(http://esseacourses.strategies.org)
Crops Investigation #1
Goal:
Students will start growing plants in their soil samples.
Objectives:
Students will be able to:
- design an experiment.
- plant seeds.
Standards Met:
Overview:
In this activity, the students plant seeds in a portion of their soil
sample. The students will design their experiment and collect data for
several weeks. In Investigation 6, the data will be compiled and analyzed.
This activity should be started as far ahead as possible so as to provide time
for the plants to grow.
Materials:
- sandwich-sized zipper baggies (1 per student for collecting soil samples
from home)
- soil (each student collects their own from home)
- small pots or cups (small bathroom cups will work for small seeds, such
as radish, but larger cups will be needed for larger seeds like bean)
- labeling materials (pens and tape)
- seeds (examples): beans (no soybeans due to allergies), grass (only if you
don't let it bloom), corn, sunflower, pea, cucumber, onion, radish, or squash family (pumpkins are fun for the fall)
- area to grow the plants that gets sunlight or in which lights can be set
up
- experimental design worksheet
- rulers
Resources:
Actions:
Prior to the lesson:
- Students will have been given the assignment to bring a sandwich-sized
zipper bag of soil from their yard to class.
- The teacher may wish to discuss soil sampling techniques when the
assignment is made.
- The teacher has set up a location for the plants to be maintained.
During the lesson:
- Remind the students that the purpose of this module is for them to
find a location with soil that will be good for establishing a new
crop. One way to do this is to collect soil samples from many places
and to try to grow plants in the soils.
- The students are trying to answer two questions: "How well
do plants grow in my soil?" and "In
which soil do the plants grow best?"
- Discuss and review the process of the scientific method with the
students. Review the following concepts: experimental treatment vs.
control treatment; dependent, independent, and controlled variables;
hypothesis; and replication.
- To answer the above-mentioned questions, students will plant seeds
in a sample of their soil. They will tend the seedlings and make measurements of
the seedlings for several weeks.
- Apply the concepts of experimental design toward answering these
questions. As a control treatment, the plants could be grown on paper
towel or in
potting soil or in an inert substrate like sand, perlite, or vermiculite. Students should use the experimental
design worksheet as they plan their experiment.
- Students may choose their own dependent variable(s) for
measurement and/or observation. The easiest measurements are: plant height and number of leaves. Observations might include: appearance of the cotyledons
(like: plump or shriveled or ____ in color), color of the leaves, and overall health of the plant
(like: drooping or erect or turning brown). Remember that in several
weeks, the students will need to graph their data. Therefore, at least
one dependent variable should be measurable.
- Plant seeds according to their individual growing instructions.
- The students should be in charge of watering their own plants.
It may be necessary to state any consequences (such as point deductions) for
not keeping their plants watered.
- Measurements and observations should be taken at appropriate
intervals. There needs to be enough data to draw conclusions from.
- Students should design a table (or tables) to organize their data
collection. All data should be recorded in the science notebook.
Extensions:
- If some students have larger soil samples, these samples could be used
for replication within a trial.
- If there is enough soil left, different seeds could be planted in the
same soil.
Assessment:
Students have completed a worksheet on the design of their experiment.
This should be inserted into the science notebook. Observations and
measurements should all be recorded in the science notebook. These can
scored as part of this assignment or as part of Investigation 6.
Reflection:
Please write a reflection after you teach this lesson to help us make improvements. Reflections should be e-mailed to j.okeefe@moreheadstate.edu and c.wymer@moreheadstate.edu. If you also complete student reflections, please include these as well.