Hairy Harry

Hairy Harry

This is such a fun cross curriculum lesson I made it its own page!  The other benefit is for those starting with Education: Outdoors; the lesson is done partially indoors and partially outdoors.  Of course you could do all parts outdoors, but you would have to know the security at your school so the Hairy Harry's don't get broken or stolen.  The unit comes from an old book Hairy Harry.  However an internet search will allow you to view images and ideas for this lesson. 

 

I do this lesson with grade 3 for their Science Unit Plants and Science Unit Soil however since Hairy Harry includes Math, Language Arts, and Visual Arts outcomes other grades could complete this unit as well.  Or Learning Buddies could do this unit together with the older grades guiding the younger learners for their outcomes of Primary: Living Things Grade 1 Needs of Living Things.

 

Part I

Basically you are growing grass in an old nylon or stocking and placing that in a glass jar.  As the grass grows it pokes through the holes of the stockings and it looks like a hairy man named Harry (or Harriette or pick your own gender neutral name).  Here are the instructions from the Big B, little g.com website: Hairy Harry   Note: Teacher will need to place water daily into the jars.  It's amazing how much water the soil absorbs!

 

Tip: If you do the initial lesson outside any spilled soil can stay outside.  Place the water in the jar once inside so students don't have to carry heavy jars which can spill.

 

Part II

Place the Hairy Harry on a window sill in your classroom, ask why do they need to be near a source of light? (Gr 1 Needs of living things).  

As the grass begins to grow have students occasionally measure and record the length of the grass.  Have students record the measurements in a way they can create a line or bar graph.  

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Part III

Supplies: 1 per student: pair of scissors, clipboard with a piece of paper on it, a ruler, a pencil 

After two weeks (longer if need be) have students take their Hairy Harry outside.  The water can be dumped back into the soil.  Have students carefully remove their creation from its glass jar.  Look!  The roots are long!  Have a brief discussion on roots, what are they? why are they important?  Have students measure and record the length of one of their roots.

 

Have students carefully remove as much of the nylon they can from the grass.  The nylon can go into a garbage bag held by the teacher and the grass and soil can be returned (planted) into the grass area of your school.  Students dig a small hole with their hands or garden tool.  If there is no grass area of your school perhaps there is a near by park or you could ask a neighbor with a front lawn for permission.    

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Tip: This is a good time to discuss the Indigenous philosophy of "from the earth return to the earth".  This is not what it is officially called, but I learned of it when I visited the Haida Gwaii Islands (north British Columbia, Canada).  The great totem poles are degrading and lying down.  Instead of restoring the poles the Island's hosts explained to me the new growth will grow over poles and return the pole back to the earth.  (It was beautiful to see).   I learned again of this philosophy in Nova Scotia at Asitulisk, previously Windhorse farm.  When the horses die they are placed on the hill to return to the earth.  So returning the soil of the Hairy Harry back to the earth honors this philosophy (at an elementary school age level).  

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Part IV

This part can be done inside or outside.  Have students use their blank piece of paper to draw their Hairy Harry and label the parts: soil, roots, grass, glass jar.  Extension would be to have them record or label how long the roots were.  Tip: I traced a cut out of a jar onto the blank piece of paper and photocopied that to make it easier to record and more visually appealing, but some students drew their own jar.  

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Extension:

Directional writing: students can write about creating a Hairy Harry

Creative writing: students can write a story about their creation​​​