how much
water is best for germinating mung bean seeds, the
bean sprouts used in Asian cuisine. The results will
show that too much water is not good for seed germination—seeds need air, too.
Before beginning, help students agree on what
result will be defined as “best sprouting” or “best
growth.” If students are at a loss, make some suggestions for identifying the “best” results, such as the
highest number of seeds germinating, the biggest root
or leaf, or the greenest leaf growth.
To set up the experiment, have students label three
clear plastic cups containing differing amounts of water:
one “No Water” cup, one “A Little Water” cup (just
enough to completely cover the seeds), and one “Lots of
Water” cup (filled close to the top with water). Mark the
water level with a pen on the outside of the cup.
The students should then add enough seeds to
cover the bottom of each cup, making sure to put the
same amount into each cup (this can be accomplished by weighing or counting the seeds). Introduce or revisit the idea of variables and controls,
explaining, “We want to keep everything the same for
the three environments with different amounts of
water. So, we’re using the same kind and same
amount of seed, the same kind of cup, and putting the
cups in the same place,” to convey these concepts.
Next, ask students to write down which cup they
believe has the best conditions for germinating seeds
and explain why they think the seeds will grow best in
the cup they have chosen. Record students’ predictions on a class chart, along with their reasons for their
choice. Put all three cups in the same location. To
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account for evaporation, every several days, have
students add water up to the original levels.
After a week to 10 days, it will be obvious which
seeds had the “best” amount of water for germination
and growth. The dry seeds will not have sprouted; the
sprouted seeds in lots of water will be small, somewhat brown, and may have fermented; and the
sprouted seeds in a little water will be the biggest and
have leaves. Have students compare the germination
and growth of the seeds and record their observations
with drawings, actual counting of germinated seeds,
and measurement of leaf size.
Refer the students back to the record of their predictions, and ask if the outcome is what they expected. Ask them what the seeds in “A Little Water”
had that the seeds in “A Lot of Water” did not.
Because the seeds in this cup were not covered up by
water, they had access to air, which is necessary for
seed germination.
After discussing the varying amounts of water,
light, air, and temperature seeds require for germination, students can design their own investigation to
test another factor. Keep in mind that children often
develop misconceptions about plant growth by our
emphasis on soil and water. Make sure students grasp
that while plants require air, water, nutrients, and
light, they use those resources to produce their own
food. With all those variables, the opportunities for
inquiry are endless!
Peggy Ashbrook (scienceissimple@yahoo.com)
teaches preschool science in Alexandria, Virginia,
and is the author of Science Is Simple: Over 250 Activities for Preschoolers.
Resources
National Research Council (NRC). 1996. National science
education standards. Washington, DC: National
Academy Press.
NSTA Connection
For a list of additional trade books for use in a
seed unit, click on this article at www.nsta.org/
elementaryschool#journal.