2nd grade plant research paper
Looking for inexpensive and interactive STEM activities for your classroom? Conducting science experiments with plants is an easy way to incorporate hands-on experiences to your curriculum. Working with seeds and leaves can teach your students about much more than capillary action, germination, and photosynthesis. It can provide valuable lessons in caring for living things, collecting data, and using the scientific method. The following hands-on plant science activities are easy to integrate into your kindergarten, elementary, or middle school classroom.
Plant Life Cycle Activities: Writing About Science & A Freebie
Looking for inexpensive and interactive STEM activities for your classroom? Conducting science experiments with plants is an easy way to incorporate hands-on experiences to your curriculum. Working with seeds and leaves can teach your students about much more than capillary action, germination, and photosynthesis. It can provide valuable lessons in caring for living things, collecting data, and using the scientific method.
The following hands-on plant science activities are easy to integrate into your kindergarten, elementary, or middle school classroom. Teaching children about how plants work is often a simple a matter of building on their natural curiosity. If fresh pine cones are readily available in your area, you might also discuss what pine cones are for, and show your students why they open and close.
K-2 students are also ready to grow and germinate seedlings — beans happen to be easy to germinate and very inexpensive to work with. With some natural light and a wet paper towel, you can germinate seeds in plastic bags so that students can see the gradual changes in the seeds as they opens up.
Some simple experiments with seeds in small plastic cups or egg cartons can also teach students exactly what seeds need in order to grow. Even at this age, your students can record brief observations such as whether they watered a plant and how tall it has become. Filling in a simple chart like this one to monitor plant growth lets nascent readers and writers practice their literacy skills while being scientists. Herbs like basil, mint, and thyme work well in classrooms because they grow quickly, as does aloe vera, which requires hardly any maintenance.
Older students can not only handle the responsibility of caring for plants in the classroom, they can also work with more challenging varieties of plants. They can even begin designing experiments by choosing subjects and isolating variables. For example, they might try sprouting the same species in different types of soils, or do the opposite, and test out a variety of seeds in the soil native to your area.
Working with plant clones is also an easy way to introduce the notion that different living things reproduce in different ways — a biological fundamental that may very well amaze your students. You could also connect these activities to lessons in history and geography: a unit about Eastern Europe or Ireland, for example. The way leaves change color in the fall is fascinating no matter how old you are, and discovering the different pigments which make that change possible is a great way for students to begin learning about photosynthesis.
Try out this activity near the start of the school year, when the leaves in your area are likely still green. Then, when the leaves start changing in the fall, make sure to reflect back on the experiment and see if your class could predict what colors their local trees would become. Starting in sixth grade, students are ready to truly start experimenting with plants. They can begin using the scientific method to perform and design plant science experiments, and begin exploring the many places where plant science intersects with engineering, chemistry, physics.
Understanding photosynthesis is a key launching point for plant science explorations in high school and beyond. However, all too often photosynthesis is taught as a complex chemical equation, which can be difficult for students to remember or comprehend. It also helps them remember the elements necessary for photosynthesis to occur: light, water, and carbon.
The idea that plants need light is something younger schoolchildren can easily grasp. Students could conduct experiments to see what color of light different plant species prefer.
You could also challenge your them to design and build shoebox mazes for plants to navigate while growing towards the light. With these experiments, you can either give your students a clear goal and directions to follow, or you can encourage your students to create their own hypotheses and design experiments to test them.
As your students gain more knowledge of biology and ecology, you can incorporate plant science experiments into larger units about the environment. For example, here is a simple experiment in which students test how man-made chemicals affect the growth of algae. This water filtration experiment demonstrates how essential plants are for the welfare of our soil and water. To get started, create three miniature milk-carton landscapes: one with living plants, one with dead leaves and sticks, and one with no plant matter at all.
The landscape with plants should have the clearest groundwater of all. To take this experiment to a higher level, have your students perform a couple of chemical tests on your groundwater using paper test strips. You may be surprised to discover what chemicals the soil contains!
Classroom plant science is about much more than basic agriculture. It can be incredibly rewarding for your students and, through hands-on experience, give them lessons in problem solving, patience, diligence and teamwork that will last a lifetime. Check out more plant science links over on our Pinterest board , and tell us about your plant science experiments, too.
What plant science hypotheses have your students tested? What have you grown in your classroom? Your email address will not be published. Fall is a great time to teach young students about the changing seasons and the science of leaves. Check out over 50 ideas for incorporating science, math, art, and literature into your lesson plan about leaves. Every month we carefully select new educational apps, videos, interactive websites, books, careers information, and teacher-generated materials that support PLT lessons.
Students investigate the papermaking process by trying it themselves. Students are thrilled to find that they can make paper and that their product is practical, as well as beautiful. Watch a video of the paper-making process used in this activity.
Get our educational materials and professional development by participating in an in-person workshop or an online course. Get information relevant to your state, plus local assistance and connections to resources and professionals in your community. Get funding to help your students complete an action project to improve their environment. Deadline to apply is Sept. Tools and resources.
New lesson plans and professional development. Grant opportunities. Tips from educators for teaching about the environment. Login Account Home. Easy Plant Science Experiments for the Classroom. She has worked with nonprofits for the past 10 years and currently focuses on working with environmental organizations. She is based in Minneapolis, MN. Leave a Reply Cancel reply Your email address will not be published.
Leaf Activities for Young Learners. Environmental Education Resources Every month we carefully select new educational apps, videos, interactive websites, books, careers information, and teacher-generated materials that support PLT lessons. Please send me: The Branch monthly newsletter GreenSchools updates.
Students work on final plant showcase. Books: PLANTS: Science Works for Kids Series unit book (Evan-Moor ). Equipment Name: Materials. Students should learn that most plants are green, have roots, grow, have flowers, have In this lesson, students are introduced to the study of plants. Instruct the teams to use the second piece of chart paper to create a picture story that.
Introduce or review the scientific method with a fun and easy experiment to determine which cookies float or sink when dunked in milk. Then you can eat the results! Find more great edible science experiments here.
From food and shelter to medicine and clothing, plants play a crucial role in our lives. Incorporate botany in your classroom with these lessons and printables on trees, flowers, ferns, molds, and mosses.
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20 Simple and Fun Second Grade Science Experiments and Activities
This hands-on, three- to four-week science unit invites students to explore plant growth and survival. During this unit, students ask questions and devise ways to find answers as they discover why plant parts are important. They also observe plant growth to learn about a plant's life cycle. Writing is integrated throughout this unit. In addition to working with scientific process skills, students engage in writing activities that encourage descriptive and clear thinking as well as creativity. Many elementary students enter school knowing some information about plants, but few have really worked with plants in a scientific way.
Chapter 2. What Plants Need: A Science Unit on the Functions of Plant Parts
Kids love learning about life cycles and studying plants is always a highlight in my classroom. I am always looking for ways to get my students writing more about science and these plant life cycle activities are a creative and fun way to do just that! Making a culminating flower booklet during out plant life cycle study gave my students opportunities to write about what they have learned about photosynthesis, pollination, and how plants make their own food. We begin our unit by dissecting seeds. We observe the inside of a seed by first soaking lima beans. Soaking them for about 5 minutes makes it easy to split them open. Students can then use a magnifying glass for a closer look at the inside of the seed. Using pinto beans works too, but I prefer lima beans because of their larger size.
