• The Life Cycle of a Bean, FOSS Structures of Life Module, grades 3 and 4. 
• Beyond the Bean Seed, Gardening Activities for Grades K to 6, Jurenka, Blass. 
• Bean Seed Chart (96cm x 127cm), 10 stages of bean growth, Sargent-Welch publisher.

Books

• Cooney, B. (1982). Miss rumphius. New York: Penguin Group. 
• Gibbons, G. (1991). From seed to plant. New York: Holiday House. 
• Jordan, H. (1992). How a seed grows. New York: HarperCollins Children’s Books. 
• Kellogg, S. (1991). Jack and the beanstalk. New York: William Morrow and Company.

Supplies

• Lima bean seeds (100) 
• Six soil types: loam, clay, sand, composted humus, potting mix, and native soil (not amended); the bean seeds and first five soils can be purchased from Carolina Biological Supply Company for continuity across classrooms 
• Small incandescent lamp 
• Large paper or polystyrene cups with lids (for saucers) 
• Paper towels 
• Metric measuring cups and graduated cylinders  
• Metric rulers 
• Outdoor thermometer  
• Soil-test kits to determine pH 
• One two-pocket, three-hole pronged folder for each student (this can be pre-stuffed with binder paper for the journal, drawing paper for observational drawings, bean plan, and plant log) 
• Two class folders placed in a location that is accessible to everyone, one labeled Web Page and the other labeled Newsletter 
• Parent helper

Internet Resources
For Teachers:

• ePALS
  www.epals.com*
  Locate other classes for participation in The Great Bean Race
• Kids Gardening
  www.kidsgardening.com*
  Locate other classes for participation in The Great Bean Race
• Plant Nutrients
  www.agr.state.nc.us/cyber/kidswrld/plant/nutrient.htm*
  Read about photosynthesis and mineral nutrients in plants

• The Great Plant Escape:
  www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/gpe/gpe.html*
  Presents an interactive game that takes visitors through the life cycle of a plant and provides other interesting plant information
• The Wildlife Trusts
  www.cornwallwildlifetrust.org.uk/educate/kids/photsyn.htm*
  Explains photosynthesis and transpiration in friendly terms with diagrams
• Education World
  www.educationworld.com/a_curr/TM/WS_citation_educators.shtml*
  Gives examples of how to cite resources

For Teachers and Students:

• Green Bean’s Staff: The Bean’s Page
  www.greenbeans.com/bean.htm*
  Offers facts about green beans
• Weather.com
  www.weather.com*
  Provides information about weather around the world

Other Resources 

• Invite a master gardener to talk about growing plants for food 
• Invite a farmer to talk about agriculture

Technology—Hardware

• Computers for creating student work 
• Digital camera to take pictures of bean plants 
• Internet connection to e-mail ePALS and conduct online experiments

Technology—Software

• Database or spreadsheet to compare growth of plants
• Desktop publishing to create multimedia slideshow presentations and newsletters 
• Multimedia software for slideshow presentations
• Internet Web browser to connect to the Internet to e-mail ePALS and conduct experiments 
• Web page development to create Web page

< Return to The Great Bean Race