New life – plants need light to grow

Teachers’ notes

You will need: plastic food trays; mung bean seeds; blotting paper/paper towels.

Objective: to help children improve their investigative skills and help them appreciate that plants need both water and light in order to grow successfully.

• Place blotting paper/paper towels in the bottom of the trays. Invite the children to sprinkle the seeds over the trays and then place them in the suggested areas of the classroom. Observe what happens over the course of a week.
• Stress the importance of fair testing and encourage the children to explain in detail the differences between the way in which the seeds have grown. See if the same results occur when using other types of seed (for example, grass, cress, carrot and lettuce).

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