Curriculum Samples
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Lesson - Exploring Fruit |
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Lesson - Eggshell Activity |
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Lesson: American Flag & Pledge of Allegiance |
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Lesson: Tangrams 2 |
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Assessment |
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Student Work |
Exploring Fruit
Adapted from Foss Structures of Life
Subject: Science
Grade 3rd/4th
Time 1 hour
Main Points
- Fruits that are generally considered vegetables are scientifically fruits.
- Seeds have all different properties, and can be sorted in different ways.
- Seeds often appear in fruit in interesting patterns.
- Fruits have various numbers of seeds in them.
Objectives
- Observe and compare properties of seeds and fruits.
- Organize and Communicate information about seeds.
- Explore fruits to find seeds.
Materials
- Each student should bring 2 pieces of different fruit from home
- Plastic knife for each student
- ELMO projector
- Comparing Seeds Sheet for each student
Lesson Beginning
Review
Have students describe an apple. Write their suggestions on the board. Review the term property (size, shape, color, texture, smell, etc.) and remind them that the apple's properties are the words that they came up with.
Introductory Focus
Distribute green beans to each group. Have them describe the properties of the bean pods, again record their answers on the board.
Hand out the plastic knives and tell them to open up the pods and discover what's inside. Identify the peas as seeds and the bean as a fruit.
Have the students describe the properties of the seeds/peas, record answers.
Wholeness
Seeds are found in the part of the plant called the fruit. The fruit protects the seeds until they're ready to grow into plants. The seeds grow in the fruit in a very orderly way, the same way your parents protect you and make sure you grow up with orderliness in your life.
Purpose
"We've spoken a lot about seeds and how they grow into plants, now we can see where the seeds came from."
Lesson Development
Procedures
- Distribute Comparing Seeds sheets to each student. Ask the students to sit in their groups (this will be prearranged before the lesson starts so that each group has a variety of fruits to look at).
- Use the ELMO to demonstrate how to fill in the sheet.
- Have the students fill in the sheet for beans.
- Use the ELMO to demonstrate how cutting fruits on the equator will show interesting seed patterns.
- Allow students 15-20 minutes to open the fruit and fill in the worksheet.
- Move through the groups and help students to estimate seed numbers for certain fruits.
- Each group should save one seed from each different piece of fruit. The collection of seeds should be used for the students to practice sorting by different properties.
Lesson Ending
Fulfillment
Compliment the girls on good work and for being good seed detectives. Allow students to show interesting seed patterns through the ELMO.
Closure
Clean up. Repeat wholeness.
Homework - none
Assessment
The Comparing Seeds sheets will be collected with all other seed unit work to be