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Subjects and activities

Classes 1–3 · Plants and living things

Watch a plant change

A moong seed is small, dry and hard. What will happen if we give it soil and water?

हिंदी में समझें

मूँग का दाना छोटा, सूखा और सख़्त है। अगर उसे मिट्टी और पानी दें तो क्या होगा?

About 20 minutes to set up. Then a 5-minute look every day or two.

Grown-ups and teachers: For grown-ups · For teachers

Safety first

A grown-up makes the holes. Planted seeds are not for eating. Wash your hands after.

Grown-up helps:

  • A grown-up makes the small holes in the bottom of the cup.
  • Best to reuse a whole cup or tub. If you cut down a plastic bottle instead, a grown-up does all the cutting and checks the cut edge isn't sharp.
  • Once seeds are planted, they are not for eating.
  • Keep soil away from the mouth and eyes. Wash hands with soap after touching soil.
  • If you see fuzzy white or green mould, a grown-up removes it with a tissue and throws it away. Don't touch or sniff it.
हिंदी में समझें

कप में छेद बड़े करेंगे। बोए हुए दाने खाने के लिए नहीं हैं। मिट्टी छूने के बाद साबुन से हाथ धोओ।

You will need

  • Four or five whole moong seedsFrom the kitchen. Whole seeds, not split dal. Whole chana or methi seeds work too.
  • An old cup or tubA yogurt cup or any old cup that isn't cracked.
  • A lid or saucerTo go under the cup and catch water.
  • Some soilFrom outside or a plant shop. No soil? See "Other ways" below.
  • Water and a spoonFor gentle watering.
  • Paper and a pencilFor your plant diary.
  • A ruler (Class 3)Or a strip of paper you can mark.
हिंदी में समझें

चार-पाँच साबुत मूँग के दाने (दाल नहीं), पुराना कप या डिब्बा, नीचे रखने के लिए ढक्कन, थोड़ी मिट्टी, पानी और चम्मच, काग़ज़ और पेंसिल, कक्षा 3 के लिए स्केल।

What do you think?

Your seed is under the soil. What do you think will come out of it first?

हिंदी में समझें

तुम्हारा दाना मिट्टी के नीचे है। तुम्हें क्या लगता है, उसमें से सबसे पहले क्या निकलेगा?

Make a prediction, then tap it to see what to try. It is fine to change your mind after checking.

A leaf

Let's check without digging up your plant.

Put one extra seed on damp cotton in a bowl.

Look every day. What comes out first?

हिंदी में समझें

चलो पौधे को खोदे बिना पता करते हैं। एक और दाना कटोरे में गीली रुई पर रखो। हर दिन देखो: सबसे पहले क्या निकलता है?

A root

Let's check without digging up your plant.

Put one extra seed on damp cotton in a bowl.

Look every day. Were you right?

हिंदी में समझें

चलो पौधे को खोदे बिना पता करते हैं। एक और दाना कटोरे में गीली रुई पर रखो। हर दिन देखो: क्या तुम सही थे?

Nothing will happen

Let's see!

Give it a little water and wait a few days.

If nothing grows, that is something to find out about too.

हिंदी में समझें

चलो देखते हैं! थोड़ा पानी दो और कुछ दिन रुको। अगर कुछ नहीं उगा, तो यह भी पता करने वाली बात है।

Need a hint?

Look near the seed, not only at the top. The first part to come out can be thin and white.

हिंदी में समझें

सिर्फ़ ऊपर नहीं, दाने के पास भी देखो। सबसे पहले निकलने वाला हिस्सा पतला और सफ़ेद हो सकता है।

Let's try it

  1. Three moong seeds, big and close up, next to a magnifying glass.

    Look at a seed.

    Is it hard or soft?

    What colour is it?

    Draw it.

    हिंदी में समझें

    एक दाना ध्यान से देखो। सख़्त है या नरम? किस रंग का है? उसका चित्र बनाओ।

  2. A cup full of soil standing on a saucer. Small drops of water come out of holes in the bottom.

    Fill the cup with soil.

    Stand it on the saucer.

    Fill it almost to the top.

    Grown-up: Make two or three small holes in the bottom first, so extra water can drain out.

    हिंदी में समझें

    कप को ढक्कन पर रखो और लगभग ऊपर तक मिट्टी भरो। कप के नीचे दो-तीन छोटे छेद पहले से होने चाहिए, ताकि ज़्यादा पानी निकल जाए। छेद कोई बड़ा ही करे।

  3. A finger pushing a seed a little way into the soil. Other seeds sit just under the surface.

    Plant the seeds.

    Push three or four seeds into the soil.

    Only as deep as your fingernail.

    Pat the soil gently.

