Download How Seeds Travel - Project BudBurst

How Seeds Travel: Grades K-4
How Seeds Travel
Classroom Activity: K-4
Time: 45-minutes to one hour
Overview:
In this activity, students learn about seed dispersal and make observations of different
types of seeds to determine how they travel.
Note: This lesson, How Seeds Travel, is one in a series of lessons introducing basic plant
parts and functions. Other lessons cover root structure and function, flower anatomy,
movement of water in stems, and “breathing” or the exchange of gases in leaves.
Integration with Project BudBurst
Elementary school students participating in Project BudBurst study plants in their
schoolyard environment and learn to make careful observations of the timing of leafing,
flowering, and fruiting of selected plants. In conjunction with teaching students to make
observations of living plants, teachers may also introduce basic plant anatomy, a topic
typically covered at this age. The lessons in this series on plant parts and function may be
used as an introduction to participation in Project BudBurst, to help set the stage for what
students will be observing. Alternatively, teachers may use these lessons in between
times students make outdoor observations to extend their understanding of what they are
observing. For example, as students observe flowering, teachers may use this lesson
Operation Flower Dissection to help students understand the structure and function of
flowers.
Learning Outcomes:
Students will be able to:
 Describe common ways seeds can be dispersed (‘hitchhike’, float, be carried by wind).
 Categorize seeds by mode of dispersal
 Draw seeds from each category
 Explain why seeds need to be dispersed.
budburst.org
A Project BudBurst Educational Activity
http://budburst.org/educators/pdf/PBB_seedstravel.pdf
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How Seeds Travel: Grades K-4
Materials:
 Assorted seeds that travel by wind (e.g. dandelion, western ragweed, maple, pine,
cottonwood)
 Assorted seeds that travel by water (e.g. willow, foxglove, cranberry, coconut)
 Assorted seeds that travel as “hitchhikers” (e.g. thistle, cocklebur, crabgrass,
beggar-ticks)
 Magnifying lenses
 Colored pencils
 Glue
 Copies of the How Seeds Travel Student Recording Sheet
Education Standards: Available at:
http://budburst.org/educators/seedstravel_sg.php
Preparation
Collect seeds that represent some of the different ways seeds travel. Seeds can be found
outside of your school or in your community. Look around trees planted along streets or
on school property and around weeds found along the edges of a playground or field.
Look for seeds in a wild environment or vacant lot. Many seeds can be found in the fall, so
either do this activity in the fall or collect seeds and save them for another time during the
school year.
Activity
1) Ask students what they know about seeds, and what is the purpose of seeds. You
may want to germinate a seed and use it to introduce the idea that seeds grow into
plants. Introduce the idea that a seed needs to disperse (‘travel’) away from the parent
plant so that it will have space to grow. Go over the information provided in the
“Background Information” section on how seeds travel. Discuss that seeds can travel
by wind, water, and as “hitchhikers” on people’s clothes or animal fur.
2) Give students an assortment of seeds to look at. Have them use a magnifying lens to
look closely at the seeds.
3) Ask students to decide how each seed travels. Have them divide the seeds into
groups.
4) Have students record their observations on the How Seeds Travel Student Recording
budburst.org
A Project BudBurst Educational Activity
http://budburst.org/educators/pdf/PBB_seedstravel.pdf
Page 2 of 5
© 2016 Chicago Botanic Garden. All rights reserved. One of the treasures of the Forest Preserves
of Cook County.
How Seeds Travel: Grades K-4
Sheet. They should draw the different types of seeds in each category on the
recording sheet, and then glue the seeds next to their drawings.
5) Have students share their responses to the questions on the How Seeds Travel
Student Recording Sheet.
Suggested Extension Activities
 Observe seeds that travel in the wind. Find two different types of seeds that travel in
this manner, hold each of them above your head, and drop them at the same time, or
in front of a fan. Time how long it takes for each seed to reach the ground. Which one
stayed in the air the longest? Which one traveled the farthest? Drop these seeds
outside when a breeze is blowing. Which seed travels the farthest?
