Sunday, June 8, 2014

Dying to Test Plants

After viewing flowers that had been transformed using food colouring, students designed and conducted their own experiments about different plant parts and their functions.

They came up with really creative (and messy!) experiments. We discovered that some parts of the plant are better suited to transporting liquids than others. Stems works well but roots seem to have a coating around them that blocked the dye. Flowers and leaves are hard to colour directly from the outside, they only changed colour when the dye came through the stem. Cauliflower was the fastest to change colours in case you were wondering :)




Genius Hour Has Begun!

Our students have spent this year learning through the inquiry process in Science and Social Studies. They have grown in their abilities to research and present information. Students have learned how to use questions to guide their thinking and to take responsibility for their learning. For our final inquiry, students are participating in Genius Hour projects where they are developing expertise in something new that they are passionate about. Projects range from learning to sew, to designing a comic book that raises awareness of animal rights, to creating a plan to reduce bullying on the playground. Check back next week to find out what they learned!