Study The Pea-Pod

pea-pod photo

        The  fruit  of  the  pea  is  a  simple  fruit,  that  is,  it  is  the  result  of  the  ripening of  a  single  pistil.  Simple  fruits  like  the  pea  that  split  into  two  pieces  or valves  are  called  legumes.  All  dry  dehiscent  fruits  are  called  pods,  although the  name  is  more  usually  given  to  fruits  like  the  pea.  If  the  pod  opens  along one  side  only - usually  the  inner - it  is  called  a  follicle.  The  pod  or  fruit formed  by  the  development  of  any  compound  pistil  is  called  a  capsule.

 

Required for Observation In The Classroom: Some  pea- pods,  and  a  number  cf  flowers  from the  pea  plant.  Also  a  portion  of  the  pea  plant  with  pods  attached.

 

Method of Student Observation:

• Let  each  child  examine  a  pea-pod,  and  describe  its  stalk,  form, color,  &c.  Show  a  portion  of  a  pea plant  with  pods  attached.
• Each  of  the  children  should  open a  pod, and  note  how  and  where  the seeds  are  attached.
• Explain  that  the  peas  are  seeds, and  compare  with  other  seeds  previously  examined.
• Let  each  child  examine  the  pea flower,  and  observe  the  young  pod  in the  center.  Show  pods  in  different stages  of  growth.
• Sow  a  few  peas  of  the  previous season  in  a  box  of  soil,  and  watch  the growth  of  the  pea  plant  at  intervals of  a  few  days. 

 How to Grade Study Notes For Student Journals: Every student will need a journal to write in weekly for this online nature study series. Teacher will assign the weekly content in advance.

• Make sure the facts are: written in complete sentences, the first word of each sentence capitalized, and a period should be included at the end of each sentence.
• Spell check your vocabulary and write the words correctly.
• Dress up your journal entries with student clip art, drawings of your own in color or in black and white.
• Student may also include photographs of their own taking for extra credit.

Look for the following facts about pea-pods inside of student journals. Assign a point value to the quality of the content.

• The  Pod - A  fruit. Stalk  short,  with  five  little  green leaves  (sepals  of  the  flower)  at  the end. 
• Pod  formed  of  two  parts,  which readily  separate  when  pressed.  Splits open  of  itself  when  ripe. 
• The  Peas - All  fastened  along one  edge  of  the  pod,  by  means  of very  short  stalks. 
• The  peas  are  seeds,  each  of  which will  grow  into  a  plant  if  placed  in the  soil  and  kept  moist. 
• How  the  Pod  grows - The  pod is  formed  in  the  center  of  the  pea flower. 
• After  the  other  parts  of  the flower  have  decayed  and  fallen  off, the  pod  and  the  seeds  within  it  continue  to  grow  and  ripen. 
• If  left  on  the  plant  long  enough, the  pod  splits,  and  the  seeds  fall  on the  soil,  where  they  grow  into  new plants. 

Video at Youtube for Students to Watch:

1. Growing Sweet Snap Pea Time Lapse - Seed to Pod in 60 days by eLapse
2. How to grow snow peas, sweet peas, snap peas from seed to harvest by Jerra's Garden

The finished 3-D patch of pea-pod plants.

Cut, Sculpt and Paste A Fun 3-D Pea-Pod Patch: To make this collage you will need the following supplies: green air-dry clay, green construction paper (in several shades), 2 paper plates, white school glue, green chenille stems, masking tape, tacky craft glue and brown acrylic paint.

Step-by-Step Instructions:

1. Paint your paper plate brown. Let dry.
2. Punch sets of two holes opposite ends of the paper plate per stem.
3. Take chenille stems and thread opposite ends of each stem through each set of holes and tape in place.
4. Now glue the second plate to the bottom of the first. This gives the plates strength for the collage and also covers up the taped chenille stems on the backside of the first plate.
5. Cut pea shaped leaves from darkest green paper. Then paste these to the chenille stems and also onto the inside paper plate background. see photos below
6. Construct the little pea pods to attach to the stems. Cut smallish rectangles from the green paper and fold each in half lengthwise.
7. Glue the ends together to create a narrow pocket for the peas.
8. Roll tiny pea shapes from the air-dry clay and then glue these inside each paper pod.
9. Glue pea pods to the stems and also onto the paper plate background. 
10. Some of the peas may yet be immature and still have blossoms on their stems. So you may wish to add a few white pea-pod flowers to a stem or two. Make these flowers with tissue twisted about a few chenille stems and pasted directly onto the paper plate if desired.

Left, making peas in their pods. Center, the first layer of pasting on peas and leaves after the
muddy garden dirt has been painted. The white spots indicate where I punched holes for
the pea vines tips to be taped and glued just beneath the paper plate. Glue on a second 
plate underneath to give your garden patch support. Right, the vines twisted around a
pencil to give these curly shapes.

       Above on the far left, the process for making peas-in-a-pod, details: cut, fold, roll, glue and tuck. Students can make these in advance of assembling the entire pea patch. Set aside one house the day prior to making the second part of the craft, if you prefer.

       Also I covered my pea-pod stems with cotton prior to painting and shaping these. However, a very young student may alternatively use green fuzzy chenille stems without the extra steps demonstrated above on the far right. 

Detailed photos of how the teacher pea-pod patch looks when completed. 

Free Student Clip Art: Clip art may be printed from a home computer, a classroom computer or from a computer at a library and/or a local printing service provider. This may be done from multiple locations as needed because our education blog is online and available to the general public.

1.  Pod. - On  a  stalk.  A  fruit.  Splits  into  two  parts.
2.  Peas. - Seeds.
3.  How  the  Pod  grows. -  Formed  in  the  center  of  the  flower.
Advanced coloring of sweet pea design for older students.