CU 5.02Sorting Seeds
The child sorts a bowl of mixed large seeds by kind, then by size or color, and learns that each kind of plant grows from its own kind of seed.
Presentation
Search videos (opens YouTube in a new tab)- 1
Invite the child to carry the tray to a table. Check that hands are clean and dry.
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Hold up a lima bean: 'This is a seed. A bean plant can grow from it.'
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Find another lima bean in the bowl and set both in one section.
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Pick a seed that looks very different, such as a pumpkin seed. Compare: 'This one is flat and pale. It is a different kind.' Start a new section.
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Sort a few more seeds, saying what is the same or different each time.
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Invite the child to finish sorting.
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Compare each section with the sealed jars and name each seed's plant from the photographs.
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Spoon the seeds back into the bowl and check the table and floor for strays.
What catches the child’s eye
- The smooth, heavy feel of a bean next to a light, flat pumpkin seed
- Seeds of one kind looking alike even when mixed into a full bowl
Extensions, easiest to hardest
- Sort the same seeds by size, from largest to smallest
- Sort the same seeds by color
- Find seeds in fruits at snack time and add a sealed jar for each new kind
- Plant one of each kind and see which plant grows from which seed
Control of error
The sealed jars show what each kind of seed looks like, so the child can check every section against them.
Ready to move on when the child…
- Sorts a mixed bowl by kind without errors
- Names at least four kinds of seed
- Sorts the same seeds a second way, by size or color
Guide note
Seeds are a choking risk: offer this only to children who no longer put objects in their mouths, use the largest seeds you can find, and stay nearby. Raw dry beans are not safe to eat. Use untreated seeds from the grocery store; garden seeds coated pink, blue, or green with treatment are not for handling. Never use castor beans or other toxic seeds.