Things You'll Need:
- 25 medium size Styrofoam cups 5 lb plotting soil 30 Lima bean seeds 24 daily diaries
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Step 1
Set up a table that will hold the potting soil, cups, watering bottles and bean seeds. Have students form a line in front of the table. Give each student one cup filled with potting soil, one bean seed pressed lightly below the potting soil and one watering can per five students. (Watering cans should be shaped with a long dispenser so that students don't spill.)
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Step 2
Once the project materials are handed out, have your students write their names on their cups with permanent marker. Have the student groups doing the side projects in addition to their own, write using roman numerals for the plant talking and letters for the sunlight project.
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Step 3
Have your students keep a written diary every day of their bean seeds' progress. It will be several weeks before the plant is fully grown. During this time, teach a unit on the biology of plant and animal growth or whatever is next on your curriculum.
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Step 4
When all the plants are fully mature, have your students check their results against each other and write down their results. Collect the results and use a bell curve math formula to determine the consistency of the plant growth.
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Step 5
Have the students who did the extra projects check their results as well. Use the same formula to determine the success or failure of those projects. Either result is a learning experience. (If you don't know the bell curve formula, check with a math teacher. She should be able to show you how it works).
