PHOTOPERIOD ~ WEEK 3

December 9, 2013 ~ In taking measurements this week, the largest growth increase was the roots of the plant in 24 hour light. It gained 21 inches!!! The rest of the plant(s) didn't show as much growth as we thought. The plant that is getting no light (24 hour dark) is definitely showing signs of deficiency. The students were actually quite sad that the plant is dying, so I told them, "You are the scientists, what can we do?" Well, since they realize the importance of light they want to see if they can save the life of this poor bean plant. They are taking a change of action in their experiement and are going to see if a little plant CPR will help. Since the plant in 24 hours light seems to be showing the greatest growth, they are going to put the box to the side and put this light deficient plant under lights for the week. We'll see what happens!

PHOTOPERIOD ~ 2 WEEKS LATER!

December 2, 2013 ~ After Thanksgiving break the 2nd graders were very excited to see what was going on under the box. Before taking a peek, they made the prediction that they thought the plant would no longer be alive. However, upon revealing the contents, they found it was still standing tall and green. However compared to the other plants, it was not growing nearly the same rate as the other two. We took some measurements and found the plant in 24 hour light is growing the fastest. The plant in normal day/night light exposure seems to be growing out, more than up. We'll see how they look in another week.

LET THE EXPERIMENT BEGIN!

 

November 18, 2013 ~ The extra lighting seemed to work, the plants grew quite well in the last week! This week we discussed the needs of plants ~ light, food, water, air, etc. and were curious as to what might happen if one of these needs was altered. We know that as seasons change, the amount of daylight changes. We know how it affects us...it gets dark earlier, so we have to go to bed earlier, right? We have decided to use the scientific method to investigate this seasonal change for plants.

 

QUESTION: Do plants really need light to survive?

HYPOTHESIS: Plants need SOME light to survive.

THE EXPERIMENT: To test our hypothesis we have taken the remaining plants and divided up.

Group 1 will receive light 24 hours a day.

Group 2 will receive the normal day/night light.

Group 3 will receive NO light.

Each week we will measure: the height of the plant, length of the roots, number of leaves and size of the biggest leaf.

 



DEALING WITH UNKNOWNS!!??

Monday, November 11th ~ Wow! Who know trying to keep plants alive and thriving would be such tricky work! This week a few of the plants were put to rest and the others are being treated to a warm, light-enhanced boost. The class is learning lots about science and dealing with unknowns and mysteries. We aren't sure why the plants aren't growing as well as expected, but I guess that's an experiment we weren't planning on. Some of the kids' ideas of why they aren't growing include: they aren't getting enough sun, just light from the classroom; it is a cool in our classroom, so they might need more warm weather; and, of course, they are still a little curious about them growing in water rather than soil. Therefore, before starting our "official" experiment, we decided to put all the healthy plants  under lights 24 hours a day. We are hoping this gives them the boost they need.

Stay tuned...

GROWING AND CHANGING

 

October 28 and November 4 ~ The 2nd Graders have been practicing their patience and measuring skills. The last couple weeks they have measured how tall their plants are, how long the roots are stretching and how many leaves. They have noticed a few differences, but continue to wonder why many of them seem to be growing really slowly, or not at all. They are realizing the world of science is full of questions and unknowns. Next week we will "weed out" the unhealthy plants and try to focus on those that are still thriving.

MYSTERY VISITOR and TRANSPLANT DAY!!!

 

Tuesday, October 15th ~ Today we had a special visitor during Science. Mrs. Neisius' colleague, Mr. Ken Kramer, K-12 Education Specialist at University of Minnesota Southwest Research and Outreach Center, made the trip from Lamberton to Lakeview to check out our Hydroponics! Of course, we put him to work!

 

First, my water boys filled the buckets with distilled water. Using distilled water vs tap water ensures there are no "unwanted guests" affecting the growth of our seedlings. Then, the seedlings were unrolled on trays and ready to be transplanted into the buckets.

 

 

Next, the students were given a cotton ball and a seedling. They were instructed to carefully roll the seedling up in the cotton ball at the bottom of the stem, but at the top of the root. The purpose of the cotton ball is hold the seedling upright when transplanted into the bucket. 

 

 

Next, the plants were carefully lowered into the round openings of the lids. Each bucket was "fed" 7.5 ml of nutrient solution and now we will see what happens next!

 

SHAKE IT UP!

 

Monday, October 14th ~ The 2nd graders learned a little more about what is to come. They have been anticipating the transplanting of the seedlings into soil, but they suddenly realized that was not going to happen. When growing plants hydroponically, they will be growing in water. This brought about the discussion of the importance of soil and the fact that it stores the nutrients needed for the plants to grow. Well, that being said, we mixed up the nutrient solution today provided to our class through the University of Minnesota during Mrs. Neisius' class this summer. We took the two bags of solution, mixed each with 1 pint of water. When each were dissolved in their own jars, they were combined. This nutrient solution will be used to provide "food" for the plants as needed.