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.