Teacher Information

Grass Heads

Curriculum links - Foundation year
ACS Substrand: Biological sciences
Content Description: Living things have basic needs, including food and water (ACSSU002)

Declarative Knowledge:
The learner will know and understand:
- living things (seeds and plants) have needs (water and sunlight) to survive
- plants have different needs to animals
- needs of plants are ongoing

Procedural Knowledge:
The learner will be able to:
- how to plant a seed/s
-how to nurture a seedling

Examples of use
This activity can be done a couple of ways:
Clear plastic cups can be used as a pot with a filling of cotton wool. The seeds can be sprinkled directly
onto the wet cotton wool. This enables a clear visual of the sprouting seeds. Goggle eyes can be glued
onto the cup for a funny face effect as the grass grows to resemble hair.

Alternately, a hosiery sock can be used as a head by placing grass seeds into the toe then fill sock foot
with potting mix. Twist and tie the foot of the sock to enclose contents. Rubber bands or string can be
tied around sections to resemble a nose and mouth. Goggle eyes can be glued on to complete face. The
sock head can be placed in a cup to contain water.

Children can observe changes through growth on a daily/weekly basis and record these observations,
perhaps on a timeline. Digital photographs could be used in a PowerPoint presentation with animation
effects to further incorporate ICT experiences. Digital photos could also be used in a class diary or in a
class blog.

It is recommended that three control plants be set up for observation as a means of predicting,
observing and explaining effects of changing variables. The variables in this case are water and sunlight.
These observations enhance development of scientific literacy.

The printable worksheet can be utilized for classroom practice. The worksheet asks learners for
"observations", introducing scientific language from the outset. Learners can make attempts at writing
or simply draw a representation of their grass heads. The template provides for three weeks of
observations. The middle week asks for a prediction of what their grass heads might look like the
following week, thereby encouraging predictions based on observations, or scientific thinking.