Our school requires 3 PBL's each year, 1 in each trimester, and we did a plant PBL for the 2nd trimester. The Essential Question was about parent vegetables and their similarities/differences with the offspring vegetable. Each group had their own bell pepper seeds that they planted. After the seeds started sprouting, we transferred them into bigger pots. We studied bell peppers, planted the seeds, and tended to the plants until they sprouted into new vegetables that we could study and compare to the parents.
Throughout the trimester, we studied plants through various experiments. In the picture below, we planted Lima Beans and were able to watch the process of the beans sprouting through the "greenhouse" sandwich bags.
We also incorporated Writing and Math into our Plant PBL. Students did an opinion piece about their favorite vegetable. Students also collaborated with their groups to create a vegetable garden. They were given a garden space and had to figure out where they could 6 tomato seeds, with 6 inches of growing space. They used the tables to sketch out their plants, then transferred their design to a poster.
This was one of my favorite PBL's because the students were so engaged throughout the entire project. Students were so curious and really learned to worked together (we had a few lessons about taking turns and how to be a good teammate). And it was cute to see students take ownership of our class plant; making daily observations and taking turns watering it at recess!
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