Preview · the opening missionRead this to the class:
Remember Maya's bean, with the baby plant asleep inside? Maya wants to wake it up. "Maybe it needs water," she says. "Maybe it needs sunshine. Maybe it needs both!" Her little brother says, "Maybe it just needs time." Your team's job: test what a seed needs to wake up and grow.
Teams of three, with three jobs that swap at every check-in: the Gardener handles the bags and checks the towels, the Looker looks closely and says what changed, and the Drawer leads the drawing while everyone draws on their own sheet.
Look inside the PDF
Sample pages, stamped “preview”. The download is the clean, full lesson.
In the full lesson PDF
- Predict (5 min)
- Hunt (20 min)
- Reveal (10–15 min)
- Act (10 min)
- Background for the teacher
- Assessment
- Student sheet
On the student sheet
- My prediction
- My picture journal
- What grew?
- Help Maya
US Letter, prints cleanly in black and white. The student sheet is on its own page, ready to photocopy.
Free with an account (any 3 lessons), or US$19 / C$25 for all 3 lessons in this unit.
What students show by the end
- Observes over time
- Seeds need water
- Light
From the lesson’s rubric, which scores each one as not yet, getting there or got it.
Questions teachers ask
How long does “What does a seed need to grow?” take?
Day 1: 40 min. Then 5–10 min check-ins for 7 to 10 days, and a 25 min wrap-up. Group size: teams of 3.
How much prep does it need?
15 minutes: choose a bright spot near a window (out of strong, hot afternoon sun) and a dark cupboard in the same room, so both stay about as warm. Label three zip bags per team: "Wet + light", "Wet + dark" and "Dry". Put a jug of water and paper towels on each table.
What materials do I need?
Dried beans; zip-top sandwich bags; paper towels; small jug or cup of water; masking tape and a marker; a dark cupboard or a cardboard box with a lid; and 1 more. Cost: about $10 for a class of 30.
Which curriculum standards does it cover?
NGSS (US): 2-LS2-1 (partly) and K-LS1-1. It also matches Ontario Science and Technology, Grade 1.
What’s in the lesson PDF?
A teacher guide that walks you through predict, hunt, reveal, act, background for the teacher and assessment, then a student sheet (“My prediction”, “My picture journal”, “What grew?” and “Help Maya”) on its own page, ready to photocopy. It’s US Letter and prints cleanly in black and white.
Can I try it for free?
Yes. A free account includes any 3 full lessons of your choice, and this can be one of them. After that, this unit is US$19 (C$25) for all 3 lessons, yours to keep, or every lesson is US$79 (C$109) a year.