What are seeds?
This lesson developed by Reach Out!
Recommended Age: Preschool and Early Elementary
Question
What are seeds?
What you need:
- Lots of different knids of seeds
- Potting soil
- Clay pot
- Lima bean seeds
- Grean beans
- Peas in a pod
- Lima beans in a pod
- Popcorn
- Raspberries
- Grapes with seeds
- Banana
- Apple
- Pear
- Orange
- Grapefruit
- White paper plates
- Plastic knife
- Drawing paper
- Glue
What you do:
- Look at the different kinds of seeds. Seeds hold "embryons" which can grow and develop into a plant.
- Cut open green bean, pea pod and lima bean pod. Look at the seeds.
- Cut open a lima bean. Inside this bean is everything it needs to grow into a new lima bean plant.
- Plant lima bean seeds in clay pots with soil. Put in sunlight and water as needed. Watch and see that a lima bean plant will grow from that seed!
- Take a look at seeds again. Seeds move around or travel in many ways. Some seeds are light and get picked up by the wind. Some are sticky or prickly on the outside so they can latch onto the fur of animals and travel on them to someplace to get drop
ped off and grow. Some seeds travel by floating on water until they get to a shore or soil area and drop off and grow. Some seeds get eaten by animals and then when the animal has a bowel movement, the seeds find themselves back on the ground!
- We eat lots of seeds. Think about the seeds we actually like to eat. Beans, lima beans, peas, bananas, rasperries, and pop corn. Some seeds we don't eat. Cut in half an apple or pear. We eat the "meat" or "pulp" around the seeds, but not the seed
s themselves. Cut open an orange or grapefruit. We eat the "meat" or "pulp" but not the outside skin or seeds.
- For fun, take dry seeds ready to plant and make a collage. The seeds have different colors, shapes, and textures. Use glue or paste on areas of your drawing paper or on a paper plate. Then place the seeds on the glue or paste and make a picture.
What is happening?
We see that seeds come in many different sizes, shapes, colors and forms. Seeds hold inside of them the embryos which can grow and become a new plant. Seeds move around and travel to where they can grow in many different ways. Some seeds fly in the
air, some stick on animals and critters and fall off eventually to land and grow, some travel in water, and some get eaten and then when the critter has a bowel movement, the seeds are on ground and ready to grow. We eat many kinds of seeds. Some seeds
we donšt like to eat. Seeds can be planted in clay pots and start to grow inside. Seeds can be fun to use to make art projects!