This guide is a flexible reading enhancement tool for use by parents and teachers. It can be used with one child, a small group of children, or an entire family or class.
Ñ The "Preparation for Reading or Listening" section in this guide suggests procedures for introducing the material and creating a stimulating environment for learning.
Ñ Children can read the book in one sitting or they can read and discuss one portion at a time.
Ñ The "Background Information" section in this guide provides more details about the material presented in the book. This information can help you guide discussion and answer questions children may ask.
Ñ The "Follow-up Activities" section in this guide links the content of the book with several subject areas. Select the activities that best fit your needs.
Reading comprehension depends in large part upon prior experience and motivation. The procedure suggested in the following section allows children to share knowledge and experiences before they begin to read the book. It also stimulates interest in learning more about the topic presented in the book.
Ñ Starting Out╤To introduce the topic of seeds, show the child several kinds of seeds such as apple seeds, flower seeds, beans, and peanuts. Explain that the child will be learning about seeds and how they develop into plants.
Ñ Sharing Experiences╤Allow the child to share what he or she already knows about seeds. Ask such questions as: "Have you ever planted seeds and watched them sprout?" and "What do seeds need in order to grow?" Try to elicit a number of answers.
Ñ Setting Goals for Reading or Listening╤Encourage the child to discuss what he or she wants to know about seeds. Ask, "If you were planting a garden, what would you need to know about seeds?" and "How does a tiny seed develop into a big plant?" Keep a list of the responses and of any other questions raised for later reference.
Ñ Previewing the Material╤Let the child browse through the book to get a general idea of the content. The photographs may inspire more questions to be added to the list before reading begins.
A seed is the part of a plant that develops into a new plant. Most plants╤about 250,000 species╤reproduce by making seeds. Plants that produce seeds in flowers are called angiosperms. Plants that produce seeds in cones are called gymnosperms. A few plants reproduce in other ways. Seeds provide food for people and for other animals.
Seeds and Fruits
Most seeds are enclosed in fruits. Often these fruits are called by other names╤for example, pods, shells, or vegetables. Seeds are arranged in different patterns inside fruits. Some seeds are good to eat. Sometimes we eat the fruit and throw away the seeds. A variety of fruits and seeds are shown in the book: a watermelon, corn, lima beans, a tomato, an apple, an orange, a green pepper, beans, peanuts, and a cherry. Fruits help protect the seeds that are contained inside them.
Parts of a Seed
A seed has three basic parts: a seed coat, a tiny plant called an embryo, and a food supply. The seed coat protects the embryo and the food supply from insects and from water loss. Seed coats may be thick or thin. The embryo is an immature plant with parts that will develop into the root, the stem, and the first leaves. A supply of stored food feeds the tiny plant until it can make its own food. The food supply contains starch, proteins, and oils╤nutrients also valuable for people. A lima bean stores food in two thick halves called cotyledons.
Planting Seeds
Seeds will not sprout, or germinate, until conditions are favorable. Most seeds remain dormant for several months before sprouting. Seeds that fall to the ground in autumn may not sprout until spring. People usually plant their gardens in the spring because most seeds develop best at temperatures between 60 degrees and 80 degrees Fahrenheit (15 degrees to 27 degrees Celsius). Seeds are planted close to the surface of the ground in loosened soil; this enables the seeds to get oxygen from the air. Water makes seeds swell and softens the seed coats. A white shoot called the hypocotyl sprouts from a lima bean seed.
Seed Development
Roots grow from the hypocotyl. In most plants, the roots are the first part to form. No matter how a seed is placed in the ground, the root will grow down and the stem will grow up. A spreading system of roots anchors the plant and draws water, oxygen, and minerals from the soil. As the stem uncurls, it pulls the bean cotyledons above the ground. While the roots, the stem, and the leaves are forming, the young plant depends on its food supply for nourishment. A plant is called a seedling until it can make its own food. Soon the cotyledons will shrivel and drop off.
Flowers
Young plants can make their own food by a process called photosynthesis. Using water and minerals from the soil and carbon dioxide from the air, leaf cells containing chlorophyll produce food. Light provides the energy necessary for this process. When mature, the bean plant blooms with flowers, the seed-producing parts of a plant. A seed is actually a ripened egg cell that has been fertilized by a grain of pollen. The egg cell, or ovule, is in the ovary of a flower's pistil. Each bean in a pod forms from a single ovule. The dry fruit, or pod, forms from the ovary walls.
How Seeds Travel
Plants grow best in uncrowded places where there is less competition for minerals, water, and light. The shapes of seeds and their fruit help scatter seeds. Beggar-ticks, sticktights, and pitchforks are the common names of only a few plants whose fruits have hooks and barbs that catch on clothing and on fur. The barbed fruit of a cocklebur holds two seeds that sprout about a year apart. This enables each plant to have enough room to grow. Birds and other animals eat the fruits of many plants. They may drop the seeds, or the seeds may pass unharmed through the digestive system and fall to the ground in waste products.
