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How did a tree travel halfway around the world?

Plant Adventures Unit
Lesson 1 of 4
Seed Dispersal
4.8 (25942 reviews)
Lesson narration:
English Spanish
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Video trouble?

Discuss:

How do you think Koa trees could be in these two different places, half a world apart?

Take a minute or two to come up with ideas that might explain this!

Video trouble?

Quick check:

Now that you've seen that video, do you have any new ideas about how the Koa tree seeds might have traveled?

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Quick check:

So now you know the seeds didn't fly to Reunion island... any new thoughts?

Video trouble?

Discuss: Do you have any idea what animal could have carried the seeds from Hawaii to Reunion Island?

Reveal answer

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Video trouble?
Video trouble?

Discuss:

Did all three seed flyers work equally well at avoiding the Zone of Darkness?

How did each seed flyer's structure (shape) help them disperse?

What is missing indoors, but could have affected your results if you did this activity outside?

🎉 That’s it for this lesson! How did it go?

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# Extensions

Below are ideas for extending this topic beyond the activity & exploration which you just completed.

Extra Activity: Woolly Sock Walk

Burrs are seeds that travel by hitching a ride on an animal's fur or a person's socks. If you have a weedy area near your school, your students can discover what hitchhiking seeds live in your area by going on a woolly sock walk.

On a dry day in autumn, have each student bring in a woolly sock big enough to wear over their shoe. After going for a walk through the weeds, have students pull off the seeds that they have collected on their socks and figure out how the seeds stuck to the socks. Student can even plant the seeds and see what plants grow. (Read more ideas for this activity.)

# Extras - Online Videos
These videos from the BBC Private Life of Plants show how different kinds of seeds travel in different ways from their parent plant.

Image & Video Credits

Mystery Science respects the intellectual property rights of the owners of visual assets. We make every effort to use images and videos under appropriate licenses from the owner or by reaching out to the owner to get explicit permission. If you are the owner of a visual and believe we are using it without permission, please contact us—we will reply promptly and make things right.

Exploration
explorer ship by William Lionel Wyllie
world map by Imgur
figurehead on ship by Gary Anderson
Koa tree by B.navez
inside Koa tree by Forest & Kim Starr
ship by Samuel Atkins
sinking ship in storm by Peter Monamy
water damage to ship by Teresa Carey
telescope view by Gareth Kennedy
man looking through telescope by Imgur
collection by Curious Expeditions
chameleon by Marc Staub
giant tortises by David Adam Kess
Koa tree by Cynthia Saylor, R(S)
tree flowers reunion by B.navez
tree flowers in Hawaii by Imgur
tree on cliff by
seeds by Tatters ❀
Reunion Island by Forrest and Kim Starr
man on large tree trunk by Doug Peltz
yellow dandelion by Greg Hume
dandelion seed head by Greg Hume
dandelion partially blown away by Dan
dandelion video "Blow away" by ecstaticist
maple tree video by kdwpinfo
vines by P.B. Pelser & J.F. Barcelona
vine seed by Scott Zona
maple seeds by Bob Larrick
dandelion field by Alias 0591
seed parachute by Didier Descouens
shade trees by Kay
seed pod video by tyoukogatalabo
coconut palm on beach by Tomas Sobek
looking up at coconut palm by Mohammed Alnaser
coconuts in tree by David Stanley
Coconuts float by iTaylorJay
coconut on shore by Jan Smith
Sea bean tree by Gh5046
Sea bean pod by Dick Culbert
Sea bean seed by Muséum de Toulouse
Koa seed pod by w:en:KarlM
Ocean mountain in distance by Hillebrand Steve, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Open coconut by Inna Moody
Sea been shell by Didier Descouens
Koa seeds by J. B. Friday
Cherries by 4028mdk09
Cherry tree by Aquamelli
Raccoon eating cherry by Shelly Cox
Seed in ground by Imgur
Squirrel by Mr.TinDC
Other
tree on peak by Stephane.janel
Credits
How did a tree travel halfway around the world?
Plant Adventures Unit
Lesson 1 of 4
Seed Dispersal
4.8 (25942 reviews)

