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Growth of a Bean Documented by Child and Camera

Janice C. Jackson
Countryside School, Barrington, Illinois

Subject: Science
Grade: 3

"Children were truly amazed that the camera had recorded the bean's growth more accurately than they. They were certain when they did their drawings that they were drawing what they had observed!"

Purpose and Description of Project

With the assistance of "the simple little bean seed," Janice Jackson helped her third-graders learn about sequential growth from planting to maturity and compare the use of the camera to the use of their own senses in observing and documenting natural growth.

In addition to photographing the growth of their plants, each child kept a daily written record of the growth process in his or her own scientific journal. The journals also expanded to include related learning experiences, such as inferences about the pace of growth, drawings, graphs of growth, notes from lectures and field trips, and stories personifying the beans. The students also studied photography extensively, drew or constructed their vision of the camera of the future, and wrote about its use.

As a result, says Jackson, the children "became scientists, documenting over a long period the wonders of the process of natural growth" and "learned first-hand the vital importance of the camera to science."

Activities

The children designed covers for the journals and transferred their notes from a camera lecture given by another staff person.

The youngsters now planted their seeds in pots, took their first photos, recorded the planting procedure, and made inferences as to when the seeds would germinate. Over the following days, the class continued to photograph the development of their seeds, to make drawings of what was happening under the soil, and to write notes on the process. By day 10 of the project, many seeds had begun to sprout, and the children now began to photograph, chart, and predict the rate of growth. They also discussed why some seeds did not germinate.

During this time, the class also continued to read about photography, went on a field trip to the Chicago Library Cultural Center to view prints and study how people got visual impressions before the invention of the camera, and were visited in class by a professional photographer, who discussed photography as an art form. They subsequently drew flow charts of how to take a picture and had several cameras available for examination. They also discussed the use of the camera in various professions and visited another school's planetarium to see how photography is used to study and learn from the stars.

Back in "bean country," the students continued to observe their plants through maturity, did individual dramatizations of the growth of a bean, and wrote stories personifying a bean, with their journals as sourcebooks. Each child also shared his or her bean story and a planned futuristic camera with the entire class to get their reactions.

Materials, Resources, and Expenses

Human resources were the teacher and professional photographer who instructed the children in camera use and photographic techniques. Equipment and materials included a 35mm camera, three rolls of 36-exposure black-and-white film , a tripod, some student-owned cameras, bean seeds, peat pots, potting soil and vermiculite, and booklets to be used as scientific journals.

Outcomes and Adaptability

Jackson says that the "project extended science across all curriculum areas in a manner that nurtured and maintained a high level of enthusiasm throughout. The children couldn't wait to enter the classroom each morning to compare their bean's growth with that of their classmates." She also found that the students progressed in the areas of writing, observing, making inferences, reasoning inductively and graphing. They also became so interested in photography that several went on to enter a National Geographic Society photo contest.

The teacher feels that the project would be suitable for grades three though six expanded into other are as of sequential growth, such as the construction of a building.

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