    हिंदी में समझें

    तीन-चार दाने मिट्टी में दबाओ, बस नाख़ून जितना गहरा। ऊपर से मिट्टी हल्के से थपथपाओ।

  4. A spoon pouring a little water onto the soil in a cup, by a sunny window.

    Give a little water.

    Use a spoon.

    Make the soil damp, not muddy.

    Put the cup near a window.

    हिंदी में समझें

    चम्मच से थोड़ा पानी डालो। मिट्टी गीली हो, कीचड़ नहीं। कप को खिड़की के पास रखो।

  5. A small sprout with two leaves coming out of the soil, and an eye looking at it.

    Come back and look.

    Every day or two, look closely.

    Is the soil dry? Add a little water.

    Draw what you see in your diary.

    हिंदी में समझें

    हर एक-दो दिन में ध्यान से देखो। मिट्टी सूखी है तो थोड़ा पानी डालो। जो दिखे, अपनी डायरी में बनाओ।

  6. Two hands being washed with soap under running water.

    Wash your hands.

    Soap and water, every time you touch the soil.

    हिंदी में समझें

    मिट्टी छूने के बाद हर बार साबुन और पानी से हाथ धोओ।

A cup of soil with nothing showing yet, and a question mark above it.?

Nothing growing yet?

That is something you noticed, not a mistake.

Is the soil too dry? Too wet? Too cold or dark?

Are the seeds whole, not split dal?

Wait a few more days. Or plant new seeds and change one thing.

हिंदी में समझें

कुछ नहीं उगा? यह भी एक अवलोकन है, कोई गलती नहीं। क्या मिट्टी बहुत सूखी या बहुत गीली है? बहुत ठंड या अँधेरा है? दाने साबुत हैं? कुछ दिन और रुको, या नए दाने बोकर एक चीज़ बदलकर देखो।

Make it on paper

Your plant diary

A paper folded into four boxes. The boxes show soil only, a tiny sprout, a sprout with two leaves, and a taller plant. Each box has a line at the top for the date.datedatedatedate

Fold a paper into four or six boxes.

Each time you look, draw the plant in the next box.

Your plant may grow faster or slower than this one. That's fine.

Make it on paper. Keep it with you. Nothing to upload.

हिंदी में समझें

काग़ज़ को मोड़कर चार या छह खाने बनाओ। हर बार देखने पर अगले खाने में पौधे का चित्र बनाओ। तुम्हारा पौधा तेज़ या धीरे उग सकता है, कोई बात नहीं।

What did we find out?

Read this after you have tried it.

A seed has a tiny plant and its food inside.

With water, it swells. A root grows down first. Then a shoot grows up.

Green leaves need light to make food for the plant.

हिंदी में समझें

दाने के अंदर एक छोटा पौधा और उसका खाना होता है। पानी मिलने पर दाना फूलता है। पहले जड़ नीचे की ओर बढ़ती है, फिर अंकुर ऊपर आता है। हरे पत्तों को खाना बनाने के लिए रोशनी चाहिए।

Go one step deeper

Pick any level. They are ideas, not tests. You can move up or down whenever you like.

Class 1

Notice and name

  • Look every day or two.
  • Draw what you see.
  • Say one new thing: "It has two leaves now!"

Class 1 experience: Look closely at a growing plant →

हिंदी में समझें

हर एक-दो दिन में देखो और चित्र बनाओ। एक नई बात बताओ: "अब इसमें दो पत्ते हैं!"

Class 2

Guess and compare

  • Write the date in each box.
  • Look at two boxes side by side. What changed?
  • Count the leaves each time.

Class 2 experience: A dated plant diary →

हिंदी में समझें

हर खाने में तारीख़ लिखो। दो खानों को साथ में देखो, क्या बदला? हर बार पत्ते गिनो।

Class 3

Change and explain

  • Measure the tallest plant, from the soil to its top.
  • Measure the same plant, the same way, every time.
  • Write the date and the height in a list.
  • When did it grow the most? Why might that be?
  • One plant can't tell us about every plant. Grow a few cups to check.

Class 3 experience: Measure the plant the same way each time →

हिंदी में समझें

सबसे ऊँचे पौधे को मिट्टी से ऊपर तक नापो। हर बार उसी पौधे को उसी तरह नापो। तारीख़ और ऊँचाई की सूची बनाओ। कब सबसे ज़्यादा बढ़ा? क्यों? एक पौधे से हर पौधे के बारे में पता नहीं चलता।

Your next question

What does your plant need? How do you know?

What would you change if you did it again?

हिंदी में समझें

तुम्हारे पौधे को क्या चाहिए? तुम्हें कैसे पता? अगली बार क्या बदलोगे?

Can you use it here?

Your friend's plant grew taller than yours. Does that mean it is a better plant? What else could make it taller?

हिंदी में समझें

तुम्हारे दोस्त का पौधा तुम्हारे पौधे से लंबा हो गया। क्या इसका मतलब है कि वह बेहतर पौधा है? उसे और क्या लंबा बना सकता है?