Featured Reviews

“I wish I would have known about this before I started my Structures of Life unit. The lessons would have been a lot more meaningful for my students and a lot more student centered.”
· Tracy · Teacher
“I left this for a substitute teacher to complete with my class. After setting the computer up (logging in and getting to the lesson), it was a breeze! Upon my return, the feedback from the substitute teacher was wonderful and the students wanted to talk to me about what they learned and their final guesses. It was really nice to have an exploration that had an unknown ending because it really pushed the critical thinking and defending of one's claim.”
· Veronica · Teacher
“We have been reading the book "From Seed to Plant" by Gail Gibbons, and this lesson was a perfect partner for what we have been reading about. They loved making the seed models, and we went outside to experiment with them and the "Zone of Darkness". Great learning as we discussed which seed models traveled the farthest.”
· Ann · Teacher
“My class loved the interactive elements and being able to construct their own seed models. Mystery Doug's pronunciation of "The Zone of Darkness" was also a favourite! We are planning on extending the lesson today by dropping the different seeds from a first floor balcony to see which flies the furthest. ”
· Claire · Teacher
“My third graders LOVED making the seeds in this video. They said they remembered the videos from last year but they didn't make the seeds last year. The instructions were very nice and simple to follow. It would've taken me forever to find these different types of print outs and easy directions so I was so happy it was all built in one. I also love how the video pauses itself during the activity so we had time to pass out, gather, and make materials to experiment.”
· Arlene · Teacher
“The kids loved making their "seeds" and then trying to keep them out of the Zone of Darkness. The directions were clear and straightforward. I had my doubts as to whether or not my 2nd graders could make the spinners on their own. But they worked together and were successful. I did not have to help anyone! One student said, "This is the best day ever!! : )”
· Caroline · Teacher
“The students were so engaged and really learning the entire time. Awesome lesson!!!”
· · Teacher
“The kids really enjoyed making the different "seeds" It was fun to see their guesses on which would work the best. Also watching the video and talking about how the seed could have traveled was great. The students would get stuck on one way of it being transported and then would learn different ways, which was cool for them.”
· Anna · Teacher
“Great questions that really led to deeper thinking. Also led to some geography discussions”
· Laura · Homeschooler
“We love Mystery Science!The kids are so engaged!”
· · Teacher
“The kids loved the story of the Koa tree and had a blast making their own "seeds."”
· April · Homeschooler
“My students were engaged through the whole video and were truly trying to solve how the seeds got to the island. Then, of course, they LOVED making the examples of the seeds and letting them drop. SO many squeals!”
· Claire · Teacher
“The best part is that my child was completely engaged in the entire lesson. I later observed him teaching the lesson to his dad, and it was evident that he had internalized the key concepts. The lesson prompted great discussion, and further exploration. Besides all that, it was great fun!”
· Deirdre · Homeschooler
“The students were totally engaged in the video, participated thoughtfully to ponder the questions, and absolutely loved the activity!”
· Cristina · Teacher
“The students were incredibly engaged by the questions. It was a joy to learn with the students!”
· Tara · Teacher
“The best part of this lesson was watching how engaged the students were throughout the whole thing! I loved the predictions and questions they came up with, too!”
· Katie · Teacher
“When the kids immediately applied it to their own life. Many students came in the next day and talked about different extensions that they did on their own--it was amazing. ”
· Jacquelyn · Teacher
“My son absolutely loved this lesson. It was our first time using Mystery Science, and it was a huge success. He asked if we could use these lessons everyday!”
· Brandi · Homeschooler
“The kids were engrossed from start to finish -video was very interesting and they enjoyed making the 'seeds'. Thank you!”
· Mary · Admin
“high interest, students revised their predictions”
· Kimberly · Teacher
“My students loved testing out how the "seeds" would fall, while hoping they would stay out of the "Zone of Darkness!" A great way to demonstrate how seeds travel. The videos are GREAT!”
· Linda · Teacher
“They loved the lab!! I loved how the story made the children think and make good inferences, plus the story was very interesting to them!!! :)”
· Tracy · Teacher
“I had my 3rd graders demonstrate our findings (with assistance from me) to our 4th grade class. They LOVED being able to "show off" for the older kids and remembered all the important information!”
· Jennifer · Teacher
“LOVE MYSTERY SCIENCE!!! second year using it and my students love it!”
· Rhea · Teacher
“The whole thing was perfect! The kids loved the video and project! I loved that the items for the activity were simple and easy to find and use. Thank you!!!”
· Jacquelyn · Homeschooler
“I really liked the breaks so we could talk about our thoughts before going on to the next section of the lesson. ”
· Tracy · Homeschooler
