Plant growth experiments offer rich, cross-curricular learning opportunities that can really excite and engage young learners. In this series, children work in pairs planting, measuring, and comparing the height of bean plants in order to practice their measurement and basic arithmetic skills. Supplement this math series with a scientific investigation into plant life, teaching about the different parts of plants and what they require to survive. To reinforce these concepts, consider placing a couple of plants in the dark and not watering a couple of plants, comparing the height of these plants to those receiving plenty of water and sunlight.

Concepts

comparing size, measurement

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Additional Tags

plant growing activity, plant growing experiment, measuring plant growth, measurement, comparing height, comparing measurements, math

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Pros

• Experiment provides learners with a meaningful context for making measurements
• Lesson offers ideas for extending learning about plant growth and measurement
• Includes questions for guiding discussions about plant growth

Cons

• Teacher must prepare a plant or math journal for students to use when recording and comparing measurements

Common Core

1.OA.A.1 1.MD.A.2 MP4 MP6