One of the best ways to study seeds is to take them apart! So let’s get started with that dissection.
What you’ll need
• Dried beans
• Water
• A bowl
• Paper towels
• Butter knife
Prepare your seeds
• Soak some of the seeds overnight. Then place the seeds between 2 sheets of damp paper towels. Keep the towels damp and leave for 3 days. These are your sprouted seeds.
• On the 3rd day of soaking your sprouted seeds, soak some of your seeds overnight. This makes them easier to pull apart.
Dissect your seeds
• Use a butter knife to carefully pull apart your
seeds (beans).
• Have the kids examine them and draw what they
see.
• Compare the sprouted beans vs just the soaked
beans. How are they different?
• Compare the seeds to this seed diagram and
identify the parts.
Vocabulary
Hilum: scar mark from where the seed grew
Cotyledon: usually becomes the 1st leaves of a
seedling
Radicle: the first part of an embryo to emerge from a
seed
Hypocotyl: stem of a germinating seedling
This lesson is part of It’s Alive! [Unit 5]. Jump over to the unit main page to see all lessons and activities.
