Learning About Plants

We're in the middle of a science unit about plants, plant life cycles and photosynthesis. As part of the unit, we are attempting to grow marigolds of our own in the classroom. As of today, we are on day 7 (including the weekend) of this project. Still waiting to see our sprouts and flowers but we're confident they will actually appear and grow. Here is a photo synopsis of how this experiment got started:

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Stay tuned for updates to this project!

*****UPDATE*****

Our "Human Body Man"

We've just wrapped up a science unit on the Systems of the Human Body. This is a unit I have done for several years but I have been adding and revamping a few things in it the past couple of years.

This year, I found a cute little activity that we used as a culmination to the unit. Each student had the opportunity to put together a little paper man (think back to paper dolls!). This little man has 8 layers--the ody front, skeletal system, respiratory system, digestive system, circulatory system, nervous system, skin and body back (I wish they had included muscles and excretory). The activity is actually called a "foldable" but the cutting and putting together like an accordion would have been a little too much for my 4th graders. Instead, we colored and cut each layer out completely. Then we "layered" the layers and stapled together. Voila! It was a great way to reiterate the information we already learned and see how they all fit together. They turned out really cute! The link to the activity can be found here: Human Body Systems.

Here are the photos of our project-----

My example for the students:

The "unlayered" layers:

The students' final men:

Aren't they super cute?? I'll be keeping them in our unit from now on!

Part 2: How can you grow a potato plant without a seed?

Several weeks have passed since I posted about our science guided inquiry activity involving potatoes. Thankfully, the experiment is over and the classroom smells better. Yes, beware of 2 week old potatoes fermenting in the classroom! Stinky aroma aside, we learned some interesting things after completing the experiment. On our Day 7 observation, there wasn't a whole lot to report. A few of the potatoes had begun sprouting tiny buds in a few places on the skin. The students made and recorded their observations. We shared some of our inferences about the water traveling through the inside and skin of the potato and helping new buds to form. The students also recorded predictions about what they might see on Day 14.
Day 14 is when we finally observed some real changes. Here are a few photos of our 2 week old potatoes--

The students recorded their observations.

Aside from the buds, we noticed the smell. We actually noticed the smell a few days earlier. They smell like they are rotting. We talked about the exposure of the inside of the potato to the water and the air. We discussed why the buds continued to grow and theorized about what we might see if we let these go another week. In fact, a couple students volunteered to take the potatoes home but I suspect they went into the garbage when parents saw/smelled them. The students learned a lot about making obsrvations, conducting a study, recording information, and making inferences and predictions. Good work all around!

How can you grow a potato plant without a seed?

This is the exact question we are attempting to answer right now in C107! We have set up our potatoes (cut about 1/4 off and soaking in plain water for a couple weeks) and have begun to observe, infer and predict about the growth we expect.

Each student is keeping track of their information on one of these recording sheets. We will check back in a few days and again at the 2 week mark. We are anxiously awaiting the results!

In the mean time, it makes a pretty cool display in the classroom! If you're a teacher who'd like to try this experiment with your kiddos, you can download the lab sheet for FREE in my TpT store!