CU 5.12Parts of a Seed

1. 1

   Set a dry bean and a soaked bean side by side. Let the child feel both: 'The soaked bean took in water and grew soft.'

2. 2

   Rub the soaked bean gently until the thin skin slips off: 'This is the seed coat. It protects the seed.'

3. 3

   Find the seam and gently split the bean in two with a thumbnail.

4. 4

   Point to the two thick halves: 'These are the cotyledons. They hold food for the new plant.'

5. 5

   Look at the small shape on one half with the magnifying glass: 'This is the embryo, the baby plant. You can see its first tiny leaves.'

6. 6

   Give a three-period lesson on seed coat, cotyledon, and embryo.

7. 7

   Invite the child to open a bean and lay its parts on the paper towel.

8. 8

   Match the cards to the parts and check with the control card.

What catches the child’s eye

• The seed coat slipping off the soaked bean like a thin skin
• The tiny folded leaves of the embryo under the magnifying glass

Extensions, easiest to hardest

1. Open a soaked pea or pumpkin seed and find the same parts
2. Draw and label an opened bean
3. Plant a whole soaked bean and see the embryo grow in the Plant Life Cycle jar
4. Read definition cards