harvesting seeds

saving

Guiding Question
How do people get food
from gardens?

Big Idea
Plants have life cycles and there
is variety in living and non-living
things

Lesson time: about 90 minutes

Learning Objectives
At the end of this lesson, students will be able to describe a plants life cycle, explain
peoples role in a plants life cycle, and compare and contrast seeds that are ready
and not ready to plant.
Materials
Illustration 2F3.
1 or more packets of seeds (see preparation).
small clear ziptop plastic bags or small jars.
Preparation
Tour the garden to find plants that have many fruits on them: some still immature,
some ready to harvest for eating, and some overripe and ready to use for seed.
Beans are ideal for this lesson, but other good candidates for this lesson are peas,
corn and pumpkins. [note: tomato seeds have special needs, they need to ferment
in their juices, then dry, only then they will be able to grow into a new plant]
Obtain one or more packets of seeds of the same kind as the plant you have found
(i.e. bean seeds if you will be looking at beans in the garden).
Optional: Recruit and train volunteers to help with the garden visit.
Introducing the Lesson
1. Activate prior knowledge by reviewing a plant life cycle. Hand out copies or
display Illustration 2F3 and describe the steps in the picture (from left to right,1) the
seed germinates, it opens up and sends out a root; 2) the tiny root stretches into
a stem; 3) the seed sprouts up out of the soil, 4) the new plant develops leaves to
help it get food from sun and grow bigger; 5) the full-grown plant develops flowers
that attract insects and other pollinators to help it make seeds. The flowers grow into
the fruit of the plant, the part that holds seeds. (The fruit of a bean plant is actually
something we call a vegetable when were cooking and eating. See 2nd Grade
Fall Lesson 2, Harvesting Tomatoes for more about the terms fruit and vegetable.)
6) One seed can produce one plant, and one plant can make many fruits
ll . 3
and seedsenough for people and animals to eat some and to still have
a
f
some seeds left to grow new plants.

second grade

Description
Students review the life cycle of a plant, learn how people play a role in the
life cycle by harvesting and planting seeds, and visit the garden to discover
when plants are ready to harvest for their seeds.

Vocabulary: seeds, life c

yc
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eed
,s

saving

harvesting seeds

Lesson time: about 90 minutes

2. Engage student interest. Show students the unopened seed packets. Ask where
these seeds come from. [Possible answers: plants, the store] Help students understand
that the seeds started out inside fruits of plants. Tell students they are going to learn
more about how people gather seeds and go to the garden to look for some plants
that have seeds ready to gather.
Procedure
In the Classroom
1. Discuss harvesting and seed saving. Call attention to the beans and the bean
seeds in the illustration. Ask students when gardeners should harvest for eating
from the bean plant. [Answer: When the bean fruits are ripe.] Next ask when they
think gardeners would collect seeds for saving. [Answer: When the bean pods are
completely dried and hanging on the vine]. Ask why people harvest. Most students
will say that we harvest from plants to eat parts of them. You many need to guide
them to realize that another reason for harvesting is to gather seeds to start a new
life cycle of the plant and have seed to grow food the next year.
2. Explore the benefits of saving seeds. Ask students if seeds could grow if people
didnt save them. Help them understand that people dont need to be involved.
Tomatoes, pumpkins, beans, cucumbers, etc that are not picked can drop to the
ground and grow soft and wet as they rot, letting the seeds inside sink into the soil.
Discuss why people would want to gather and save seeds if new plants can grow
without our help. Help students understand the benefits of saving seeds: To move
plants to new soil that might have more of the nutrients the plants need or away
from disease. When fruits rot, animals may eat the seeds or they may get washed
or blown away and never grow. When people move, they may want to take their
favorite fruits and vegetables with them to grow in their new home. When people
plant seeds, they care for them, and the plants have a better chance to grow.
In the garden:
1. Share seeds. Divide the class into teams, with a volunteer to lead each team,
or work as a large group. Show students the seed packets again, and have them
guide you to the plant shown on the packets. Open the packets and pour some of
the seeds into a small bag or jar for each group (or pass the seeds around the large
group). Point out to students that the seeds are dried out, so they look different from
the ones in plants, but have them observe the size, shape, and color of the seeds.
2. Find unripe fruits. Find or have each group find a plant such as a tomato, that
has some unripe fruits on it. Pick, or have the group leader pick one of the unripe
fruits, open it, and show it to students. Point out the immature seeds in the fruit. Ask
students to compare them to the seeds in their baggie or jar. Ask if they think it is time
to harvest the fruit for seed saving. If possible, wash the fruit and if it can be eaten
raw, offer students a small taste of it. Ask students if they think it is time to harvest this
fruit to eat? [Probable answer: No, ick.]
3. Find fruits ripe to eat. Next, pick, or have the group leader pick a fruit, such
ll . 3
as a peapod, that is ripe to eat, open it, and show it to students. Repeat
a
f
the comparison with the seed-packet seeds, tasting, and questions.
Students may conclude that the seeds from the plant still are not like
the ones that are ready to plant.

second grade

Vocabulary: seeds, life c

yc
l

e ed
,s

saving

harvesting seeds

4. Find fruits that are ready to harvest for seed. Beans are harvested for seed when
the pod and bean vines wither and dry. Tomatoes are ready when they grow very
soft, drop to the ground, and begin to ferment. Repeat the comparison of seeds
again. Only taste if foods are not rotting.
5. Wrap up. Collect seeds, return to the classroom, wash hands, and gather for
group discussion and assessment.
Assessing Student Knowledge
Conduct informal assessments of your students knowledge by asking some or all of
the following questions:
How does a plant start out? What happens next? And after that?
What part of a plant holds the seeds?
Why do people pick the fruits of plants? Why else?
What would happen to plants if people did not save seeds?
What did the seeds that were not ready to plant look like?
What would happen if we gathered and tried to plant those seeds?
What did the seeds that are ready to plant look like?
What was the fruit like when the seeds were ready?
How are the seeds we get in packets different from the seeds that are still in
their fruits? How are they the same?
When are the seeds of the [plant you visited] ready to save? Is it before the fruit
is ready to eat, at the same time, or after?
Extensions
Gather and save some mature seeds from plants in the school garden. In the winter
or early spring, plant seeds indoors or outside to begin a new crop, and observe the
life cycle of the plant.

Lesson time: about 90 minutes

Gather some immature seeds and mature seeds. Dry and plant both, and compare
the results.
Books & Resources
From Seed to Plant, by Gail Gibbons (1993, Holiday House)
One Bean by Anne Rockwell (1999, Walker Childrens)
Plant Packages by Susan Blackaby (2006 Picture Window Books)
Seeds, by Ken Robbins (2005, Atheneum Books for Young Readers)

OR. Dept. of Ed. Key Standards

Oregon Science Content Standards:
2.1L.1
Compare and contrast characteristics and behaviors of
plants and animals and the environments where they live.
2.2L.1 Describe the life cycles of living things.
2.3S.3 Make, describe, and compare observations, and organize
recorded data.

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second grade

Vocabulary: seeds, life c

yc
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,s

2F3