Observe and identify similarities and differences in the needs of…

Plants and Seeds: What Does a Seed Need? Grade 1

What's hiding inside a bean, and what does it need to wake up and grow? Young scientists open soaked seeds, sprout beans in bags and watch seedlings bend to find the light.

• What's inside a seed? 35–45 min

  Children compare a hard dry lima bean with one soaked overnight, then gently peel and open the soaked bean to find the tiny baby plant and its food store. They draw and label what they find and explain it with "I think… because I saw…"

• What does a seed need to grow? Day 1: 40 min. Then 5–10 min check-ins for 7 to 10 days, and a 25 min wrap-up

  Each team puts beans in three zip bags: wet in the light, wet in a dark cupboard, and dry. Over 7 to 10 days children keep a picture journal and find out that a seed needs water to start growing, and that light matters once the little plant is up.

• Why do plants grow toward the window? Day 1: 40 min. Then 5 min check-ins for 1 to 2 weeks, and a 20 min wrap-up

  Children turn young bean plants away from a window and watch them bend back toward the light, and they set a seedling inside a shoebox maze to see if it can find its way out. They explain that plants need light and grow toward it.