From dirt to dinner

This lesson serves as an introductory study of the plant world. The lesson allows students to study seeds, parts of plants, microclimates, and how to grow seeds into vegetable plants for harvest. Parents are encouraged to assist at home.

A lesson plan for grades K–1 English Language Arts, Mathematics, and Science

By Glenn Bass

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Related pages

• From seed to plant: This lesson will give students an opportunity to learn about seed parts, how a plant grows, and to compare plants.
• Inside a baby seed: Students will identify the three main parts of a seed after the bean/seeds have been soaked in water overnight.
• Getting down & dirty with soils: In this lesson, we will explore different kinds of soil (humus, sand, clay). The students will plant seeds in the different soils as part of further exploration.

Related topics

• Learn more about biology, habitats, hands-on, labs, lima beans, observation, plants, science, and seeds.

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Learning outcomes

Goals:

• Students will prepare microclimates for growing seeds into plants.
• Students will provide care as needed for growing plants.
• Students will document changes as noticed.

Objectives:

• Students will label, measure, count, and fill seed-growing packets.
• Students will write, identify, and read their own names and sight words for plant parts.
• Students will draw and label plant pictures as plants grow.
• Students will transplant seedlings to home garden spaces.

Teacher planning

Time required for lesson

20 minutes per day

Materials/resources

First Day

• Lima bean seeds, 4–6 seeds per student
• Small bowls, one per table for holding seeds
• Top-sealing plastic bags, pint size, one per student
• Seed-starting sterile potting mix, approximately eight ounces per student. (This is a more finely ground mix than regular potting soil.)
• Masking tape, three strips per bag
• Ballpoint pens, one per work table
• Poster with words “lima beans” and pictures of seedling growth. Six-ounce plastic cups, two each for each work table, one marked with a marker line about one-third up from the bottom, and the other marked with a line at the top
• One small plastic pitcher of tap water per table
• Accessible window with bright light

Second, Fourth, Sixth, and Eighth Days

• One half page of manila drawing paper per student per day
• Markers or crayons each day
• One folder per student
• Prewritten note to parents (sent on end of eighth day): parents—please help your child separate these seedlings and plant them in a loosened, weeded plot of ground, in full sun. Water them once a day for the first two weeks. Watch them grow, bloom, and produce bean pods for your dinner!

Technology resources

Laminator for poster.

Pre-activities

Students should be shown a variety of seeds and pictures of plants as they change from seeds to seedlings to full sized plants. They should understand that some plants make food for people to eat. They should understand that lima beans are edible, and can be picked, shelled and eaten from the lima bean plant. The children should also be taught that most plants need water, light, air, food, and soil (for support) to grow and flourish. The children should have prior experience filling, pouring and measuring dry and wet materials to various levels.

Activities

First Day

Teachers

1. Set up all materials for lesson.
2. Review list of student names and how to write them with those who need help.
3. Review poster of lima bean plant growth.
4. Discuss need for ideal growing conditions for lima bean seeds: light for plant to make food/leaves; water for bringing food in soil through roots; soil for providing nutrients and support; and air for circulating moisture, adjusting temperature, and preventing molds.
5. Explain that we are going to start indoor lima bean “gardens,” and tell what steps are needed.
6. Assist with student and plant name writing.
7. Assist with measuring, pouring, and counting as needed.
8. Assist with applying last piece of tape and putting bags on window.

Students:

1. Take two strips each of masking tape and one bag and write down their name (or best approximation) on one strip and write the words “lima beans” on the other strip.
2. Apply the two strips to one bag.
3. Scoop and measure seed-soil mix into the cup marked at the top (six ounces), and pour it into the bag.
4. Count out four, five or six seeds and drop them into the bag.
5. Pour water from the pitcher into the cup marked about one-third full, and then pour it into the bag.
6. Seal the zip-top bag.
7. Lay bag down on table and “massage” water and soil mix together gently to increase absorption.
8. Apply third strip of tape to back lip of bag.
9. Tape bag to window.
10. Open bag for circulation.