 Collect animal dispersed seeds using socks (with their toe cut out) pulled up over your
calf. Walk through a meadow or other vegetated area to see what seeds are collected
on the socks.
 Soak bean and corn seeds overnight. Dissect the seeds to reveal the seed coat,
cotyledons/endosperm (food), radicle (root), and leaves. Make a scientific drawing of
the parts.
 For students participating in Project BudBurst, have students collect seeds from their
study plant and identify how their plant’s seeds travel.
Background Information
Seeds contain a tiny embryo of a plant inside. The seed halves contain food which
supplies energy and materials for growth until the plant grows its first leaves above the
ground.
Most plants produce a large number of seeds. This is because so few seeds survive. In
order to ensure survival many seeds are modified in various ways so they can be carried
away from their parent plant.
 Some fruit and seeds simply drop from a parent plant. They take root there but have
competition for space and light.
 Many seeds have developed wings or silky hairs that allow them to be carried by wind
for miles. The dandelion seed, for example, has a little parachute which helps it to be
carried by the wind. Seeds from maple trees have wings that turn like a helicopter as
the seeds ride the wind away from the parent plant.
 Many seeds have sharp hooks or barbs which stick to animals with furry coats like
sheep or dogs. They drop off some distance from where they grew. These seeds are
budburst.org
A Project BudBurst Educational Activity
http://budburst.org/educators/pdf/PBB_seedstravel.pdf
Page 3 of 5
© 2016 Chicago Botanic Garden. All rights reserved. One of the treasures of the Forest Preserves
of Cook County.
How Seeds Travel: Grades K-4
called hitchhikers because they hitch a ride away from the parent plant.
 Many plants produce fruits which animals eat. Seeds are hidden inside the fruit and
pass through the gut of the animal as it can’t be digested. The seeds are expelled in
the droppings of the animal. Some seeds dispersed in this way can’t germinate unless
they have passed through the digestive system of an animal.
 Plants that grow along the banks of streams and rivers often have seeds that will float
on water. The seeds usually have tough husks and air spaces in the seed to help
them float. The best known seed that floats many miles is the coconut.
Seed dispersal helps to prevent too many seedlings from growing in a small area near the
parent plant. Those plant species that are able to spread their seeds widely have a better
chance of surviving.
Student Assessment Suggestions:
Teachers may use the How Seeds Travel Student Recording Sheet from each student to
assess their understanding, or give them new seeds and have them write a description of
how these seeds travel. Alternatively, teachers may have students devise costumes to
enact how they might travel if they were a seed. For example, students may use a large
scarf or fabric as a parachute, or masking tape for hitchhiking, or “water wings” to float.
Source: Adapted from Primarily Plants, developed by the AIMS Education Foundation in
Fresno, California and Teaching Plants from Root to Seed, developed by the Denver
Botanic Gardens in Denver, Colorado.
This teacher resource was made possible, in part, by support from the National
Geographic Education Foundation.
budburst.org
A Project BudBurst Educational Activity
http://budburst.org/educators/pdf/PBB_seedstravel.pdf
Page 4 of 5
© 2016 Chicago Botanic Garden. All rights reserved. One of the treasures of the Forest Preserves
of Cook County.
How Seeds Travel: Grades K-4
How Seeds Travel Student Recording Sheet
Hitchhiker (sticks)
Water (floats)
How do these seeds hitchhike?
What makes these seeds float?
Helicopter (wings)
AIR
Parachute (hairs)
How are these seeds carried by the wind?
budburst.org
A Project BudBurst Educational Activity
http://budburst.org/educators/pdf/PBB_seedstravel.pdf
Page 5 of 5
© 2016 Chicago Botanic Garden. All rights reserved. One of the treasures of the Forest Preserves of Cook County.