DISCUSS:
Do you think plants need dirt to grow? How could you find out?
Hint...
Think about how we found out that seeds need water to grow.
DISCUSS:
What do you think will happen?
Compare these two tomato plants. The one on the left grew in dirt. The one on the right grew in water, but no dirt.
DISCUSS: Which plant looks healthier? Why?
DISCUSS:
Our experiments show that plants need water and dirt to be healthy. What else do they need?
DISCUSS:
Which plant do you think is healthier: the one that grew in the light or the one that grew in the dark?
Why do you think that?
Draw the Radishes worksheet | 1 per student |
Crayons
Ideally each student will have green and yellow colors available.
Colored pencils or markers will also work.
|
Details
2 crayons per student
|
Aluminum Foil
Need enough to cover the aluminum pan.
|
Details
3 feet per class
|
Aluminum Pan
Must be large enough to hold half of the Dixie cups.
|
Details
1 pan per class
|
Baking Soda
|
1 teaspoon per group |
Dixie Cups (3 oz)
|
1 cup per group |
Dixie Cups (3 oz)
|
2 cups per pair |
Paper Plates
|
1 plate per group |
Spray Bottles
|
1 bottle per group |
Sticker Labels (1" x 3")
|
2 labels per pair |
Peat Pellets
You need to soak peat pellets in water so that they are moist enough.
Potting soil will also work. You will need about a quart of potting soil for a class of 24 students.
|
Details
2 pellets per pair
|
Radish Seeds
|
1 3-gram packet per class |
This is a two-part activity. We recommend that you allow at least three days (up to one week) in between Part One and Part Two of the experiment to give the radish seeds time to germinate.
You will need access to a sunny windowsill for radish seeds to grow in the light. You will also need access to water so that you can fill up the spray bottles.
We suggest students work in pairs. Homeschool students can work on their own but will need to prepare at least two Dixie cups so that they can compare what happens to the plants in sunlight versus in the dark.
For each group of four students, put about ⅛ teaspoon radish seeds (at least 40 seeds) in a Dixie cup.
For each student (or one homeschool student), fill one Dixie cup halfway with moist potting soil. Or if you are using peat pellets, place one pellet in each cup, fill the cup with water, and let the pellet soak up the water for at least 30 minutes.
In each spray bottle, mix about 1 cup of water with about ¼ teaspoon of baking soda. Adding baking soda will inhibit mold growth in the soil, but won’t affect the plants.
After students complete Part One of this activity, they will need to wait at least three days (up to one week) to give the radish seeds time to germinate. Make sure to spray both the cups in the sunlight and the cups in the dark with water during this time.
When most of the leaves have come up, show Part Two of the activity.
Student slideshow: English | Spanish
Teacher printout: English & Spanish
In this reading, students learn how an old tree falling over can help new trees growing.
For a limited time, view archived reading extensions here.
For this experiment, you need food coloring, vases or cups, and white flowers. (Carnations work well.)
Add food coloring to water, then put the flowers in the colored water and wait. Depending on the type of flower and the humidity, it may take a few hours or a day to see results. (For detailed instructions and an explanation, check out Fun Learning for Kids.
Discuss: What do you think will happen?
When you see results, discuss: Why do you think that happened?
If the demonstration of water traveling into a flower intrigues your students, you can give them a chance to examine this more closely.
Cut some pale lettuce leaves from a lettuce head and put the cut end in red or blue-colored water. (Butter lettuce works well.) Like the flower, the lettuce leaves will soak up the colored water, revealing a pattern of veins in the lettuce leaf. Have children draw the pattern of veins in a lettuce leaf. These are usually difficult to see, but the food coloring makes them visible.
You can do other experiments involving dyes in leaf veins.
Grow Your Name
If your students are interested in growing plants in water (without dirt), try making a very simple hydroponic garden. All you need is a damp kitchen sponge or piece of cotton cloth, sprinkled with lettuce or radish seeds.
Your students can write their names in seeds, and watch them grow, following the very simple instructions from Tim Hunkin.
Thanks for your feedback! If you have a question or need help, please contact us. Please consider sharing your review:
Sorry the lesson didn’t go well. We read every single review in an effort to improve our Mysteries.
Thanks for letting us know. We’ll wait to ask you for feedback until after you've actually taught it.
Thanks for the feedback! We read every single review in an effort to improve our Mysteries.
Please follow these steps:
Locked
6:10
Why is the sky blue?
Locked
4:41
Why do we call them doughnuts?
Locked
5:16
Could a turtle live outside its shell?
Your membership is expired. The archive of past Mini Lessons is not included in your limited access.
View pricing