A tiny seed can grow into a big plant! Today we plant a seed, watch it change and measure how much it grows.
How a seedling grows
- 🫘 seed – it needs water and warmth to start
- 🌱 a root grows down first
- 🌿 a shoot pushes up out of the soil
- 🍃 the first leaves open – now it is a seedling
- 🪴 it grows taller with more leaves
Measure it
Stand a strip of paper or a line of paper clips next to your seedling. Count how many clips tall it is. Do this every two days and write the number down.
Make a growth chart
Draw a bar for each day. A taller bar means a taller plant. Look at the chart: does your plant grow the same amount every time?
TRY ITGrowing chart
Choose a game.
Let’s practise
Try each one. Then tap Show answer to check.
1. What grows first from a bean seed?
Show answer
The root.
2. What do we call a young plant with its first leaves?
Show answer
A seedling.
3. A seedling is 3 clips on Monday and 5 clips on Friday. How much did it grow?
Show answer
2 clips (5 − 3 = 2).
4. What does a taller bar on a growth chart mean?
Show answer
The plant was taller that day.
5. Name two things a seedling needs to keep growing.
Show answer
Water, sunlight, air and soil.
Quick check
1. Put in order: plant, seed, seedling.
Show answer
seed, seedling, plant.
2. What can we use to measure a seedling?
Show answer
Paper clips, a paper strip, blocks or a ruler.
3. Does a plant grow the same amount every day?
Show answer
Not always. Look at your chart to find out!
Words to know
Say these words with a grown-up. Can you use each one in a sentence?
seed · root · shoot · seedling · grow · measure · taller · chart
Try it at home
- Plant two or three beans (or corn or pigeon peas) in cups of soil. Keep the soil damp and the cups in a bright place.
- Measure with paper clips every two days and fill in the chart in the activity.
- Draw your seedling on day 2, day 6 and day 10. What changed?
For parents and teachers
After this lesson, your child should be able to:
- describe how a seedling changes as it grows (seed, root, shoot, leaves)
- measure a seedling with paper clips or paper strips
- record heights on a simple chart and say what it shows
- draw the stages of growth
Soaking beans overnight speeds things up. A clear cup lined with damp paper towel lets children see the roots.
Previous: Animals: Alike and Different
Next: Healthy Food: The Six Food Groups
Attributions to media used in this post:
Pinto Bean Plant Growth.jpg – Datadoggieein – CC0 (via Wikimedia Commons)
© 2026 Vedesh Kungebeharry. All rights reserved.