Muse Elementary first graders generate curiosity, expand knowledge about environment in “seed scatter” geodes lesson
First graders at Muse Elementary went outside to expand their knowledge about the environment in their “Seed Scatter” geodes lesson
Karleen Bileck’s first-grade class at Muse Elementary school set the stage on science by reading “Seed Scatter,” a title in their new geodes series. Before and during reading, the students shared their questions, connections and things they still wondered about after the piece. These student-centered questions were placed on a notecard and tacked to the great “wall of wonder.”
This “wall of wonder” set the stage as these excited learners began to answer as many of the student-generated questions as possible using prior knowledge, obtaining answers from peers, teachers, family members and even looking them up. The book “Seed Scatter” seamlessly crossed curriculum to integrate into the science curriculum with studies surrounding plants and organisms. Student excitement has grown, according to Mrs. Bileck.
“Student excitement has been tremendous. Discussion, engagement and conversations have been at an all-time high as the learning around plants using wind to disperse seeds takes root. Student-generated discussions on whether all plants use the same methods led our group to begin researching alternative methods observed in nature for seed scattering. These methods included water, animals, humans and even explosions in order to scatter seeds. Students are as enthusiastic as they are intrigued learning about the how and why plants use a variety of methods to scatter their seeds throughout the environment.”
Seed models provide a hands-on approach to taking learning from abstract to real life. The class made several models of seeds and even role-played trees to see how different plants use different casings to help seeds glide, float and spiral in the wind. Mrs. Bileck said students even went outside to conduct experiments.
“It’s been no wonder that we are also seamlessly embedding new and rich vocabulary into this amazing topic as well. The student models made their way outside for a live experiment to see if the wind would scatter one model farther than another. The students ended their experiment on seed scattering with an exploding touch-me-not seed. The students placed birdseed inside a balloon and blew it up to create pressure. Once enough pressure was applied, we popped the balloon and watched the seeds scatter in all different directions! It was a blast.”
Mrs. Bileck said their “Seed Scatter” geodes lesson concluded with students observing four different seeds in the classroom using all four senses and ultimately planting the seeds to begin watching how a plant actually forms over time. The entire class returned to the “wall of wonder,” and one by one, notecards were pulled down, and every question could be answered. Mrs. Bileck said the most impactful and memorable moment was watching all the faces and expressions of the first-grade students as they realized everything they ate came from a seed – including candy! There is always something more to wonder about.