Lesson 3: From Kernel to Corn (40 minutes)
Key Questions
Where does corn come from? Who produces corn? How is corn produced?
Learning Objectives
- Students will describe the process it takes to grow corn.
- Students will communicate the idea that all living things need water to live.
Materials
- For each student:
- Clear cup
- Soil pellets for each cup
- Spoon
- Dixie cup
- Kernels of corn
- Masking tape
- We Grow Corn: Raising Corn on a Kansas Family Farm book
- Vocabulary and definition slide (available in C is for Corn PowerPoint)
- Class word wall from previous lesson
- Sharpie marker
- Sunny location to grow plants
- Spray bottle
- Class whiteboard or paper
- Dry erase marker and dry eraser
- Growing Corn worksheet (pg. S6)
- C is for Corn PowerPoint
Prepare before lesson: Add 1 soil pellet to each cup, pre-measure water to add to pellets, per soil wafer bag instructions, and label cup for students with tape.
Procedures for Instruction
STEP 1 Introduce the topic and elicit prior learning with questions such as:
- Who can explain what a pattern is?
- Can someone explain how we made a pattern yesterday?
- Where did the corn cobs we used come from?
STEP 2 Begin read-aloud with students:
- “Today, we are going to read a book about corn. We will want to look for ways farmers grow corn.” Introduce new vocabulary in the book (vocabulary and definitions).
- Begin read aloud.
STEP 3 Discuss the read-aloud with such questions as:
- Where does corn come from?
- What animals might eat the corn? Use C is for Corn PowerPoint (available at www.kansascornstem.com.)
- What is a combine? (Note, this begins with C and has the hard C phoneme. Add it to the word wall.)
- “If the farmer runs out of corn and needs more corn to feed to his or her animals, what will the farmer need to do?” (Grow some corn.)
STEP 4 Start the investigation, by stating, “We are going to help the farmer grow some corn right here in our class-room!”
- “What do we need to grow corn?” (soil, water, seeds/corn kernel, sunlight)
- Model for students what they will be doing.
- Give each student a clear cup with soil pellets added and a spoon. (Prepare before lesson.)
- Give each student a dixie cup of pre-measured water and have them add it to the cup with soil in it. (Students that pour unsteadily may use a syringe to add the water) (Pre-measure amount of water per soil wafer instructions)
- Students will begin to stir the water and soil together with their spoons in the cups.
- Direct their attention to what is happening in the cups with wonder: “Do you know what you are doing right now? You are rehydrating the soil by putting water in it.”
- “What is happening to the soil wafers?” (Soaking up the water). “This is called rehydrating the soil so we can plant a seed in the soil. Because without water, the seed will not be able to grow.”
- Give each student four kernels of corn and have them poke them down in the soil with their finger. (Model this for students. Don’t poke them too deep.)
- Place cups in a sunny window and watch your corn grow. (Takes 5-10 days to sprout.)
STEP 5 Discuss that all living things need water, and prepare students to water their cups over the next several days.
- “What do plants need to grow?” Water. (Write this on the board or chart, so students can see this.)
- “What do animals need to live?” Food, water. (Add to chart or board.)
- “What is one thing both of them need that is the same?” Water.
- “Could we say the same about us?” Yes.
- “What do all living things need.” Water.
STEP 6 Close the lesson in anticipation of the next lesson:
- “Today, you helped the farmer produce more corn. You know that it takes soil, water, seeds, and sun to grow more corn for the farmer. We are going to watch our corn over the next couple of weeks and see what happens.”
- “You also know that all living things need what? Water!”
- “Tomorrow, we are going to compare field corn that the farmers grow and Indian corn that has many colors on the cob.”
Note
Be sure to have students water their cups of soil and corn with spray bottles over the next few days, keeping the soil moist but not drenched.
Formative or Embedded Assessment
Students are able to verbally describe the process it takes to grow corn and that all living things need water to live. The Growing Corn worksheet (pg. S6) can also be used as an assessment, either for this lesson or at the conclusion of the unit.
Summative or Embedded Assessment
Students will verbally explain that the farmer has to plant corn, which needs water to grow, to produce more corn for her animals to eat.