TOPIC: Seeds and how they travel
GRADE LEVEL: Kindergarten
FOCUS QUESTION(S):
- How do seeds travel?
- What different seed shapes are best suited for certain modes of transportation? (Wind, Water, Animal)
EDUCATION STANDARDS:
TEKs:
§112.11. Science, Kindergarten, Beginning with School Year 2010-2011
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(B) Knowledge and Skills
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(10) Organisms and environments. The student knows that organisms resemble their parents and have structures and processes that help them survive within their environments. (A) sort plants and animals into groups based on physical characteristics such as color, size, body covering, or leaf shape;
- (D) observe changes that are part of a simple life cycle of a plant: seed, seedling, plant, flower, and fruit.
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(10) Organisms and environments. The student knows that organisms resemble their parents and have structures and processes that help them survive within their environments. (A) sort plants and animals into groups based on physical characteristics such as color, size, body covering, or leaf shape;
MATERIALS NEEDED:
- Farmer Costume (hat)
- Large Seeds (made of paper)
1. WHAT’S ON A FARM?
“We have a special guest coming today to talk to us about seeds. She only has a few minutes to spare before she has to get back to the farm, but she will quickly share some of her seeds with us before she has to go.”
- What might we find on a farm?
- What kinds of plants grow on a farm?
- What do you know about the shapes of those seeds?
Transition:
“Alright, we’re going to rub our hands together and meet Farmer Fran! Ready?” Students rub hands together and teacher transforms.
2. MEET FARMER FRAN
Fran enters and introduces her different kinds of seeds! She addresses the different types, highlighting their different shapes/qualities and what types of plants will grow if these seeds are planted. She is rather frantic, because today is the start of planting season. After she talks about the seeds she leaves, and she’s left her seeds behind
Transition:
Transition back out of character, and notice that Farmer Fran has left her seeds behind. “We have to get them back to her! She’s too busy to come back and pick them up, and we can’t drive them to her. Oh! We know a lot about how seeds travel, maybe we could use some of that knowledge to help get the seeds back to Farmer Fran!”
3. IMAGE WORK: How do seeds travel?
Look at the shapes of the seeds:
- What are the common ways seeds travel?
- What do the shapes of seeds tell us about the way these seeds travel?
Enact the travel! One at a time, observe the different seeds and think about how the seeds might travel. Then ask about how we can form that means of travel with our bodies. Ex. – How do you think we can create the wind using not just our breath but our whole body?
Side Coaching:
Make sure it’s a gentle wind! We don’t want our seed blowing away! The students (either whole class or small group) embody the modes of travel for each seed. The seeds journey from one set location to another (That represents Fran’s Farm) in the space. Transition: Farmer Fran returns, and thanks the students for their help with the seeds.
4. REFLECTING ON THE LESSON
Describe:
- What happened in our drama today?/What did we do?
Analyze:
- What about the seeds helped you know how they should travel?
Relate:
- Aside from a farm, where might you find these seeds?
- Where might the plants grow if their seeds need to travel in a certain way?