Grade Level: 1st

A Kernel’s Adventure (At Home)

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Overview

Students will explore how important corn is in our daily lives by discovering that corn is grown in Kansas, the many products made from corn, and what corn plants look like. They will also find out where the seed of a corn plant is found and test their knowledge on how corn is grown.

Learning Objectives

Students will find the answer to the question of why do we need farmers to grow corn.
Students will provide evidence that many everyday products are made from corn.
Students will figure our where a seed is found on a corn plant.

Materials

We Grow Corn! Book (available at wegrowcorn.com)
Common Items Containing Corn Sheet
Parts of a Corn Plant Worksheet
Parts of an Ear of Corn Worksheet
How Does Corn Grow? Worksheet

Directions

Read or listen to the We Grow Corn! book found online at wegrowcorn.com.
Watch the Kernel of Knowledge videos that tie directly to the We Grow Corn! book. They will provide great opportunities for discussing what happens on farms. The videos can be found at wegrowcorn.com
by scrolling to the bottom of the page.
- *Teacher Note: The Kernel of Knowledge videos can be found on EdPuzzle with questions already developed.
Why is corn important to me?
- Introduce the topic to find out students’ prior knowledge with such questions:
  - Who knows what corn is?
  - How would you describe corn?
  - Where do we find corn?
  - How do you know its corn?
  - Why do farmers grow corn?
- Discuss that corn grows in Kansas and it is all around them.
  - Do you know what products corn is used to make?
- Ask them how they could find the evidence that corn is in a product.
- Go on a corn scavenger hunt in your home. Refer to page Common Items Containing Corn Sheet for ideas.
  - How many items do you have in your home?
- Use the following prompts to help guide your students:
  - Can you find the word ‘corn’ on the list of ingredients?
  - Are you surprised that so many of our everyday products use corn?
  - What do you think about so many products containing corn?
  - Why is it important that our farmers grow corn?
  - What do you think would happen if farmers could not grow corn?
Where is the corn seed?
- Ask: How does a new corn plant grow?
  - Using the Parts of a Corn Plant and Parts of an Ear of Corn worksheets learn the anatomy of a corn plant.
  - Need help? Here is a video showing the parts of a corn plant.
  - Guide them to think about seeds and the role that seeds play in growing corn plants.
  - Ask them where to find the seeds on the corn plant.
  - Students will guess various parts of the corn plant they believe may be seeds (the leaves, the roots, the tassels, the kernels, etc.).
- Watch a Kansas Corn Stem video and take a quiz over the parts of a corn plant.
- Now that you have identified where the seed is on a corn plant, think about what we learned from the We Grow Corn! book and how corn grows. Test your knowledge by completing the How Does Corn Grow? Worksheet.

This lesson is the work product of the Kansas Corn Commission. Our lessons are written in collaboration with Kansas teachers for use in the classroom. Teachers may copy and share this curriculum. Use of this product for commercial or promotional use is prohibited without express permission of Kansas Corn.