Germination: A Living Bulletin Board!

Look what's growing in my classroom right now! Not only educational, this bulletin board is fun (and a great pick-me-up as we experience the cold, gloomy days of February).

My students grew their own "baggie gardens" (taped them onto their desks). They kept track of the plants' growth with this page. Want to try this in your classroom? Just click on the image below to download the observation sheet.

Helpful Hints:

• Lima beans grow quickly. You can buy them in the bean section at your local grocery store!
• Use sandwich bags that have flaps, not zippers.
• Fold a sheet of paper towel in fourths. Get it really wet (but not dripping) then put it into the baggie.
• After the beans are in the baggie, use an eye dropper to water instead of removing them every day.
• Keep the top of the baggie open to the air to avoid rotting and molding.
• To compare moncots and dicots, grow both bean and corn seeds.
• Ask students to measure seeds each day and include on written observations. This gets them thinking about the importance of numeric data.
• Ask students to label seed/plant parts on their diagrams. This image from Britannica provides terminology.
• Plant Life Cycle Clip Art  on the bulletin board was created by Whimsy Workshop Teaching.

Enjoy!

Brenda

P.S. Additional ideas, activities, videos, and a freebie can be found on my new blog, Enjoy Teaching.