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How do plants and trees grow?
Plant & Animal Secrets Unit | Lesson 5 of 6
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How do plants and trees grow?

Plant & Animal Secrets Unit | Lesson 5 of 6
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Can`you`think`of`a
way`to`figure`out
if`the`sunlight
helped`the`small
tree`grow?

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# Extensions

Below are ideas for extending this topic beyond the activity & exploration you just completed.

  • End of Mystery Assessment : Open-ended drawing/writing prompt
  • Readings: These books will get your students thinking about what plants need to live and grow.
  • Video: Get students observing and predicting with a time-lapse video of a growing seed!
  • Activities: Three options for an extended plant investigation
# Readings

These online books are free for educators registered on Epic!:

Plants Are Alive by Molly Aloian explores how the parts of a plant, such as roots, stems, and flowers, help a plant survive.

Carmela Plants a Tree by Marianne Mitchell is a short story about a girl who plants a tree in her yard.

# Video and Discussion

This timelapse video of a seed germinating would make a great opportunity for discussion:

  • Before watching: Tell students they’re going to watch a sped-up video of a plant beginning to grow.
  • While watching: Pause the video several times to have students describe what they’re seeing and make predictions about what will happen next.
  • After watching: Ask students what they think would have happened if the plant didn’t get water or sunlight. How would the video have been different?

For more on how to lead great science discussions, see this list of talk moves from The Inquiry Project.

# Activities

Note: These activities last three weeks or longer but are a great opportunity to extend this Mystery further.

Featured Reviews

“I like that there were sped up videos of plants dying and growing. Its great for the little kids, who may not notice the daily changes as easily.”
· Shannon · Teacher
“I love the colorful videos that explain things so clearly for children. I teach K-3 special education. My students are fully engaged with your videos and books. Please make more Kindergarten level lessons. I am so excited to explore more science with you all!”
· Amanda · Teacher
“The students really loved the reveal of the plants that were in the dark. It was a big surprise. They have nursed those back to health now and they are nice and green again, thanks to our wonderful sun!”
· Adriana · Teacher
“The kids loved counting their radish seeds and getting to plant them. I threw in a few grass seeds too since those seemed to grow better when we did the root viewers. They're so excited to check every day to see if their plants are growing.”
· Melissa · Teacher
“There are a few best parts. I love that there is that kinesthetic element of "moving like" or "be like" something that is the focus of the lesson, in this case the wilting plant. I also like that there is the built in questioning. Another thing I love is the way you communicate the lesson. It is spoken in very kid-friendly language, which is difficult to get right and you nail it every time. ”
· Michelle · Teacher
“The students really enjoyed the different strategies that I implemented to allow them to move and talk about the discussion questions. We were able to successfully identify the healthy plant and what they need to grow.”
· Erin · Teacher
“Planting the radish seeds was the best part. My students were so surprised that the plants actually would grow in the dark.”
· Kimberly · Teacher
“My local Walmart didn't have radish seeds, so I took a chance and used sunflower seeds. The activity turned out exactly as described, even though I used the wrong seeds.At first, the children whose plants were in the dark were so disappointed in their spindly, yellow sprouts, However, we were all amazed that it only took ONE afternoon in the sunlight for them to perk up and look exactly like the healthy plants that grew in the sunlight.”
· Amy · Teacher
“We all enjoy the step by step directions and modeling that you do. Everyone can follow along and have the visual repeated automatically if they need it. We are excited to see our "hair" growing. It has been 1 week and they are starting to sprout.”
· Yeyra · Teacher
“This lesson went well. It aligns with CCCSS and NGIS. It also fit in with my Social Studies Unit and my Novel Study. The students took one set of radishes home and the other set we arte try to grom it to maturity.”
· Heidi · Teacher
“Listening to my 2 home educated children describing the differences between the seeds that grew in the dark and the ones that grew in the light. My 7 year old then suggested extending the experiment further by swapping the pots (adding or removing light) to see what would happen then. I love how easy and accessible your inspiring scientific activities are!”
· Victoria · Homeschooler
“We switched to garden beans, but they actually grew! The kids had great discussions about what they thought had made the plants in the dark grow. Now they are planted in our garden. ”
· Peter · Teacher
“Hello, my name is Mrs. Cox. I asked my kindergarten class to leave you feedback on this lesson. Here are their comments. It was awesome! It’s was great. It was cool. This lesson was fun to do. It was neat to watch the plant to grow. ”
· Christy · Teacher
“One thing we did, was use our science journals to make notes and draw pictures for each day. We talked about how important it is, as scientists, to document what we see and do. Maybe instead of having a picture for the 4 day comparison, there could be a sheet with circles so the kids can observe and label daily changes as well. We didn't end up needing the final sheet because of what we did for the 4 days. ”
· Jen · Homeschooler
“This was a really fun lesson, my kids were really surprised that the plants in the dark actually grew! I liked how you guys explained that even though it grew, it wasn't as healthy as the other plant. This helped clear up a lot in my room. ”
· Kayla · Teacher
“the kids loved having some movement included in the lesson. They loved acting like a plant that needed water. The whole lesson was very nice to listen to and look at. Easy for young ones to follow. Thank you!”
· Aletia · Teacher
“The best part was the elapsed time of the plant and watching the experiment of the light and dark plants!”
· Shannon · Teacher
“That the radish seeds still grew in the dark!”
· Cindy · Teacher
“The kids loved planting the radish seeds! Unfortunately we had a couple of cloudy days over the weekend after planting, so the ones in the dark were perfect (though yellow!) and the ones in the sun didn't grow at all. The kids were super flexible about it and we talked about how some things don't always work out the way we expect. Great lesson.”
· Maggie · Teacher
“The kids were really surprised that the seeds with no sun still grew! Then, after 4 days, we put our sickly plants in the sun, and they started turning green by the end of the school day. The kids were so excited about that!”
· Kim · Teacher

