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Plant Needs: Water

Plan and set up an experiment to test if plants really do need water to grow.

Materials

  • grass seeds
  • materials for an experiment, which will be determined by the group

Key Science Concepts

  • Plants need water to grow.

Vocabulary

Emphasize science process words like experiment, test, and prediction, and plant words like seed, sprout, and soil.

Directions

  1. Ask children, What do you think plants need to grow and stay healthy? If children mention water, ask, How could we find out whether a plant needs water to stay healthy? What experiment could we do using grass seeds?
  2. Together, decide on an experiment (for example, plant two cups of seeds and only water one). Set up the experiment together and label it “Water Experiment.”

Reflect and Share

Discuss the experiment you set up together. Ask:

  • What do you predict will happen to the seeds? Why do you think so?
  • How will our experiment show if plants need water to grow or not?
  • Why do you think we set up the beans in two different ways? What does it show us to do it both ways?

Have children draw a picture of the experiment in their Plant Journals.

Looking at Results

Next Thursday you’ll look at the results of the experiment together. Talk about how many days away this is by looking at the “Our Plants” chart and counting the days until Thursday.