Teaching the Science Process Skills with an Apple

In order to get my little firsties in the mood to science notebook I start by teaching them the science process skills with one experiment! We started yesterday by reading the book What is a Scientist? and making a scientist can, are, need chart. I found an adorable one on Pinterest from Ginger Snaps Tidbits and Tips for Teachers.

Today we started our first activity in our science notebook. This year I decided to really stretch out the first activity so they get a feel for each part. Each student brought in an apple. We had all different sizes, colors, and even some from a kid's very own apple tree. We filled out our table of contents together and then glued in our question...Do all apples have the same number of seeds? We drew a line and made our predictions (hypothesis). Next, we were off to the lab to experiment! 

Students worked with a partner to communicate, observe, and accurately count how many seeds were in their apples. They used a Popsicle stick as a digging tool and put their seeds into ziplock bags. Students enjoyed eating their apple and comparing their seed counts. Do all apples have the same number of seeds? Check back in a day or two for part 2...