Showing Nature's Way-Plant Development and the Plant Parts We EatReturn to Biology Index
Ewers, Katherine Burke Elementary School
(312)924-5823
Objectives The student will demonstrate and record the stages of plant growth. The student will categorize food plants by identifying the edible part. Apparatus needed 1. Live bean pods, sprouts, and plants showing blossoms and beans. 2. Posters showing the plant stages. 3. Blackboard with 32 squares for listing and picturing the parts of the plant we eat. 4. Duplicated copies of the song and illustrated booklet (or plain paper to fold into 8 squares for writing and drawing a booklet. Long plain paper to be folded into 32 squares for making a chart of the plant parts we eat. 5. Scissors, pencils, crayons and colored chalk. 6. Fresh vegetables to show as examples. Recommended strategy Pantomime the stages of plant development. Students signal with thumbs if they understand each stage. Discuss the meanings. Pass song sheets and all act it out while singing the song. Guided practice-Students point at posters showing diagrams and
indicate the vocabulary words labeling the parts.
Independent practice-Students make an 8 page booklet showing the
stages of development in a bean plant, labeling the parts with
vocabulary words, and coloring it correctly.
Observation-Pass bean pods. Students open them to see the seeds. Pass
bean sprouts. Students open the seed food to see the tiny leaves.
Pass bean plants in the stages of development; showing the stem, the
leaves, the blossom and the seed pod.
Check for understanding-Ask students to identify what they see.
Extension-Other Edible Plant Parts. Students fold a large paper into
32 boxes for a chart. Model on the blackboard; Title-Plants We Eat,
one category in each box going down the right side of paper- seeds,
sprouts, roots, stems, leaves, blossoms, fruits. Show a sample of
fresh vegetables for each category. Students name three examples for
each category and color a picture, labeling it, for each box across
the paper. Volunteers fill in the blackboard chart, and all fill in
individual charts.
Review-Sing "A Hole in the Ground" (a progressive song describing what
grows from the hole; roots, stem, branch, leaves, blossom, fruit and
seeds.
Next step-Read and explain the booklet and chart to someone at home
tonight, and be ready for a test tomorrow on labeling the parts of a
plant. Try sprouting corn seeds and bring in the various stages of
development for extra credit.
Song A tiny seed is sleeping in the ground, sleeping in the ground, sleeping in the ground. A tiny seed is sleeping in the ground, showing nature's way. The sun comes out and warms the seed, warms the seed, warms the seed. The sun comes out and warms the seed, showing nature's way. The rain comes down and wets the seed, wets the seed, wets the seed. The rain comes down and wets the seed, showing nature's way. The roots grow down and spread their toes, spread their toes, spread their toes. The roots grow down and spread their toes, showing nature's way. The leaves are growing inside of the seed, inside of the seed, inside of the seed. The leaves are growing inside of the seed, showing nature's way. The stem humps its back and stands straight and tall, stands straight and tall, stands straight and tall. The stem humps its back and stands straight and tall, showing nature's way. The leaves grow out and wave in the breeze, wave in the breeze, wave in the breeze. The leaves grow out and wave in the breeze, showing nature's way. The blossoms grow and look beautiful, look beautiful, look beautiful. The blossoms grow and look beautiful, showing nature's way. The fruit grows out with its new seeds, with its new seeds, with its new seeds. The fruit grows out with its new seeds, showing nature's way. A tiny seed falls back to the ground, back to the ground, back to the ground. A tiny seed falls back to the ground, and starts the great replay.