Seeds & Plants Level: 1st Grade Time Frame: Approximately 1 Quarter  Description: Students will learn basic concepts related to plant reproduction, plant needs for life, plant habitats, and plant parts and functions.

Overview Activity List Learning Objectives Standards Resources

Learning Objectives

Students will observe and know that:

• A seed is a plant part with identifiable characteristics.
• Different types of seeds will grow into different types of plants.
• Seeds are often found in another plant part; a container that is often eaten as a fruit or vegetable. (In scientific terms, a fruit is any seed container, but this is confusing to children because in common usage the word fruit refers to only sweet pulpy seed containers).
• Fruits and vegetables come from plants (are plant parts).
• The function of a seed is to grow into a new plant.
• For growth, plants require water and light.
• Most seeds need only water for germination (sprouting), even though they soon will need other things to continue healthy growth.
• There is a great diversity of plants growing in our local general “habitat.”
• Different plants grow in different specific places (habitats) because they have different needs for things like light and water.
• Plant parts include stems, leaves, roots, and flowers.
• The roots of a plant help the plant stay in place and carry water and minerals (substances that plants need for growth) from the soil to the plant.
• Stems hold up the leaves of the plant and carry water and minerals from the roots to the leaves.
• Leaves and flowers come in many shapes, sizes, colors, etc.
• Plants have a life cycle that includes sprouting from seeds, growing bigger and adding more leaves and stems, usually producing flowers and seeds, and then partially or completely dying.
• Some plants live for a short period of time (one season), but others live for a long time because only the leaves die (usually in the winter), and the plant grows new leaves from the roots or stems that continued to live.
• Seeds can have many shapes, sizes, colors, etc. and can be dispersed (moved around) in many ways.

Students will practice:

• Describing observed events.
• Developing questions on scientific topics.
• Collecting data for investigations.
• Recording data.
• Arranging data into logical patterns and describing patterns.
• Comparing observations of individual and group results.

Students will know:

• The function of the leaves is to “make food” for the plant; the function of the flowers is to make seeds.

Standards

Illinois State Standards - Early Elementary

Students will observe and know that:

12A. Know and apply concepts that explain how living things function, adapt, and change.

• Identify and describe the component parts of living things and their major functions.
• Categorize living organisms using a variety of observable features.

11A. Know and apply the concepts, principles, and processes of scientific inquiry

• Describe an observed event.
• Develop questions on scientific topics.
• Collect and record data for investigations.
• Arrange data into logical patterns and describe the patterns.
• Compare observations of individual and group results.

National Science Education Standards: Fundamental Concepts and Principles- As a result of activities in grades K-4, all students should develop an understanding of fundamental concepts and principles:

• Organisms have basic needs, for example, plants require air, water, nutrients, and light. Organisms can survive only in environments in which their needs can be met.
• Each plant has different structures that serve different functions in growth, survival, and reproduction.
• Plants have life cycles that include sprouting, developing into adults, reproducing, and dying. The details of this life cycle are different for different plants.

Resources

Champaign Community Unit School District #4 * Mellon Administrative Center
703 South New Street * Champaign, IL 61820 * 217.351.3800