Your kids will love learning about the different parts of a corn plant and the different stages of corn growth with these free printable life cycle of corn worksheets.
Every year, farmers across the United States plant corn in their fields. The plants grow tall and strong, eventually producing ears of corn that are harvested and eaten.
But how does the process work? Let’s take a closer look at the life cycle of a corn plant.
The life cycle of corn is an interesting process that kids can learn about through hands-on activity sheets. This free printable PDF set provides detailed information on the different phases in the corn’s life cycle.
The corn worksheets also include parts of a corn kernel, a corn maze activity, parts of a corn plant, parts of the ear of corn, and a word search.
Whether you’re teaching in a classroom or at home to your own children, this colorful resource is sure to keep the kids engaged while learning about the corn life cycle.
How to Use the Corn Life Cycle Packet
Teaching the life cycle of corn to kids can be a fun experience, especially with some hand-on activity sheets to go along with the lesson. Print out our free printables and put together a helpful resource to have on hand for the next day that you need a fall activity.
What You’ll Need:
- The life cycle of corn packet (scroll down for download instructions)
- Pencils and crayons
- A color printer
- Scissors
Print out the packet onto regular white paper or cardstock for best results.
The printable PDF can be used in several ways to help younger kids learn what happens to take a corn seedling to what we see in the grocery store. Here are a few creative ways to incorporate the learning pages into your lessons.
- Pick a book to read that’s age appropriate to teach about the process that corn goes through.
- Hand out each page for kids to work on individually. After all the kids completed their pages, have each one teach the rest of the group about what he or she learned.
- Bring the corn life cycle worksheets along with you on a farm field trip.
Books and Resources for Teaching About Corn’s Growth Stages
There are many books to read and resources to utilize in teaching kids about corn’s life cycle. Here is a list of great titles that will help you teach your children all about the growing process:
- From Kernel to Corn by Robin Nelson
- Corn by Gail Gibbons
- Corn is Maize by Aliki
- Tomie dePaola’s The Popcorn Book by Tomie dePaola
What are the Phases of Corn’s Life Cycle?
The life cycle of corn begins with the planting of the seed and ends with the harvesting of the corn. So what exactly happens in each stage? Let’s take a closer look at the breakdown of the process:
Seed
The first stage is when the seed is planted in the soil.
Germination
After it receives enough water from the rain, the seed swells and split open. At this point, the embryo inside the seed begins to grow and the corn enters the germination stage. The root system starts to develop.
Sprout
The seed develops a shoot that grows up toward the sunlight. The sprout will grow taller and stronger as the leaves gather sunlight and air for energy.
Flowering
When a corn plant reaches maturity, it will begin to flower. The flowers, or tassels, will grow on the top of the plant, and they will be pollinated by bees or other insects. Once the flowers are pollinated, they will turn into ears of corn.
Reproductive
At this stage, the corn has grown fully and becomes ready for reproduction. During this time, ears grow on corn stalks and kernels start popping out of the husks. You will start to see silk emerge from the ends of the husk.
The kernels that are originally white turn yellow as they start to accumulate starch.
Maturity
This is the final stage in the life cycle, during which the plant is completely grown and doesn’t grow anymore. The kernels have fully developed and the ears will be cut from the stalks for consumption.
Parts of a Corn Plant
Corn plants have many different parts that all work together to help the plant grow. All these parts are important in the growth and development of corn plants.
- The roots of a corn plant anchor it in the ground and take up water and nutrients from the soil.
- The stem of the corn plant supports the leaves and ears of corn.
- The leaves of a corn plant are responsible for producing food for the plant through photosynthesis.
- Corn husks are the leaves that surround a corn cob. They are long and thin, and they can be green, brown, or yellow in color.
- Corn silk is the long, silky strands that grow from the corn cob.
- Corn tassel is the corn plant’s male flower. The tassel is the terminal inflorescence of the corn plant, and each tassel contains thousands of microsporangia (pollen sacs). Male flowers are located at the top of the corn plant, while female flowers (ears) are found lower down on the plant.
Parts of a Corn Kernel
The ears of corn are where the corn kernels develop. Each corn kernel is actually a seed that can be used to grow a new corn plant.
Parts of a corn kernel include:
- The embryo (germ) is the young plant that will grow into a cornstalk.
- The endosperm is the starchy part of the corn kernel that provides energy for the embryo to grow. The endosperm is composed of two parts: the soft endosperm, or the soft, white substance that surrounds the embryo, and the hard endosperm (horneous), or the densest part of the corn.
- The seed coat, or the pericarp, is the kern’s skin.
- The crown is the outer end of the corn kernel.
- The hilum is a small scar marking formed by the seed detaching.
- As the corn kernel ripens, the starch in the center shrinks and causes the indentation at the crown.
The Corn Life Cycle Worksheets for Kids
This free set of colorful worksheets includes:
- Life Cycle of a Corn
- How Does Corn Grow?
- Parts of a Corn Kernel
- Corn Maze
- Parts of a Corn Plant
- Word Search
Click on the image below to get the downloadable PDF:
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