“This was such a good learning opportunity, and oh my word, the activity was an absolute BLAST!!!!!”
· Robin · Teacher
“Students loved this lesson!! They have enjoyed every lesson on "Mystery Science"!! Thank you so much for everything you do!!”
· Kirsten · Teacher
“I liked the experiment with the 3 seeds. I can see adding a piece with some graphing and compare and contrast in formal write-ups that leads to more research about seeds. ”
· Amanda · Teacher
“I taught this lesson to more than one second grade class, and the students were engaged, and thoughtful in answering the questions along the way. We went out to the play structure to drop our models, for additional seed dispersal observation. The spinners took off in the wind, and flew 30-40 meters! Students were surprised. The gliders were the favorites until that moment! We also watched an extension video, then went outside to find examples of "drillers" in our school yard (filaree, or stork's bill). ”
· Susan · Teacher
“The video was so clear and the pauses for thinking were very effective for discussion.”
· Shannon · Teacher
“Amazing lesson and activity!! My second graders LOVEd this ”
· Marianne · Teacher
“""The activity! The students were excited and fully engaged in the activity and they were able to make connections to what they had learned.”
· Dona · Teacher
“The storyline is engaging, and the seed transport modeling is easy to do. Students asked if they could design their own seed models next time!! ”
· Susan · Teacher
“I added a record sheet to the activity so the students could record what percentage of each type of seed pod landed outside of the zone of darkness. We used the data to discuss how the different variables (size of zone, wind) affected seed propagation.”
· Carol · Teacher
“The activity was great I left out the gliders though Also might be fun to have kids create their own seed. I might do this next year \”
· · Teacher
“A well thought out lesson design. The students were really thinking and hypothesizing about seed travel.”
· Rose · Teacher
“The pause and dicuss question prompts and making the seeds”
· Stephanie · Teacher
“This activity had my kids very curious and excited to figure out the mystery of the Koa tree. They loved the seed activity (we broke into groups and each member of the group got a different type of seed) and now want to try it outside on the playground as well to see how wind would affect their results. It would be great if there was a follow up video after the activity. We discussed our results as a class, but I think they were expecting a conclusion video like some of the other mysteries. They definitely had a blast!”
· Melissa · Teacher
“The mystery and discussion aspects really engaged my students!”
· Courtney · Teacher
“I loved how they had a theory and then revised it as they got more information!”
· Jamie · Teacher
“All of it! I love the supplemental parts and kids really enjoy the videos. This is easy for teachers to use and helps me to think of other ways to create quick mini-lessons for NGSS.”
· Jennifer · Teacher
“My students really enjoyed the mystery, and learned so much about seeds and how they travel! I loved the critical thinking aspect as students applied their knowledge and tried to figure out how the seed of the tree moved from one place to another. We are excited to do the activity tomorrow.”
· Katherine · Teacher
“The discussions that came out of the exploration about how seeds could have gotten to the island were very in-depth. ”
· David · Teacher
“My students said: this lesson was great because it teaches us about seeds and how they travel! The project made it really fun to do! We live in HAWAII so learning about the Koa tree which is native to our home was SUPER interesting. And watching it on a video was awesome!"”
· Kassidy · Teacher
“The videos hit at different forms of seed travel and presented bits of information in order to keep the students guessing. It was a real mystery!”
· Gayle · Teacher
“Building the models of seeds was a great task to cement their learning and they loved making predictions and about how the Koa tree seed travelled so far. ”
· Jamie · Teacher
“Interesting text kept the children interested and the timing of the questions/ problems to think about were perfect... not to mention the great images!”
· Tracy · Teacher
“The sped-up visuals give the students an idea of changes over time, which is our curriculum strand for 2nd grade. It's the best I've seen.”
· · Teacher
“Students enjoyed the activities!! They LOVED the videos too! They have been talking about seeds in my classroom and bringing them to me to discuss how they distribute themselves!!”
· Melissa · Teacher
“I LOVED the video!! Excellent narrator!! The students were very interested in what he had to say. They were truly curious about finding out how the seeds traveled so far. :)”
· Tina · Teacher
“My students love the excellent video quality and I love the automatic pausing for our class to have thinking and discussion time. It's very Smartboard friendly! ”
· Joan · Teacher
“The students loved the friendly competition of avoiding the "Zone Of Darkness". Great activity!”
· Michelle · Teacher
“As always, the videos are outstanding and the activity was a big hit!”
· Kathy · Teacher
“kids were very engaged, questioned themselves a lot and kept revising predictions. Great!”
· Margaret · Teacher
“Students were very engaged! They had some prior knowledge but the information presented helped to give them a deeper understanding of flowering plants. We also looked at other tricks that a flower does to attract bees and butterflies and how a flower appears to them with their vision.”
