Hands-On Plants and Soil Activities for Kids

Not every classroom has access to garden beds, grow lights or other things needed to teach students about plants and soil. So I have developed three hands-on investigations to help 3rd graders understand how plants grow and survive while using minimal materials.

Adult supervision is recommended for all activities. Parents and teachers should evaluate each activity for the age, ability, and needs of their children. By participating, you assume responsibility for any risks associated with the activity.

Learning Objectives:

Understand plants need sunlight, water and space to grow.
Understand the stages of the plant life cycle.
Understand different soil properties and how it supports plant life.

1. Plant Needs Investigation

Time: 20-30 minutes (5 minutes a day for water and/or observation)

Materials:

3-inch pots
Potting soil
Radish Seeds
Measuring Cups/Spoons for Watering
Water

Steps:

Sunlight Investigation

Fill three pots with potting soil.
Have students plant a radish seed in each pot.
Place pots outside.
One pot will receive no shade (full sun).
Another pot will have part shade (sunlight for a few hours a day).
The final pot will be in full shade (no sunlight).
Water regularly (every other day) with the same amount of water.
Check growth weekly.

Water Investigation

Fill three pots with potting soil.
Have students plant a radish seed in each pot.
Place the pots out side (time in the sun must remain the same for all three pots).
Water the plants.
One pot will get a typical watering amount each day.
One pot will get significantly more water than the others .
The last pot will get no water.

Space Investigation

Fill three pots with potting soil.
Plant radish seeds in each pot.
The first pot will have 1 seed.
The second pot will have 5 seeds.
The final pot will have 10 seeds.
Place the pots out in the sun.
Water regularly with the same amount of water.

2. Plant Life Cycle Investigation

Time: 10-15 minutes for setup (5 minutes a day after to observe)

Materials:

Lima Beans
Zip top Bag
Paper Towel
Tape

Steps:

Soak your lima bean seeds overnight in water.
Wrap the seed in a wet paper towel.
Place the paper towel in a zip top bag and seal.
Tape the bag to a sunny window.
Check on it daily or every other day to ensure the paper towel stays wet.

What students will observe:

The seed will begin to sprout in just a few days.

Concepts:

Plants have predictable growth stages.
Plants grow and change over time.
Plants reproduce by creating flowers and seeds.

Extension Activities:

Once your lima bean has sprouted see if you can transfer it to a large pot of soil and have it continue to grow and flower. Lima beans will start flowering in 30-45 days. If you are really ambitious and let it go to harvest you will have fresh lima in beans in about 60-80 days.

3. Soil Investigation

When teaching students about soil types it would be best to use the actual resources: sand, silt and clay. It can be challenging to get ahold of these materials (without spending a lot). This activity uses regular household items to simulate the soil types.

Time: 20- 30 minutes

Materials:

Flour
Sugar
Cornstarch
Clear Plastic Cups
Water
Spoons for mixing

Steps:

Make the simulated clay (oobleck) by slowly adding water and mixing. You can expect to roughly add 2 parts cornstarch to 1 part liquid, mix slowly so you don't add too much. You should be able to pick up like a solid but then becomes like a liquid when left to sit.
Fill three cups with the flour (silt), sugar (sand) and oobleck (clay).
Students will touch all three materials, taking note of the texture and particle size .
Next they should add water to each substance and watch how the water settles through the substance.

What students will observe:

With the sand (sugar) the water flows through to the bottom almost immediately!
With the silt (flour) the water does travel through but much slower than the sand (sugar).
With the clay (oobleck) the water stays at the top taking a very long time to travel through the substance.

Concepts:

Soil is made up of different substances.
Difference substances hold water and nutrients differently.
Healthy soil helps plants survive and grow.
In sand, water flows through quickly washing away nutrients.
In clay, water flows through very slowly so water often sits on top of the soil.
In silt, water flows through not as quickly as sand but not as slow as the clay.

Extension Activities:

Ask students which soil is best, then facilitate a discussion why the best soil is made up of all three substances.

FAQ

What materials did you use?

Please don't feel like you need to buy the exact products we've linked—there's a good chance you already have something that will work just as well! We only share products that we have personally tried and genuinely recommend. These links are included as a convenience for our readers if they are in need of some materials.

Radish Seeds* (they will be ready to harvest in just 30 days)
Lima Bean Seeds*
Small pots* (3-4 inch)
Indoor potting soil* (don't use outdoor soil - it attracts bugs that multiply quickly)
Measuring cups (for watering)
Ziptop bags
Paper towels
Flour, Sugar & Cornstarch
Clear Plastic Cups
Spoons for mixing
Water

Can this activity be done in groups?

Absolutely! Group work can be more powerful than individual work. Avoid having more than 3 in a group. For the plants needs investigation you could give one group the sunlight investigation, another group the water investigation and a third group gets the space investigation. Groups can then share the findings with the class.

What happens if the seeds don't sprout?

That can happen, even if you do everything right! We suggest you actually have students plant 2-3 seeds. That way if 1 or 2 don't germinate you still will get at least one. If all 3 germinate then you can pluck them out before they get too big. You can do this with the lima bean investigation as well.