Lesson Summary
The learners will be thinning out less viable plants and transplanting healthier ones in their places. The goal of this lesson is to have only one healthy plant per cell, for a total of four in the quad. The children will learn about the plant’s need for space, light, food, water, and air. They will also be working on making and recording complete and accurate observations.
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Teacher Background
Plants need to grow in their own optimal conditions. At this point, the Brassica plants have germinated, and we call them “seedlings.” The plants have their seed leaves, which will help make the plant’s food until the true leaves appear. There are always 2 heart-shaped seed leaves per plant. Pulling the seedlings up, including the roots, ensures that a new plant will not grow back. Thinning and transplanting the seedlings can be a bit harsh on the new seedlings, but they are generally hardy and should perk back up in short time. This is the one day in science when students may use their sense of taste. When all thinning and transplanting is done, students may wash off left-over seedlings and eat them. Brassica plants are in the mustard seed family and taste somewhat like field greens children might have eaten in salads.
Set-up/Management Tips
- A flex cam is a good piece of technology to use with this lesson to show detail.
- Students need to use gentle hands, whether using forceps or just hands.
- Students can draw and label an uprooted seedling in their notebooks (label cotyledon, stem, and roots).
- Teacher can begin posting Life Cycle cares to show growth cycle to this point.
Literacy Support
Books Available Through VAST Mediagraphies (see Literacy Links)
Cycles of Life: Growing Things by Carolyn Scrace
Our Living World: Green Plants by Jenny Tesar
Scientific Vocabulary
The following words are key vocabulary words that will be introduced in this lesson and reinforced throughout the unit:
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germinate
root
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seedling
seed leaf
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thin
transplant
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