From seed to fruit

Documenting bean growth

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Learning outcomes

	Competencies Digital and media competence: taking photos with a camera/a mobile phone/a tablet Linguistic competences: new vocabulary Competence in science: making predictions, conducting experiments, knowledge of seed germination
	Target group 5 years and up Individual work: taking photos In groups: a conversation about the changes and the progress of the bean growth
	Required materials Camera/phone/tablet Printer Glue Pens bean seeds cotton wool glass jars watering can with water box
	Materials Activity to cut out and place stages of growth in the right order.

Description of the activity (step by step)

Preparation:

Show to the children the bean seed and ask them if they know what it is. Let the children express their opinions, knowledge and experience of seeds. Then explain to them that it is a bean seed. Tell the children that they will try to grow a bean plant from the seed.

Implementation:

Direct them to place one seed on a wet cotton ball in a glass jar and put it on a window sill. The second seed is placed on a wet cotton ball in a glass jar and stored in a box with an opening inside a closed cupboard. The third seed is placed on a dry cotton ball, in a glass jar and placed on a window sill. Encourage the children to predict which of the three beans will grow and why.

Every day, the seeds placed in the cupboard and on the window sill on the wet cotton are watered.

After watering, children document the resulting changes in the beans with a camera.

Download and print the photos.

The children glue the printed photos on a prepared space on the wall where they record the days and draw the changes.

Reflection:

After the 14th day of daily observation, the beans are transplanted to the garden on the playground and documented further.

Variations and additional ideas

You could try to create an animation: photograph the growing bean each day from the same spot (you could mark the spot with duct tape on the floor and keep the tripod on the same height). After 14 days, combine the photos into a short video.

You can complement this activity with https://media.eduskills.plus/activities/therapy_changing.

Background information and didactical perspective

Kindergarten children love to help with sowing and planting. They enjoy watering the plants and observing the growth of seedlings. They are the happiest when they can pick fruits from the garden and eat them. The growth of a plant from the seed to the fruit takes a long time, so it is important to photograph and document the intermediate changes in the plant. Through the photographs, children can relive the process and describe the changes they witnessed.

Activity to cut out and place stages of growth in the right order.

Materials

The photos are downloadable at https://media.eduskills.plus/activities/nature_fruit.

Photos of the activity

From seed to fruit | media.eduskills.plus | media.eduskills.plus/activities