|
Overview: Help the Easter Bunny find a nice place to live by growing a feathery carrot heads garden with the children. Younger students will have fun learning about seeds and plants and sprouts as they make predictions about how their garden will grow. (This carrot "garden" can be used for any project calling for some kind of forest or greenery decor.)
Booklink: The Carrot Seed by Ruth Krauss, Scholastic Inc., New York, 1971. ISBN 0-694-00492-8
Science Activity Link: Younger students will learn about the conditions needed to grow and sustain plants.
Objective: Students will identify, infer, and describe how light, soil, and water affect plant growth.
Science Processes and Content: Processes-Students infer and discuss what plants need to grow, create a "garden" by placing soil in an empty aquarium in a well-lit part of the classroom, predict what will happen to the carrot heads that are placed in the soil and watered, and observe the appearance and growth of the feathery leaves on the carrot heads. Content-Discussion, creation, and observation lead children to an increased understanding of how plants grow.
National Science Education Standards: Unifying Concepts and Processes, (1) Science as Inquiry, (3) Life Science
Materials: The Carrot Seed by Ruth Krauss
-one unused aquarium or similar container
-one 3 kg bag of peat or potting soil
-one carrot head per child and a few extras (cut carrots down to about 2" near head)
-small watering can
-one Easter Bunny that will not spoil in damp conditions (we laminated a paper one)
Procedure:
1. Fill the empty aquarium (or other containers) with about 3" of peat or soil. Discuss with the children what plants need to grow.
2. Moderately water the soil.
3. Plant the carrot heads (stem side up) by gently pushing them into the soil. Leave them slightly protuding. Have the children predict what will happen to the carrot heads.
4. Place the aquarium in a fairly light spot. Keep the soil damp as time goes by but don't overwater.
5. Observe as the carrot heads sprout feathery leaves after a few days. Observe as they continue to grow. Identify and discuss the factors that made the carrot tops grow.
6. When the carrot garden is fully grown, place the Easter Bunny in his "home". On the morning of a class Easter party or egg hunt, remove the Easter Bunny and read a related book as the children anticipate the egg hunt and/or party.
7. Encourage the children to plant other plant parts (e.g. lima or kidney bean seeds, potato "eyes," grass seeds, pumpkin seeds, radish seeds, tulip or daffodil bulbs) and investigate their growth under different conditions (light-dark, wet-dry, cold-warm).
Safety: Adults should cut the carrot heads for younger students.
Related Books:
The Tiny Seed by Eric Carle, Scholastic, New York, 1989. ISBN 0-590-42566-8
Tiny Green Thumbs by C.Z. Guest, Scholastic, New York 2001. ISBN 0-439-27892-9
One Bean by Anne Rockwell, Walker and Company, New York, 1998. ISBN 0-8027-7572-1
The Dandelion Seed by Joseph Anthony, DAWN Publications, Nevada City, CA, 1997. ISBN 1-883220-66-1
Vegetable Garden by Douglas Florian, Harcourt Brace & Company, Orlando, FL, 1991. ISBN 0-15-307468-X
Planting a Rainbow by Lois Ehlert, Voyager Books, Harcourt Brace & Company, Orlando, FL, 1988. ISBN 0-15-262610-7
The Berenstain Bears Grow-It! by Stan and Jan Berenstain, Random House, New York, 1996. ISBN 0-679-87315-5
|
