Session #2: The life cycle of a plant- The bean

Experimenting: Students will observe the inside of a seed, plant several types of seeds and note changes. Revision of theme and vocabulary from the last session + introduction of the new session.

Introduction of the present session with questions: Where do fruits come from? Where do trees come from? How does a tree grow? The teacher shows a bean (white/red bean) and asks students to identify it (What is it?). Beans should be soaked overnight so that they can be easily opened. Each student has a bean that he opens and observes. What do you see?. This can be done in small groups of three to five students per group according to the size of the class. Students can discuss among themselves. See Document 2_vocabulary The bean. Vocabulary is written on the board. Students can complete Material 6_The Bean (older students) or Material 7_My Bean Collage (younger students). Older students can write the names of different parts of the image.

Hypothetical questions: What will happen if we put the bean in water? Student responses are written and kept on one side of the board.
The class is divided into small groups – 3 to 5 students per group. Each group is given a transparent jar (eg. a jam jar with the lid pierced), three beans of the same or of different kind and moist cotton balls. Each group puts its beans inside of the cotton balls and puts the balls into the jar. The jars are covered. After 4 or 5 days each group take its jar and takes out the cotton balls. Students answer to the question ‘what happened?’ ‘What do you see?’ Students observe the outside of the beans. Each group splits its beans and observes the inside. Observations are noted. Students respond to the previous question: What happens when we put the bean in water? Answers are compared to previous responses noted on the board. Final conclusions are noted: When we water the seed.....The seed needs water to grow….etc. See Document 3_vocabulary The Bean sprout and Material 8_ The Bean sprout.

Collage of different types of beans (or peas) on the drawing of a tree – use a different type of bean for each part of the tree-Material 9_The Bean tree’. This activity can be done individually or on a Bristol board that’s hung in the classroom.

Going further

  • The same experiment with the beans can be repeated with variation of light in response to the question ‘What do plants need to grow?’ The answer being light and water. Different jars with planted beans can be placed in areas with different light exposure (in a cupboard, on a windowsill...). Pupils can then observe and comment the results. The experiment is repeated with young plants that are given 1) a lot of water (too much), 2) no water (not enough) and 3) enough water (enough). Pupils observe and comment on the evolution of the plants.
  • Make an inside flower garden. Pupils bring old pots from home that they decorate. They then plant different types of flower seeds to get a colourful indoor garden.
  • Visit to a farm or a nursery/greenhouse where plants are cultivated. Pupils can see plants at different stages of growth.
  • Pupils respond to the question ‘if there were no plants on the Earth what would our planet look like? What would life be like? What would happen?