· Greg · Teacher
“seeing kids so excited about science!”
· Heather · Teacher
“The kids loved it. We ended up measuring how far each flyer was from the zone of darkness because we are doing measurement in math right now.”
· Keven · Teacher
“It went well. The kids enjoyed experimenting. I had everyone make each kind of seed, then compare each one, releasing them in different ways. The 'seeds' were easy to make and everyone was successful. I especially liked that the materials were things I had in my classroom already.”
· Tammi · Teacher
“So inspired that we opened up coconuts today to make a deeper connection! So many teachable moments!”
· Jean · Teacher
“I love your lessons soooo much and my kids are beyond thrilled to do the experiments and activities. Even something as simple as making the seed spinners, they could not get enough of it! They played with them for 2 or 3 days and even made their own out of scrap paper. I would absolutely love to renew your program, but our funding won't allow...Is there any way to get a scholarship or something...haha???!!! Seriously...:) Thank you so much! S. Suttles”
· Sherry · Teacher
“My students get so excited when someone guesses the correct answer during the videos! They congratulate the couple of students who were correct with cheers and "good job"!”
· Melissa · Teacher
“my youngest child figuring out the mystery! Taught in a very informative and friendly way. The activity was also very easy to implement, open and go! And they were all engaged and learned well.”
· Kathleen · Homeschooler
“We only watched the video so far. We will be doing the activity next. This site is awesome. You have put a lot of thought into each activity and it really engages the students. Plus I like that all the work is done for me! ”
· Rocchina · Teacher
“Love Mystery Science. Everything you need is right here.”
· · Teacher
“They loved making the seed spinners. They saw how they drifted in relation to the zone of darkness inside, then outside to see how wind changed their landings. ”
· · Teacher
“The video really guides students to think and come up with more ideas how seeds can travel long way. The experiment is engaging. ”
· · Teacher
“The children really enjoyed being able to make seeds and "fly" them. They were so entertained by this that they begged me to make copies and send them home so they could do this at home! Thank you! ”
· Charla · Teacher
“The end when students made the inference that the seeds traveled by bird. The lesson was scaffolded just right to make them able to "solve the mystery" themselves. Also, the experiment of building and testing a rotocoptor, spinner, or glider was very engaging!”
· Claire · Teacher
“I love how easy this curriculum is to use! The videos are well-paced and stop at just the right moments to encourage discussion. The activities are easy to prep and use. I'm thrilled to find Mystery Science!”
· Clarissa · Homeschooler
“My students were very excited throughout the video. I loved the questions included within that because it elicited rich discussion. It was a good closing for our living and non-living things lesson. The students felt like they didn't get the answers at the end so the ending needed a bit clarification.”
· Leticia · Teacher
“This was my first Mystery Science lesson ever. Engagement was SO high!! The kids LOVED it from start to finish...I was even intrigued as an adult and pulled in. The way the mystery unfolds and we discuss, then get a little more information, then discuss again is just AWESOME!! It so easy to prep and so fun to do!! LOVED it!!”
· Shelly · Teacher
“All the bits put together - little videos, more detail in the print out of the Koa Tree, and the hands on activity. I love having all these things readily available. Thanks.”
· Janelle · Homeschooler
“The best part was when the students were able to fly their own seeds and discover what happens. Next week we are taking it outside to compare the two!”
· Kaitlin · Teacher
“As a teacher I love that the video stops right where it is supposed to stop. The kids loved making seeds and flying them. The way the video and questions where laid out was great. You could see the kids wheels turning trying to figure out the mystery.”
· Melissa · Homeschooler
“All of it! Loved the videos/visuals, the way it stops and lets the kids come up with their own hypotheses, the questions and activities at the end, everything. My son loved it, and I did too! He wanted to do many of the further study items at the end of the lesson too. It got him even more excited about learning about science.”
· Susan · Homeschooler
“They loved the experiment and I loved how the lesson stopped along the way for discussion. They really remembered a lot even days later, and still talk about how seeds travel. Thank you!”
· Sarah · Homeschooler
“The level of engagement in all parts of the lesson. The kids decided to test the different seeds again at recess on their own! ”
· Shannon · Teacher
“Seeing my child interact and think! He loved it!! Also, collecting seeds from our garden to do the experiment - we used actual seeds s well as paper models.”
· Mariska · Homeschooler
“We loved the interactive video! The video was so well done with great pictures and discussion questions. My students loved the seed activities that followed. I used the questions as a quick formative assessment. :) Love it!”
· Inga · Teacher
“The students loved the activity. I had sent the email home to tell the students what we were doing, and they loved the email and watched the videos at home!”
· Eleni · Teacher
Lesson narration:
English Spanish

