OBJECTIVE

Students will be able to locate important growing information on a seed packet

Students will record important growing information about how to grow seeds for the plant sale

ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS

How do I grow food?

What do plants need to grow?

MATERIALS

• Reading A Seed Packet worksheet
• Pencil
• Plant sale seed packets (packets that have photos or illustrations of the plant are best!)

PROCEDURE

This is the second lesson of the plant sale unit.

Before the lesson, as an optional scaffolding opportunity, highlight the information students need to find on each seed packet (days to maturity, sun, plant height, how many weeks before frost to seed). Looking at all of the writing on a seed packet can be intimidating, even for adults! This will make it less intimidating for students.

Introduction:

Gather as a group and share with students that the seeds they chose for the plant sale have arrived! Spend a moment enjoying the art on the seed packets and pointing out which tomatoes, peppers, etc. this class has specifically chosen.

Tell students we need to begin getting familiar with these seeds, as we will be responsible for sharing information about the plant with customers at the plant sale. All the information we need is on the seed packet. 

Model for students how to scan for information on the seed packet and where to write the facts on the corresponding worksheet. Ahead of time, I highlight the key information students need to find as a way to scaffold since there is a lot of information on the packets! Differentiate for your students.

Activity

Students may work individually or in pairs to find the information on their seed packet and fill out the worksheet.

Circulate helping students find information or explaining vocab words like “maturity.”

Gather together again as a class. Explain that now that we are experts on this seed, we will greet each other not as ourselves, but as the seed. Example: “My name is Calendula, Pacific Beauty. I am 2 ft tall and I am 80 days old.” 

Wrap Up/Assessment: 

Students can walk around asking questions about each person’s new identity, trying to find which plant is the tallest, shortest, youngest, and oldest.

FOLLOW UP/EXTENSIONS

• Before this lesson: Plant Sale: Selecting Plant Varieties
• After this lesson: Plant Sale: Seeding Calendars
• Make a seeding calendar
• Start the seeds for the plant sale
• Care for the seedings and pot them up
• Make signs to advertise for the plant sale
• Related Lesson: Seed Packet/Catalog Lesson

MA CURRICULUM CONNECTIONS

English Language Arts and Literacy

• RI.2.1 Ask and answer such questions as who, what, where, when, why, and how to demonstrate understanding of key details in a text.
• RI.2.5 Know and use various text features (e.g., captions, bold print, subheadings, glossaries, indexes, electronic menus, icons) to locate key facts or information in a text efficiently.
• W.2.8 Recall information from experiences or gather information from provided sources to answer a question.
• RI.3.1 Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to the text as the basis for the answers.
• RI.3.5 Use text features and search tools (e.g., key words, sidebars, hyperlinks) to locate information relevant to a given topic efficiently.
• W.3.8 Recall information from experiences or gather information from print and digital sources; take brief notes on sources and sort evidence into provided categories
• RI.4.7 Interpret information presented visually, orally, or quantitatively (e.g., in charts, graphs, diagrams, time lines, animations, or interactive elements on webpages) and explain how the information contributes to an understanding of the text in which it appears.

Science Technology/Engeneering

• 2.LS.2.3 Develop and use models to compare how plants and animals depend on their surroundings and other living things to meet their needs in the places they live
• 2.LS.4.1 Use texts, media, or local environments to observe and compare (a) different kinds of living things in an area, and (b) differences in the kinds of living things living in different types of areas.
• 3.LS.1.1Use simple graphical representations to show that different types of organisms have unique and diverse life cycles. Describe that all organisms have birth, growth, reproduction, and death in common but there are a variety of ways in which these happen.