Wind
Many seeds are blown by the wind to new locations. Dandelions, thistles, milkweed, and goatsbeard have seeds or fruits with fluffy hairs that act as parachutes. The dandelion fruits form a fluffy ball. The dandelion seeds fit into holes on the dandelion head. When the wind catches the hairs of the fruit, the seeds hanging below are blown away as well.
The following optional activities link the content of the book with several subject areas. The activities are designed to help both readers and nonreaders acquire and practice skills in various ways. Do as much of the activity as is appropriate to the needs and ability level of the child.
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Subject Areas: Science, Language Arts
Skills: Recalling details, oral expression
Ñ Review the questions the child asked before reading the book. What questions have been answered? What did the child find out that was new and interesting? Discuss answers and plan ways to find answers to some of the remaining questions.
Ñ Visit the library and find books that will answer specific questions. Ask neighborhood friends, such as gardeners and florists, to share their knowledge with the child.
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Subject Areas: Reading, Language Arts
Skills: Creative thinking, oral expression
Ñ Review the poem that accompanies the poster included with the CD-ROM. Ask the child to think up a poem that has to do with how a seed grows and develops into a plant. For a group of children, the poems can be put together to create a poetry book, accompanied by pictures. The poem is listed below.
Ñ Gather an assortment of seeds, as well as objects that look like seeds, such as marbles, jelly beans, and pebbles. Put the objects into a large pot. Give the child a piece of paper with two circles labeled, "Seeds" and "Not Seeds." Then have the child remove objects from the pot one by one, placing each object in the appropriate circle. Review the characteristics of seeds, noting the size, color, and texture of the seeds and other objects.
Ñ To extend the activity, have the child count the objects in each of the circles and record the answers. Suggest that the seeds be classified into smaller groups╤for example, big seeds and little seeds, or seeds people eat and seeds people don't eat. Encourage the child to think of other classification systems.
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Subject Area: Science
Skills: Reviewing information, applying concepts
Ñ Discuss the parts of a seed and the function of each part.
Ñ Explain that if you soak bean seeds in water until they soften, you can split them apart. Then you can see the baby plant inside. Show the child a package of bean seeds. Soak the seeds in water for 24 hours. The seeds will swell, and it will be easy to peel off the seed coat. Give the child a seed. Peel off the seed coat and open the seed very carefully. Remind the child that the baby plant is very fragile and that he or she must be very careful.
Ñ Have the child compare this baby plant with those shown in the book. Discuss the parts of a baby plant.
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Subject Areas: Science, Language Arts
Skills: Reviewing information, applying concepts, observing and recording information
Materials Needed: Plastic containers, wet paper towels, bean seeds, cotton
Ñ To show the child how seeds develop into plants, make a "growing chamber." Have the child fit a paper towel inside a clear plastic glass. Dampen the paper. Put bean seeds that have been soaked overnight between the paper and the glass, about halfway between the bottom and top. (Note: As a precaution against mold, seeds may be placed in a solution of a tablespoon of liquid chlorine bleach and one cup of water. Stir the seeds in this solution for one or two seconds.) Stuff cotton into the glass. Water the cotton and keep it moist.
Ñ Have the child observe what happens to the seeds inside the growing chambers. After a few days, the child should be able to see roots and stems appearing. Keep a record of the growth of the plants. The child may want to sketch a picture of each stage of growth. Older children may write a sentence describing each stage.
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Subject Areas: Physical Education, Language Arts
Skills: Creative thinking, movement
Ñ Ask the child to pretend that he or she is a seed growing into a plant. Have the child get into the position of a seed in the ground. Then have the child imagine that he or she is emerging from the ground, and express this through movement.
Ñ You may want to play soft music in the background as the child does this activity.
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Subject Areas: Art, Mathematics, Language Arts
Skills: Observing, motor coordination
Ñ Show the child several kinds of fruits and vegetables such as apples, peas, beans, pears, pumpkins, and squash. Cut each of these fruits and vegetables open to see the arrangements of seeds inside. Have the child count the number of seeds in each example.
Ñ Then allow the seeds to dry out. Show the child additional dried seeds. Give the child a collection of seeds, a piece of construction paper, and glue. Encourage the child to make a mosaic from the seeds. Possible subjects for the mosaic include a fruit, a vegetable, or a garden.
Ñ To extend the activity, have the child write a sentence describing the mosaic. You may want to hang up the mosaic for display.
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Subject Areas: Language Arts, Science, Social Studies
Skills: Reviewing information, applying knowledge
Ñ Ask the child to describe how seeds travel. Then take the child outdoors to collect different kinds of seeds. Examples include acorns, maple seeds, berries, pinecones, and seeds from weeds and grasses. Have the child look at the seeds and think about the ways they travel. Make a chart with two headings: "Seeds" and "How They Travel." Paste the seeds the child found on one side of the chart and, if possible, name the seeds. On the other side, write ways they travel.
Ñ To extend the activity, have the child look in books to find out about more unusual seeds and how they travel. Ask the child to share the discoveries with you.
This Activity Guide may be reproduced by the original purchaser for use at home or in the classroom. Copyright ⌐ 1993 National Geographic Society, Washington, D. C. 20036.
