Brief Description Objectives Materials and Resources Activity Description

• Grade Level: Upper Elementary

• Subject Area: Science

Brief Description

    Students will form groups to conduct an experiment. They will plant seedlings to test the effects of sunlight, water and soil, on the growth of seedlings.
Objectives

    Students will:

• Conduct a scientific experiment with controls on variables.
• Plant seeds and watch them grow.

Materials and Resources

• Flower pots, milk cartons, or paper cups with holes in the bottom for drainage (one/child).
• Soil, sand, gravel, and vermiculite.
• Seeds - mung beans (corn, lima bean, green peas or radish seeds may be substituted).
  Soak the seeds to germinate them more rapidly.
• Rulers.
• Trays or plastic lids (on which to set the flower pots).

    In developing our lessons and activities, we made some assumptions about the hardware and software that would be available in the classroom for teachers who visit the LETSNet Website. We assume that teachers using our Internet-based lessons or activities have a computer (PC or Macintosh) with the necessary hardware components (mouse, keyboard, and monitor) as well as software (operating system, TCP/IP software, networking or dial-up software, e-mail and a World Wide Web client program, preferably Netscape, but perhaps Mosaic or Lynx). In the section below, we specify any "special" hardware or software requirements for a lesson or activity (in addition to those described above) and the level of Internet access required to do the activity.

1. Special hardware requirements: None.
2. Special software requirements: None.
3. Internet access: None.

Activity Description

    Label each pot A, B, C, etc. for recording purposes, with the control plant labeled C. The control plant will receive:

1. 3/4 cup of potting soil
2. 80 ml water/once a day
3. good light

    Remind students that they need to vary the amount of water, light or type of soil in each container. Once the amount has been established, it must remain constant for the balance of the experiment.

Remind students that they need to vary the amount of water, light or type For example, if they are testing water, and A is the control plant, it receives 80 ml of water/once a day, B might receive 40 ml/once a day, C-120 ml/once a day, and so on.

    Advise the students that they must be accurate and record everything to be good scientists. If they are testing light, the amount of water and the type of soil must be controlled. Write all information observed in their Science Journal.

Back to Growing Plants Unit