Facts about Sunflowers

  • Sunflower plants can be from 3 to 18 feet tall.

  • One sunflower can have up to 2000 seeds.

  • There are more than sixty different kinds of sunflowers in the U.S.

  • Sunflowers originally came from the U.S.

  • There are two kinds of sunflower seeds- black and striped

  • Oil  is made from black seeds.

  •  Snacks are made from striped seeds.

  • Sunflower seeds are also used to feed birds.

  • Sunflowers are the state flower for Kansas.

  • There is only one flower on each sunflower stem.

 

Savannah's sunflower

      

            Aaron's                                     Raven's           

AIMS Activity Counting Sunflower Seeds

Kassidy and Dacey with the sunflower before we counted.

Estimating the circumference and measuring the results.

Counting seeds.  Thanks to Ms. Jeannine for helping us.

We estimated the circumference.

Isaac was the winner! Victoria  was second!

 

1292  seeds!!

Our Results

 

Name seeds   circumference
Gram 500    
Kayla` 206    
Jacob 300    
Blake 200    
Victoria  1054 Winner  
Raven 700    
Toby 1000      
Isaac 200        Winner
Cynthia 1009     
Jenna 600     
Becca 100    
 Aaron 1001    
Peyton 900    
Kane 400     
Svannah 4000    
Shelby 1055    
Avery 1132    
Gwendolyn 1018    
Jacob 960    
Bradley 1097    

We all enjoyed eating sunflower seeds!

One of the  most famous picture of sunflowers by Vincent Van Gogh

 

Sunflower Books

 Sunflower House by Eve Bunting
  Sunflower House by Kathryn Hewitt
  S is for Sunflowers by Gerald Legg
  Katie and the Sunflower by James Mayhew
  Sunflower by Miela Ford
  Diary of a Sunflower by Carol Pugliano
  This is the Sunflower by Lola M. Schaefer
  Life as a Sunflower by Victoria Parker
  Sunflower Sal by Janet S. Anderson
  Ten Seeds by Ruth Brown
  Backyard Sunflowers by Elizabeth King
  Field of Sunflowers by Neil Johnson
  Kansas Katie: A Sunflower Tale by Jerri Garretson 
 
 

Links

  A to Z Teacher Stuff
    Ms. Fulgham's Plant page
    Sunflower Theme
    Here Come the Sunflowers!
    Sunflower Unit

 

Activities

  • Display a variety of seeds.  Have children compare  the size, shape, texture, and color of the different kinds of seeds.
  • What are some other words that have "sun" in them?
  • KWL chart about sunflowers
  • What are four things a plant need to grow?
  • Taste sunflower seeds- shelled and unshelled
  • Name the parts of a sunflower.  Review what each part can be used for.
  • Display Van Gogh's "Sunflowers".  Discuss Van Gogh and his use of the color yellow.