OBJECTIVE

Students will explore different plants to find the seeds. They will begin to identify the different parts of the plant, and come up with questions about the origins of seeds.

ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS

Where do seeds come from?

MATERIALS NEEDED

Plant parts for students to study: garlic, corn, sunflower, Swiss chard/ kale/lettuce, tomato, pepper, chives/herbs, onions

PROCEDURE

Activity:

• Discussion: Where do seeds come from? a. Polly Hill review b. Where did the seeds come from that we used to grow the plants in our school garden?
• Students work in groups or pairs to “find the seed” – crops include: garlic, corn, sunflower, Swiss chard/kale/lettuce, tomato, pepper, chives/herbs, onion
• Students introduce their crops to the rest of the class and discuss what they observed and where they think the seeds are or will be on their plant
• Are these seeds ready to plant? Why or why not?
• When is planting season?
• Introduce garlic – our garden crop we can plant in the fall!
• Students break apart heads of garlic and prepare for planting
  Closing/Assessment: Students name a part of the plant they think a seed might originate from.

FOLLOW UP & EXTENSIONS

Extension: Garlic Planting