Grade K

Plant & Animal Needs

Plant Needs: Light

K-LS1-1

Activity Prep

Print Prep
To view a revised version of this lesson, please click here.
In this Mystery, students investigate the conditions plants need to survive. In the two-part activity, Seeds — Light and Dark, students experiment with growing radish seeds in light and dark conditions. They plant them in cups, place half of the cups in the sun, and put the other half in a dark container. Three to seven days later, students compare the seedlings and then watch what happens when all are placed in the sun.
Preview activity

I have a Mystery Pack

Draw the Radishes worksheet 30 copies
Crayons
Ideally each student will have green and yellow colors available. Colored pencils or markers will also work.
Details
60 crayons
Aluminum Foil
Need enough to cover the aluminum pan.
Details
3 feet
Aluminum Pan
Must be large enough to hold half of the Dixie cups.
Details
1 pan
Baking Soda
2 teaspoons
Dixie Cups (3 oz)
38 cups
Paper Plates
8 plates
Spray Bottles
8 bottles
Sticker Labels (1" x 3")
30 labels
Peat Pellets
You need to soak peat pellets in water so that they are moist enough. Potting soil will also work. You will need about a quart of potting soil for a class of 24 students.
Details
30 pellets
Radish Seeds
1 3-gram packet
Prep Instructions

This is a two-part activity. We recommend that you allow at least three days (up to one week) in between Part One and Part Two of the experiment to give the radish seeds time to germinate.

You will need access to a sunny windowsill for radish seeds to grow in the light. You will also need access to water so that you can fill up the spray bottles.

  • For each pair of students (or one homeschool student), fill two Dixie cups halfway with moist potting soil or place one peat pellet in each cup. If you are using peat pellets, you will need to hydrate these with water.
  • For each table of four students, put about 1/8 teaspoon of radish seeds (~40 seeds) in a Dixie cup.
  • In each spray bottle, mix 1 cup of water with about 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda. Adding baking soda will inhibit mold growth in the soil, but won’t affect the plants.

Exploration

20 mins

Hands-On Activity

30 mins

Wrap-Up

5 mins

Grade K

Plant & Animal Needs

Plant Needs: Light

K-LS1-1

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Secrets Lesson 5: How do plants and trees grow?

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