Choose one, none or part of one. These stand alone and need no garden, purchased kit, account, printer, outdoor trip or returned work. Everything numerical here is invented for thinking. A willing adult can listen or help record your exact words; no one needs to be available. Stop, change mode or leave a question unfinished. These are invitations, not family assessments or evidence of what a home owns.
H01 · Make a “we could check” question · 5 minutes
Imagine two bean stems: both start 10 mm; after three days one is 14 mm and one 12 mm. Their water amounts are unknown. Draw, say, sign or arrange “What did the record show?” and “What would we still need?” The first grew 4 mm; the second 2 mm in this made-up record. We cannot say why. Choose one missing condition and a question about it. An adult may ask “what would you measure?” without choosing your answer. No plant needs to be handled.
H02 · A pocket growth comic · 5–8 minutes
Use three boxes on scrap paper or three spoken chapters: fictional stem at Day 0, 9 mm; Day 2, 12 mm; Day 4, 15 mm. Caption each with day/unit, then give the total increase: 6 mm over four days. Make the middle box a different kind of representation—a number strip or label—and explain the connection. Keep “made up” visible. Ask what an unrecorded day might leave unknown rather than inventing a measurement. No art skill or neatness is needed.
H03 · Where does a length begin? · 5 minutes
Choose an ordinary drawn line or use the supplied model: 25 mm from a base mark to the tip, 40 mm from the page edge to the tip. A ruler is optional. Explain why the two readings differ by 15 mm even though the line did not grow. If you measure your own line, label the actual reference and ruler scale; without a ruler, use the supplied numbers. Invite a willing listener to follow your rule. This measures a paper model, not plant growth.
H04 · Six places on a pretend tray · 5 minutes
Make six marks labelled 1–6. In an invented Day 5 record, marks 1, 2, 4 and 6 represent seedlings alive at that check. Show 4 of 6 alive and two not recorded alive. A story ending “four out of four” loses the original whole; explain that to an imaginary recorder. Choose a new invented count and keep its starting sample attached. No real seed, mortality experiment or home disclosure is needed.
H05 · Repair a muddled plan · 5–8 minutes
An imaginary bean comparison changes water, pot size and light all at once. Its author wants to investigate light. On paper or by voice, keep two features alike, identify one feature to investigate and choose height change over a stated period as the measure. Then add a possible extra influence, such as temperature, to record. Write “outcome not observed”. If a willing adult joins, they ask one clarification; no experiment follows from this plan.
H06 · The missing number detective · 5 minutes
An invented height list is 16 mm, blank, 20 mm, 18 mm for four stems at Day 4. Ask what the blank means; the record does not tell us. The three recorded heights total 54 mm and average 18 mm over three records. A four-record mean is unknown. Make a short note explaining why blank is not automatically zero. Change the story to a fictional office record if plants do not interest you; keep the missing-data rule.
H07 · Two goals, two recommendations · 5–8 minutes
In a made-up six-day record, option A increased 8 mm with 5 of 5 alive; B increased 12 mm with 3 of 5 alive. A fictional chooser values size increase; another values alive count. Give different conditional choices, B and A respectively, and a remaining question. You can use two voices for invented characters without claiming anyone actually said this. No choice prescribes care for a real plant or judges a family’s decisions.
H08 · Build a pretend expertise team · 5 minutes
Imagine a school wants a paper proposal about a habitat record. One invented role asks biological questions, one checks measurement rules, one arranges the data. Explain how the three contributions fit together and which gap appears if a contribution is missing. This is fictional planning, not a claim about actual scientific advances or observed collaboration. Give your team an original name or keep it unnamed. The task works alone; no interview is required.
H09 · A date label changes a claim · 5 minutes
Here is a fictional notice: “Three plants were alive at the courtyard check on Day 6; five started. Therefore they will all be alive next month.” Keep the first source-bound statement and question the second. Make a replacement with at this check / unknown later / next evidence. Optional willing-adult question: “What time and sample does the first number describe?” No current weather, local observation or visit is implied.
H10 · Leave a tiny guide · 5–10 minutes
Imagine a friend checking an invented record: start 12 mm, final 19 mm after seven days; 4 of 4 alive. Create a three-line guide with a supported number, a limit and a next question. Example ingredients: increase 7 mm over seven days, not final height 7 mm; alive at this check, not forever; other conditions unknown. Choose your own reader and title. Re-read or ask a willing listener where the next step is. Improve one part if you want; no upload or return.