89. Seed Dispersal Activities for 2nd and 5th Graders This Fall

For second grade, the next generation science standard that I pulled was 2-LS2-2, develop a simple model that mimics the function of an animal in dispersing seeds or pollinating plants.

So for second grade, I would suggest giving your learners a chance to engineer a seed that could travel away from its parent plant.

Since your second graders likely don't have a lot of background on how seeds travel, you may need to do some research altogether on the different seed dispersal adaptations plants use.

You could read books like Flip, Float, Fly, Seeds on the Move by Joanne Early Mackin, illustrated by Pam Paparon, or Seeds Move by Robin Page, which I mentioned in episode 86, Six Seed Books for Teaching Elementary Age Learners, Or you could check out my article, Seed Dispersal Types, Six Innovative Ways Seeds Travel to New Places, on my blog, naturallyteaching.com, for more background information.

And I'll make sure to put a link for those in the show notes if you need to find them.

In the article, I cover wind seed dispersal, dispersal by fruit, hitchhiker seed dispersal, floating seeds dispersal, seed dispersal by explosion or propulsion, and seed dispersal by gravity.

Once your learners have a better idea of some of the ways that seeds travel, provide them with graph paper and encourage them to design a way to make their seed move.

You could provide your learners with a ping pong ball or something similar that acts as the seed for each child, as well as craft materials such as masking tape, string, paper, tissue paper, etc.

You could also consider providing clean recyclables, which you could collect from your home, ask friends, or put a collection bin in a communal location such as the teacher's lounge.

And if you're planning on providing man-made objects for your learners to use to make their seed move, make sure that you have them displayed while they're planning so they know what materials they're working with.

If you want to provide them the opportunity to use natural materials, make sure you take time to collect before they get into their planning phase.

This project could be a great opportunity for collaboration, so consider having it be a partner or small group opportunity.

To take this to the next level, have a launch day where you have your learners try to quote-unquote spread their seeds from the top of a slide, standing on a picnic table, or some other elevated location.

And this will give your learners the chance to see if their idea worked or not.

If you have ample time for this experience, give them the chance to redesign after launching and have a second launch day, or you could have them redesign after a more in-depth research opportunity.