Soil and Plants

The months of May and June have been dedicated to the study of Soils and Plants in the Grade 2-3 Science class.

We began by bringing soil samples from home and looking at them under a magnifying glass.  We were looking for organic matter, clay, sand, and humus.

We found out from reading and from videos that the more humus in the soil, the more fertile it is.  Soil also needs to have air pockets in it so plants can grow.

We planted some seeds and onions in a Root View garden box.  To our surprise, the roots were visible after 2 days and the green shoots were above the soil in 5 days. 

During our literacy rotations, we read books about plants and answered comprehension questions.  We learned about the seed coat, anthers, stamen and stigma.  We also found out that the food for plants is made in the leaves and to do so, they need water, sunlight, and carbon dioxide.

 

We went to the Stoney Creek Greenhouse in Reston and Mrs Connie McQuiston patiently answered all out questions about soil, plants and her greenhouse business.

Another interesting activity was when we got white carnations and then added food colouring to the water that we put them in.  Later the same day, we noticed that the colour had traveled up the stem and was beginning to colour the petals of the flowers.  Even the flower stem that we split and put into 2 different colour dyes was working the way we thought it might.  One side of the flower was red and the other was blue.
Below is the picture of our Root View Garden today, 19 days after we planted it.  Wow, has it ever grown!