Sunflower Inquiry

A few weeks ago, a parent brought us a sunflower from the community garden.  She asked us if we wanted it to observe it in our classroom.  We said yes!

 

 

We put the sunflower at our Discovery Centre. Students spent time observing it and many “I wonder” questions emerged and theories about what was happening to the sunflower.  A reoccurring question was “Will the sunflower grow?”  We had a Knowledge Building Circle and students shared their theories.  Many students thought that if we take a sunflower seed and put it in water it will grow.

A few experiments emerged to test out students’ theories.

Experiment #1 – Put a sunflower seed in a box and give   it water.

 

Experiment #2 – Put a sunflower seed in a clear jar with water.

We waited and waited but did not see any changes in the sunflower seeds.  A plant was not growing.

We looked at other plants in the classroom and students noticed that what was missing from our seed was soil.

We then read books about how plants grow and learned that plants need soil, air, water and sunlight to grow.  We then planted a sunflower seed.

 

 

Our sunflower head is continuing to change.  The students are now coming up with other theories of what is happening to the sunflower and why it is changing.