Our third grade botanists will participate in many activities and experiments to learn more about germination and the life cycle of a plant. The students will experiment with plants and learn that a plant is a system. A system is a group of objects that work together to accomplish a task. Each part of the plant helps the plant to survive. Students will observe roots, stems, leaves, and flowers to learn how each of these structures help the plant to grow and reproduce. Third graders will learn that photosynthesis is not only important for plants, but is also responsible for life on Earth.
What You Can Do at Home
Activities
Explore the fruits and vegetables in your kitchen. (Suggested items are: apple, orange, tomato, celery, lettuce, grape, potato, onion, cucumber, carrot, green pepper, broccoli, radish.) First, you and your child can wash your hands and all the food. Let your child examine the outside of a fruit or vegetable and then predict how many seeds it has. After your child has recorded the prediction, cut the fruit or vegetable in half, making a cross section. Your child can next examine these cross sections and make drawings. Then let your child use a toothpick or a butter knife to dissect it and count the seeds.
Fold a piece of paper into three columns:
Name of Vegetable or Fruit Number of Seeds-Predicted Number of Seeds-Actual
What were your findings? How are fruits and vegetables different?
Websites
Scholastic Studyjams: Photosynthesis. Learn more about this miraculous food making process that takes place in leaves.
http://studyjams.scholastic.com/studyjams/jams/science/plants/photosynthesis.htm
Scholastic Studyjams: Plants with Seeds. Learn how plants produce seeds.
http://studyjams.scholastic.com/studyjams/jams/science/plants/plant-with-seeds.htm
BBC School Science: Helping Plants Grow-
Introduce a plant to different amounts of water and sunlight and watch the plant grow.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/scienceclips/ages/7_8/plants_grow.shtml
Seed Dispersal
Click on this website to see an animated version of how different seeds disperse or travel to find their own home to begin growing.
http://www2.bgfl.org/bgfl2/custom/resources_ftp/client_ftp/ks2/science/plants_pt2/dispersal.htm
Suggested Reading
Ferns (the Green World) by Theresa Greenway. Introduces students to the life cycles, characteristics, and natural environment of ferns.
The Magic School Bus Plants Seeds: A Book About How Living Things Grow Paperback by Joanna Cole. Take a journey with Ms. Frizzle to learn about how plants grow.
For a list of science nonfiction books, please click on the link titled Favorite Links and Books to Read. Click on the sublink Grades 3-5 Science Nonfiction Books, where you will find a detailed list of books related to many different topics in science.
What You Can Do at Home
Activities
Explore the fruits and vegetables in your kitchen. (Suggested items are: apple, orange, tomato, celery, lettuce, grape, potato, onion, cucumber, carrot, green pepper, broccoli, radish.) First, you and your child can wash your hands and all the food. Let your child examine the outside of a fruit or vegetable and then predict how many seeds it has. After your child has recorded the prediction, cut the fruit or vegetable in half, making a cross section. Your child can next examine these cross sections and make drawings. Then let your child use a toothpick or a butter knife to dissect it and count the seeds.
Fold a piece of paper into three columns:
Name of Vegetable or Fruit Number of Seeds-Predicted Number of Seeds-Actual
What were your findings? How are fruits and vegetables different?
Websites
Scholastic Studyjams: Photosynthesis. Learn more about this miraculous food making process that takes place in leaves.
http://studyjams.scholastic.com/studyjams/jams/science/plants/photosynthesis.htm
Scholastic Studyjams: Plants with Seeds. Learn how plants produce seeds.
http://studyjams.scholastic.com/studyjams/jams/science/plants/plant-with-seeds.htm
BBC School Science: Helping Plants Grow-
Introduce a plant to different amounts of water and sunlight and watch the plant grow.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/scienceclips/ages/7_8/plants_grow.shtml
Seed Dispersal
Click on this website to see an animated version of how different seeds disperse or travel to find their own home to begin growing.
http://www2.bgfl.org/bgfl2/custom/resources_ftp/client_ftp/ks2/science/plants_pt2/dispersal.htm
Suggested Reading
Ferns (the Green World) by Theresa Greenway. Introduces students to the life cycles, characteristics, and natural environment of ferns.
The Magic School Bus Plants Seeds: A Book About How Living Things Grow Paperback by Joanna Cole. Take a journey with Ms. Frizzle to learn about how plants grow.
For a list of science nonfiction books, please click on the link titled Favorite Links and Books to Read. Click on the sublink Grades 3-5 Science Nonfiction Books, where you will find a detailed list of books related to many different topics in science.