A few days ago
Gretchen B

What can I plant for my students to observe in the classroom?

I am teaching third grade and I want to plant some seeds in little cups. What is good for this? We are starting our unit on plants so I would really love to have something they can observe. Thanks.

Top 7 Answers
A few days ago
CosmicKelly

Favorite Answer

Hi!! How fun this sounds!!

I found several references to help you. The first one is a site that list plants (flowers and veggies) that can be grown indoors and eventually moved outdoors.

http://www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/garden/07409.html

The second one is a cool site with lots of excellent links called “An Introduction to: Plants in the Classroom.”

http://www.usask.ca/education/coursework/mcvittiej/resources/livingthings/plants.htm

3. http://coe.west.asu.edu/students/eturner/growplants.html Lots of different ideas for plant growing (and not just from seed) very “child-friendly”

4. Here you can see how Mrs. Heatherly’s class grew and reported on her lima beans. http://www.lakelandschools.org/EDTECH/GrowWithUs/2005/Heatherly/heatherly.htm

5. Awesome resource about growing both indoor and outdoor plants with classes: http://www.peepandthebigwideworld.com/resources/pdf/peep-guide-plants.pdf

Have fun and Have an AWESOME day!!

CosmicKelly πŸ™‚

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A few days ago
tantelise
For third grade, you’ll want something that grows quickly. Beans, radishes, any small vegetable would be good (the kids can even eat the veg when you’re done!)

Flowers like marigolds are another old standard.

An interesting one, that would take more than a paper cup of dirt, would be to buy an amaryllis bulb in October. They are often available with a container and growing medium already in a kit. You could record watering and growth, doing charting for math. These babies grow FAST so by Christmas, you’ll have a plant with lovely large flowers.

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A few days ago
MJ3000
Just about any type of bean will work. Pinto beans are commonly used in classrooms though.

To show how nutrients are carried up the plant, you can use celery sticks and colored water. Blue or red works best. Cut the end off a stalk of celery and put the sticks in the water. Celery is so translucent that you can see the colored water seep up through it.

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A few days ago
Aussie mum
watercress works really well as they germinate readily and grow quickly. Wheat, sunflower seeds and bird seed mixes also work really well.

Tip: The kids can decorate the cups with faces, then watch the ‘hair’ grow, then eventually give their character a haircut πŸ™‚ Otherwise putting birdseed on cottonwool and wrapping them up into chux wipes, then tying into sections works well for ‘hairy caterpillars’.

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A few days ago
Anonymous
i think other than planting something… get some venus fly traps… and do a whole thing on carnivore eating plants… much more intersting for the boys in the class…. girls will like either
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A few days ago
possum230
Cherry tomatoes grow quickly and and easily, and as an added bonus have a result that is easy to eat πŸ™‚
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A few days ago
Jan
at the health food store they have a lot of different kinds of herbs
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