Sunflower Seed Saving
OBJECTIVE
Students will understand that we can eat sunflower seeds and use them to make food.
ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS
Where do seeds come from? How can we use seeds?
MATERIALS NEEDED
Sunflower heads, metal spoons, plastic table cloth, bowls to collect seeds, the book “The Sunflower House”, roasted unshelled sunflower seeds, small paper cups
PROCEDURE
Introduction: Read The Sunflower House. Arrange the sunflower heads on the table and let the kids look at them. Point out the different parts- stem, petals, seeds. Invite students to use their senses to feel the different parts of the plant. What do they feel like? (Smooth seeds, rough stems, etc.)
Explain that when sunflowers and other plants die, they release seeds to grow new plants, so today we’re going to collect those seeds. Ask why we want to collect seeds. What are we going to do with them?
Activity:
- Have 2-3 kids working on each sunflower. Demonstrate how to pick the seeds out of the
middle. It might be easier for them to scrape them out with a spoon. Give each group a
bowl to collect their seeds - Let the kids crack the seeds open and see what’s inside. Ask them if they ever eat
sunflower seeds. Explain that sometimes we cook sunflower seeds and eat the inside part. - Put away the seeds collected from the flowers, and give each child a little cup of roasted
sunflower seeds. Let them crack them open and taste the seeds.