Growing seeds for STEM!

 

Growing Seeds with Kindergarteners

What happens to seeds buried in the earth? I am taking an activity that explores this question with the kindergarten students (Malia, 2020). I am interested in this for I have never worked with kindergarten students and would like this exploratory activity that connects them to their real environment to begin with. The students will be growing seeds! I feel already excited.

Standards

Science Standards: 

1.     Use observations to describe patterns of what plants and animals (including humans) need to survive (K-L-S1-1).

Math Standards

1.     Describe measurable attributes of objects, such as length or weight. Describe several measurable attributes of a single object. (CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.K.MD.A.1).

2.     Directly compare two objects with a measurable attribute in common, to see which object has "more of"/"less of" the attribute, and describe the difference. (CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.K.MD.A.2).

3.     Classify objects into given categories; count the numbers of objects in each category and sort the categories by count (CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.K.MD.B.3).

Objectives

At the end of this activity the student should be able to:

1.     Describe texture and colour of a given object in their own words.

2.     Count given number of seeds.

3.     Describe weight using words such as heavy or light.

4.     Describe length using words such as long or short.

5.     Compare attributes of two objects using words such as loner/shorter or heavier/lighter.

6.     Work independently to finish a task.

7.     Utilize motor skills effectively to perform the task assigned.

Material Required Per Child

1. Tall and clear plastic container.
2. Paper towels
3. Cotton balls
4. Glue
5. Spray bottle with water
6. 3 Seeds

Steps of the Activity

1.     Hand out a container to each child.

2.     Each child picks any 3 seeds to plant in their container. (CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.K.MD.B.3)

3.     They lay them out to observe them for colour, texture and shape.  

4.     They talk with each other about their observations.

5.     Fold a paper towel in half.

6.     Place 3 dots of glue {one for each type of seed} above the bottom of the paper towel.  

7.     The stduents glue a seed on each one of the glue dots to prevent the seeds from falling to the bottom of the container.

8.     Place their paper towels in the plastic containers after misting them.

9.     Add moistened cotton balls to help hold the paper towel in place.

10.  Close the lid and label the container with name of the seed.

11.  Observe them over a period of 2 weeks and note the colour of the roots that sprout.

12.  Pick up the container on daily basis and feel the difference in weight of container and observe length of the root (CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.K.MD.A.1).

13.  Compare roots of different seeds and discuss their differences using words such as ‘longer, shorter, more-of, less-of, thicker or thinner’ (CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.K.MD.A.2).

 

Assessment

As this is an activity for kindergarten kids, I would rather use a formative assessment than a summative. There is no guarantee if the seeds would sprout or not. However, there are so many steps to the final point and each allows me to have an inconspicuous formative assessment.

Examples are, (a) students draw what they understood from the process (Wees, 2020), (b) students are asked at the end of the class questions such as ‘what did we do?’ (Wees, 2020), (c) ask students to nod or shake their head when asked for understanding (Wees, 2020),(d) continuously ask students through the class questions about what they are doing, (e) give an accurate count of the seeds selected, (f) use material judiciously in an age appropriate way and (g) be able to converse about comparison of the attributes of the roots observed.

Assessment Rubric

I am choosing an analytic rubric (Mueller, 2016) as the number of criterion is quite large in the formative assessments that I am exploring. I am using a descriptive rubric approach to give some flexibility to the students in their performance of the objectives (Brualdi, 2000). I am taking five chief criteria for the rubric and won’t be involving the students in developing the rubric as their age is low.

	Criterion	Below Expectations	Meets Expectations	Exceeds Expectations
1	Use of motor skills for work	Needed help to organize material.	Was able to organize material effectively.	Efficiently organized the material used.
2	Accuracy of science and math answers	Some questions were answered accurately.	Most questions were answered accurately.	All questions were answered accurately.
3	Self-management	Needed help to use the material and place it back when not in use.	Average in use of the material and placing it back when not in use.	Effectively used the material and placed it back when not in use.
4	Conversations	Did not take much interest in conversations.	Sometimes participated in conversations.	Effectively expressed well during all conversations.
5	Enthusiasm	Showed little interest in the task.	Showed average interest in the task.	Very enthusiastic to do the tasks assigned.

 

Conclusion

I feel that I have a comprehensive activity to try with the toddlers. I feel quite empowered by having a rubric with me for assessment. The fact that it is descriptive and analytic makes it clear and comprehensive. Looking forward to this session!

 

References

1.     Achieve (2013). Next Generation Science Standards.  http://www.nextgenscience.org/understanding-standards/understanding-standards

2.     Brualdi, A. (2000). Implementing performance assessment in the classroom.  http://www.ascd.org/publications/classroom-leadership/feb2000/Implementing-Performance-Assessment-in-the-Classroom.aspx

3.     Malia. (2020, March 25). Growing Seeds with Toddlers. Playdough To Plato. https://www.playdoughtoplato.com/kids-science-growing-seeds/.

4.     Mueller, J. (2016). Authentic Assessment Toolbox.  http://jfmueller.faculty.noctrl.edu/toolbox/index.htm

5.     National Governors Association (2010). Standards for Mathematical Practice.  http://www.corestandards.org/Math/Practice/

6.     Wees, D. (n.d.). 56 different ways to gather evidence of student achievement.  https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1nzhdnyMQmio5lNT75ITB45rHyLISHEEHZlHTWJRqLmQ/pub?slide=id.p.