Learning kitGrades 3-8

Life science

Bean in a bag

Plant a bean in a pot with a glass front and watch the root come first. Open the ledger to see where the plant's weight comes from, put a bean in the dark, lay the pot on its side, grow one to ripe seeds, and grow a real bean in a bag beside it.

Time
About 60 minutes on screen, in three or four sittings, and a few minutes a day for two weeks for the real bean.
Steps
6 steps, 6 of them in Seed Lab
You need
A computer or Chromebook with a mouse, trackpad or touch screen. For the real bean: three dry beans from the grocery store, a paper towel, a zip bag, tape and a window.
Unlock the kit, $5 I have a code

$5 for one learner: every step, the Seed Lab activities that check the work, the printable lesson, and the certificate with a page of the learner's own work.

A bush bean grown outdoors to ripe seeds in a clay pot with a glass front: yellowing leaves, tan pods hanging, white roots through the soil, and the ledger beside it showing almost all of the plant's dry mass came from the air.

The 6 steps

These open once the kit is unlocked.

  1. 1Plant a beanIn Seed LabA dry bean weighs about a quarter of a gram. Plant it, and guess where a whole bean plant's weight will come from.
  2. 2Open the ledgerIn Seed LabKeep pressing Next stage until the shoot comes up through the soil, then open the ledger. It keeps the books on every gram of the dried plant.
  3. 3A bean in the darkIn Seed LabDoes a seed need light to sprout? Put one in the closet and find out.
  4. 4Which way is up?In Seed LabRoots grow down and shoots grow up. What happens if you change which way is down?
  5. 5Seed to seedIn Seed LabGrow a bean outdoors until it makes ripe seeds, then count them and plant one.
  6. 6A real bean in a bagIn Seed LabNow grow a real one. Real beans vary: some come up early, some late, some not at all. Put your real counts in the journal beside the app's.

Work on a computer. The apps need a keyboard and a bigger screen than a phone: a laptop, desktop or Chromebook. You can pay here and open the emailed link on the computer.

One learner

Unlock the kit, $5

  • All 6 steps, worked on screen, with a lesson you can print if you like paper
  • Seed Lab activities that check the work as it is done
  • A numbered certificate with a page of the learner's own work: your notes, the seeds your bean made, and your real bean's days

We email a link that opens the kit on any computer. No account needed. We keep the email only to send the kit and certificate links: privacy.

Have a discount code?
Co-ops and classes: unlock it for a group

One payment and one code. Each learner types the code to unlock the kit on their own computer, and gets their own certificate at the end. Your pack page shows who has started and finished.

See a sample certificate (PDF) · Already paid? Find your link

Questions

What does the learner do in Bean in a bag?

It has 6 steps: 1. Plant a bean; 2. Open the ledger; 3. A bean in the dark; 4. Which way is up?; 5. Seed to seed; 6. A real bean in a bag. Plant a bean in a pot with a glass front and watch the root come first. Open the ledger to see where the plant's weight comes from, put a bean in the dark, lay the pot on its side, grow one to ripe seeds, and grow a real bean in a bag beside it.

What age is it for?

Grades 3-8. About 60 minutes on screen, in three or four sittings, and a few minutes a day for two weeks for the real bean..

What is needed?

A computer or Chromebook with a mouse, trackpad or touch screen. For the real bean: three dry beans from the grocery store, a paper towel, a zip bag, tape and a window.

Is there a certificate?

Yes. A numbered certificate with a page of the learner's own work, for your records or a portfolio. It is not course credit.

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