Mr. Anderson: Today we are going to plant bean seeds. A seed may look like a tiny pebble, but inside it there is a baby plant, waiting for the right time to grow.

Mr. Anderson: A seed needs water, air, and warmth to begin growing. When it gets these things, the seed swells up and its hard coat splits open. The first part to come out is the root. It grows down into the soil to take in water.

Mr. Anderson: Next, a small green shoot pushes up toward the light. Until the plant grows leaves and can make its own food from sunlight, it lives on food that was stored inside the seed.

Mr. Anderson: We will plant two cups of seeds and water them the same way. One cup will sit on our warm, sunny windowsill. The other will go in the refrigerator in the teachers' lounge. Each day, we will check both cups and write down what we see.