Ask someone at home

Show someone at home your plant diary. Ask them to guess what your plant will look like next week.

हिंदी में समझें

घर पर किसी को अपने पौधे की डायरी दिखाओ। उनसे पूछो कि अगले हफ़्ते पौधा कैसा दिखेगा।

No one free to join in? That's fine. You can do it by yourself with drawings, and ask a grown-up to help with the materials.

For grown-upsTap a heading to open it. The safety notes are at the top of the page.

Before you start
  • Choose whole seeds. Split dal won't grow. Kitchen moong usually sprouts well; a shop seed packet is fine too.
  • Make two or three small holes in the bottom of the cup with a nail or the tip of a scissor, away from the child.
  • Soaking the seeds in water overnight helps them start faster, but is not needed.
  • Agree a time to look together, such as after school, every day or two.
  • Keep the soil like a squeezed sponge: damp, never sitting in water.
Questions that help a child think
  • "What do you think is happening under the soil?"
  • "What changed since last time?"
  • "Why do you think the plant leans towards the window?"
  • "What do you think would happen in a dark corner?"

If nothing grows, treat it as a puzzle to solve together, not a failure.

What's really going on

A seed holds a tiny baby plant and a store of food, inside a tough seed coat.

With water and warmth, the seed swells. A root comes out first and grows down. Then a shoot grows up towards the light.

Most seeds, moong included, don't need light to sprout, because they use their stored food. Once green leaves open, the plant uses light to make its own food. That is why light matters more and more as it grows.

Plants bend towards light. A plant in a dim place often grows tall, thin and pale as it reaches for light, so taller does not always mean healthier.

Each plant grows a little differently. One cup shows what happened to that plant, not a rule for every plant. More cups give a fairer picture.

Surprises you might see
  • Some seeds never sprout. They may be old, broken or roasted.
  • Mould appears on the soil when it stays too wet. Remove it, and water less.
  • Seedlings fall over when it is too wet or too dark.
  • The plant leans hard towards the window. Turning the cup each day straightens it.
  • Growth slows after two or three weeks in a small cup. That is normal; it is running out of room and food.
Other ways to do it
  • No soil: put damp cotton or tissue in a steel bowl and lay the seeds on it. Keep it damp. You will see the root and shoot clearly for the first week, but the plant needs soil to keep growing.
  • No cup: a small pot, a coconut shell, or a plastic bottle cut down by a grown-up, with the cut edge checked for sharpness.
  • No window: the brightest spot you have, such as near a door.
  • Going away for a weekend: water well before you leave and put the cup out of strong sun.
  • If drawing is hard for the child, they can tell you what they see while you write it, or point to the right picture.

For teachersLearning aims, classroom ideas and a short review guide.

Learning aims
  • Observe and describe changes over time.
  • Record observations with dates.
  • Class 3: measure the same way each time, and explain a pattern in the results.
  • Say what a plant needs, using what they saw as evidence.
  • Understand that one plant does not prove a rule for all plants.
Subject links
  • Science: living things, what plants need, growth.
  • Maths: dates, counting days, measuring length, comparing.
  • Language: keeping a diary; words like seed, root, shoot, leaf; describing change.
  • Environment: where our food comes from.

These links are general. They have not yet been checked against a specific board syllabus.

In the classroom
  • Each child or pair plants a cup marked with a number.
  • Keep a class chart on paper: the day each cup first showed a sprout.
  • Plan for weekends and holidays: water well on the last day, check on the first day back.
  • Fair-test idea for Class 3: some cups by the window and some in a dim corner, with everything else the same.
Depths
  • Class 1 (Notice and name): Look every day or two.
  • Class 2 (Guess and compare): Write the date in each box.
  • Class 3 (Change and explain): Measure the tallest plant, from the soil to its top.

Children choose a depth freely. Nobody needs an account or a test to move between them.

What to look for
  • The child records something on each visit.
  • The child describes change by comparing two drawings or dates.
  • Class 3: the child measures from the same point each time.
  • The child treats a seed that didn't sprout as something to investigate.
Quick review guide
Looking regularly
Starting Looks when reminded.
Growing Looks and records on most visits.
Strong Looks regularly and notices small changes.
Recording change
Starting Draws the plant with help.
Growing Draws each visit, with dates (Class 2 and 3).
Strong Compares two records and says what changed.
Measuring and comparing
Starting Says taller or shorter.
Growing Measures with help.
Strong Measures the same way each time (Class 3).
Explaining
Starting Says what the plant needs.
Growing Gives a reason from what they saw.
Strong Says why one plant is not enough to be sure.

Look at guessing, noticing, explaining and changing an idea. Do not mark spelling, neatness or drawing skill: they are not scientific understanding.

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