Activity Prep

Print Prep
This is an archived Mystery Science resource. Archived resources are not updated to reflect current scientific understanding or best pedagogical practices. To access the current version of this lesson, please click here.
In this lesson, students will learn how seeds must get away from their parent plant in order to survive. In the activity, Fly Your Own Seed, students create a model seed from paper. Then, they release these seeds to model how they disperse and observe if any seeds are able to escape the parent plant’s “Zone of Darkness” and survive.
Preview activity

Assessments

I have a Mystery Pack

Glider printout Print 30 copies
Rotocopter printout Print 30 copies
Spinner printout Print 30 copies
Chair
For the “official seed dropper” to stand on.
Details
1 chair
Scissors
30 pairs
Black Construction Paper
Used as the "ZONE OF DARKNESS." The smaller the paper, the easier it is for students to succeed. To make it more difficult, use additional sheets of paper.
Details
1 sheet
Medium Binder Clips (1 1/4")
You can also use a clothespin.
Details
1 clip
Paper Clips
30 clips
Prep Instructions

We have provided three worksheets, each with instructions on how to build a model of a particular type of seed. In a class, we suggest giving students a choice of which seed type they’d like to construct. You could also choose to have everyone build the same type of seed. If students finish early, you can have them construct multiple seed models.

Decide Who Will Be the Official Seed Dropper

This activity works best if the seed models are dropped from a significant height. We suggest that the teacher (or student) carefully stand on a chair to drop the seeds. You may want to elect a particular student to be the Official Seed Dropper.

Standards

Jump to

Exploration

24 mins

Hands-On Activity

25 mins

Wrap-Up

1 mins

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Student link

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Credits
 
Plants Lesson 1: How did a tree travel halfway around the world?

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