Scripture: Genesis 3-4
Learning Objectives:
- Students will review the story of the first sins, focusing especially on the mentions of gardens and growing food
- Students will learn the basic needs plants have in order to grow
- Students will experiment with growing plants in a variety of conditions to see which conditions produce the best plants
Guiding Question: What are the best conditions in which to grow a plant?
Materials: cups or small pots, seeds (with short gestation period), various types of soil (including rocky)
Procedure: Review the story of the first sins, focusing especially on mentions of gardens and growing food. Discuss how the first challenge Adam and Eve might have faced outside of Eden was finding the best place and conditions for growing food. Ask students what they think plants need in order to grow and produce food. Have students work together to plant seeds in the various types of soil. There should be at least four pots of seeds planted in each type of soil. Place the pots of each type of dirt in different lighting conditions and/or water them differently. (If you want to get really fancy – try different temperatures!). Create a chart recording the conditions under which each pot is trying to grow. Each day record observations about each pot. After about two weeks, see if you can find any patterns in your results. What conclusions can your students make from their experiment?
Additional Question: Do different types of seeds need different growing conditions?
Supplemental Activity: Repeat the experiment using two radically different kinds of seeds. Have students notice if the results differ for the two types of plants.