Corny Paintings

Activity

• Hand out student worksheets. Have students think about the different kinds of products we eat during the fall/ thanksgiving. Corn will likely be brought up.
• Ask students to make a prediction on how they think corn is pollinated. Have them write down their prediction on the worksheet.
• Explain that corn is pollinated through the use of wind!
• Bring out a corn stalk with tassels and silks if possible. Explain the parts of the corn and what each part is for. The tassels hold the pollen, and the silks are the stigmas that the pollen must be transferred to.
• Explain that after pollination occurs new plants grow and this is how we get corn.
• Hold up some corn on the cob and have students ask where the seeds are. They may guess that the kernels themselves are the seeds. Explain that each seed is a new plant with all the nutrients inside to help it grow.
• Pass around dried kernels and explain the different parts. Have them record on their worksheet the different parts of the seed: seed coat, baby plant (embryo), and the food storage for the plant.
• After explaining the parts of corn, have students make their very own corn on the cob paintings.
  • Cover tables with newspaper
  • Have students put on aprons to protect their clothes
  • Place paints on plates or bowls that are easy for students to dip into.
  • Pass out corn on the cob to each student. Place corn holders (or bamboo skewers) through each end of the cob to help prevent getting paint on their hands.
  • Instruct students to flip their worksheets over. Have students make paintings on the back of their worksheet by dipping the corn into their preferred paint color and rolling it across the page. Demonstrate this ahead of time so that students can see how it’s done.
  • Allow paintings to dry while cleaning up tables and paint.

Corn is a great thanksgiving food we all love to eat. Unlike many of our insect pollinated veggies, corn is actually pollinated by the wind! Corn stalks do not have traditional flowers and nectar-like many other plants that attract pollinators, instead, they rely on wind to get the job done. The top of a corn stalk has long tassels that release pollen when they open up. Silks (the style and stigma) from the emerging ears of corn are then dusted with the pollen from the tassels by the wind. As the wind blows across cornfields, pollen is distributed to neighboring plants whose silks have emerged.
Each ear of corn has hundreds of kernels (seeds) that will grow into new plants. Each seed is packed with a protective layer (seed coat), a growing plant (embryo) and all the nutrients that new plants will need to grow.