Second Day

Teachers:

1. Set out paper and markers or crayons.
2. Ask each child to find his/her bag on the window and draw a picture of it with the title “Lima Beans, Day 2,” and their name.
3. Collect and save all pictures in a folder.
4. Present each work table with a cup (six ounces) with a line marked approximately one-fourth full, and a pitcher of water.
5. Check each child’s bag: if almost completely dry, help child pour one-fourth of a cup of water in bag.

Students:

1. Find your bag and observe it.
2. Draw a picture of it, and put the title and your name on your picture.
3. Check to see if soil is dry: if so, measure and pour water (one-fourth cup) into bag.

Fourth Day and Sixth Day

Students and teachers repeat second day activities. No action is necessary on the third, fifth, and seventh days.

Eighth Day

1. Students and teachers repeat second day activities.
2. Teachers pass out earlier drawings to each child.
3. Teachers help students collate and staple drawings.
4. Students remove bags from window and take home for transplanting.

Assessment

Math Assessment:

Teacher will observe filling, measuring, and pouring of soil and water in pre-activities and in this particular lesson. Anecdotal notes should be taken and direct hand-over-hand assistance may be necessary to help certain children come closer to specified amounts. On second, fourth, sixth and eighth days, if water needs to be added, this allows student additional practice and teacher additional opportunities to observe all children and record information on any children who need additional help.

Language Arts Assessment:

Teacher will observe students efforts to write their names and words (lima beans). They will have sight words available to them on lists in the room where their names are located, and on the lima bean poster that they have reviewed. The teachers should ask each child to find their own bag, based on their name, as they check them out from day to day, and note any children who are having difficulty with this. Ask children to find and read the sight words “lima beans” on their bags, and on the poster. Teachers should also assess the ability levels of the students when they draw and label their pictures on successive even days.

Supplemental information

Teacher references

• Ready, Set, Grow! A Guide to Gardening with Children by Suzanne Frutig Bales. Helpful gardening tips, designs, and ideas for gardening with young children. Colorful photos. Primarily geared to outdoor gardening.
• The Growing Classroom: Garden-Based Science by Roberta Jaffe & Gary Appel. Extensive compendium of children’s gardening activities in well-organized lesson plan format, with descriptions, objectives, materials, and preparation headings for each lesson.

Children’s books

• Growing Colors by Bruce McMillan. Excellent book with realistic color photography and color words as only text. Easily adapted for ESL.
• Flower Garden by Eve Bunting. Culturally and racially sensitive. Colorful photos and limited, rhyming text.
• How New Plants Grow, Concept Science by Colin Walker. Labeled pictures show growth and variety of small and large plants. Not just about gardens.
• Plants by Gillian Dorfman. Good colored drawings of plant life cycles, and growth. Examples of plants that grow in very different environments.
• El Gusto Del Mercado Mexicano/A Taste of the Mexican Market by Nancy Maria Grande Tabor. A colorful listing of fruits, vegetables, and other market items available at a typical Mexican market. Written with dual, easy-to-follow, Spanish/English text on each page.
• The Carrot Seed by Ruth Krauss. Also available in Spanish (La semilla de zanahoria). A classic story about a little child who maintains his faith in the ability of his seeds to grow to maturity, in spite of the discouraging words he hears from everyone.

Comments

Lima beans were selected as seeds of choice for a variety of reasons. They are cheap. I buy them at the grocery where dried beans are found. They are viable for about 5–6 years, so leftovers can be stored and reused. The seeds absorb moisture quickly, grow into sizable plants very quickly, and tolerate variance in moisture, light and temperature. They are also easy to transplant.

I have used this lesson several years, with preschool children, including those with significant special needs. This plan, though geared to kindergarten, can easily be adapted to children at higher and lower developmental levels.