We started with a couple of activities to review today. First, I had a few plants and plant parts for the kids to look at. They were asked to determine if they were angiosperms or gymnosperms, and then dicots or monocots. They were able to use their notebooks where we had written about these classifications to help them and most were able to figure out at least a few of the items. There were a couple that we honestly didn't have enough information to tell for sure, but it was fun to try and use the clues that we did have to make a good guess. They also worked as a group to fill in the classification poster that we had discussed the first week and wrote down examples for the different categories. Then, we went over the parts of the leaf and they finished coloring their leaf flip books. After that, we moved on to the roots of the plant. We watched part of a video on plant structures and functions and then dissected a familiar root--a carrot. I think they enjoyed looking at a common food that they were familiar with and seeing the various layers that we'd just learned about. They labeled a diagram with the different parts as we looked at them, and then most of them sampled their carrot (not always a safe thing to do in science class, but we told them they should never eat anything from a lab unless they were told otherwise.) They pulled apart the center section that has the vascular tissue and compared its taste to that of the outer cortex (most thought the center was sweeter.) Just another way to explore plants.
Videos: BBC How Plants Communicate--This 52 minute documentary brings plants to life in a new way and might change the way you see them forever. I think the kids will find it fascinating. Electrical Experiments with Plants--Do you think a plant can count? Make decisions? A TED talk looking at whether or not plants can think. Activities: Why Do Leaves Change Color? This is a pretty simple experiment to do at home and would be fun for younger siblings to help with, too. It probably needs to wait until the trees and bushes with color changing leaves get their new leaves. Water Transport Experiment Another simple experiment that many of you have probably done, but a great visual for how water moves through a plant in the vascular tissue. Gizmos Website If you haven't seen this site before, it's a virtual science lab with tons of experiments that they students can conduct online. I believe that you can set up a free account (and if you are with Valley View, I think your teacher has already set up an account for your students, maybe other charters have as well.) I've highlighted the plant section here. See if any of these labs look interesting to your students!
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May 2020
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