Science and children just go together, especially when you can get them involved in a hands-on activity. You can even take it a step further and have them to become what they are learning! I’ll show you.

Let’s, go back down memory lane. Do you remember in kindergarten and first grade when you learned about plants, including what they need to grow and their 3 main parts–roots, stem, and leaves? Sometimes, the flowering part of the plant was included in diagrams, but roots, stem, and leaves were standard. So, you can turn this lesson into a whole body experience—benefiting the mind and body. Below is an abbreviated version of a lesson I did with one of my first grade classes. This lesson works well even for smaller groups, with just 1 or 2 children.

Movement-based plant lesson

1. On days 1 and 2, the children learned about the parts of a plant and that soil, water, and sunlight were necessary for its survival. I used pictures, text readings, and online videos to help. (Note: Two weeks prior to this lesson, each student laid a Lima bean on a moist paper towel, put it inside a resealable plastic bag, taped the bag up to the classroom window, and watched it grow. They also charted its daily growth. They would often come into the classroom in the mornings and be excited to see if the plant had grown any overnight. This was fun for them. It also laid the necessary groundwork for deepening their understanding of what they would be learning about plants from a variety of text sources in the weeks to follow.)

2. On day 3, I told them that I would read them a story about a very young plant, and their job was to become that plant. They were to use their bodies to show me what they had learned about plant growth and what it needed to survive. I allowed them to move the desks and chairs so that there was open space in the middle of the room. (They loved moving desks! Actually, they did it very quickly and with minimal noise because they knew that the “fun part” was about to begin!)

3. Next, I told them all to find a space in the room where they could be arms length away from each other. Then, I told them to listen very closely to the story of the plant. In order for them to be relaxed and to really be mindful of the various movements that they needed to show, I played soft instrumental music in the background. Music that has nature sounds such as water and birds chirping softly works well with this activity. YouTube has a lot of great options.

4. Before I began the reading, I reminded them of their role and told them that this was a nonverbal activity. Then, I had them to get on the floor (with the floor being their soil) and show me themselves as a very young plant. Most of the students got on their knees and slouched down just a bit. Others took the slouching position even further and had their elbows and forearms on the floor too. Finally, I began the story and watched them as they moved. You can make up your own story or you can read this one to them:

“The title of this story is Mr. Jackson’s Plant. One day, Mr. Jackson decided to take a trip to New York to visit his cousin for 2 weeks. He was excited about this trip but he forgot that he bought a plant for his home just a few days before. The plant was very small, and Mr. Jackson was concerned because he would not be home to take care of it. His sister, Vicki, told him she would take care of it while he was gone. Mr. Jackson was happy and left for his trip.” (At this point, the children should still be small like a seedling.) “The next day, Vicki came over, opened the curtains, sat the plant on a table near the window, and gave it some water.” (Students should be starting to squirm and rise up just a bit to show you that they know that growth happens when a potted plant gets light and water.)

“Two days later, Vicki came over again to give the plant a little more water. (By now, some children will likely be on their knees and looking taller, while others will be on their knees with their arms out a little showing that they understand that more growth has occurred.) “Over the next week, the plant had gotten very, VERY dry because it hadn’t been watered. Vicki had gotten busy and forgot all about it. She hadn’t watered the plant in over 5 days! (The children’s arms and back should begin to droop.)

“Suddenly, Mr. Jackson comes in the door! He goes over to his plant and waters it. He even moves it to a window that had more sunlight coming through and decided to give his plant a name. He named him Henry! The next day, he waters him a little more. As time goes on, Mr. Jackson takes really good care of Henry, giving him all the light he needs and watering him.” (As you were saying those last sentences, the children should have continued to move upward and now be on their feet with their arms out to the sides and going up representing the leaves.)

Finally, while the children are still standing up as plants, you can tell them to shake the part of their body representing the leaves (their arms); the stem (their torso area, wiggling it or pointing to it); and the roots (their feet and/or legs).

When children are fully immersed in the process of their own learning, they understand it on a deeper level and are better able to retain the information.