Background

Objectives

Students will make a root-viewing container to learn the function and structure of roots

Materials

Milk container (school lunch size) for each student
1.5in x 1.5in piece of plastic for each view box
Scissors
Tape
Soil
Seeds (sugar snap peas work well)
Water

Season

Winter or Spring

Group Size

Whole class

California State
Content Standards

L.S. 2.e

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Roots are the part of the plant typically found below the ground. Their role is to absorb water and nutrients through capillary action and anchor the plant in the ground. Some roots can grow above ground and absorb water and nutrients in the air.

Vocabulary

Nutrient: something an organism needs to grow
Vitamin: something and organism needs to grow; our body cannot make some essential nutrients. We need to ingest those vitamins through food.
Root: the part of the plant that absorbs water and nutrients from the soil. Roots also anchor the plant in the ground.

Attention Grabber

Has a grown-up ever told you that you should drink milk or eat an orange, because they are good for you? They have vitamins that help us grow and help our bodies work right. Have you heard of vitamins before? Lots of fruits and vegetables have vitamins that are good for us. Plants also need vitamins. But do plants eat food like us? No, they get their vitamins and even drink water another way. Any guesses how? They drink through their roots! They suck up water from the moist soil through their roots just like when we use a straw (have a straw to create a visual for the students).

Have students participate in “Root Races!” Prepare two cups with equal amounts of water. Using coffee straws, have students race to suck up the water the fastest!

What do plants grow in? Soil. Plants get their vitamins from the soil. They also use their roots to suck up the vitamins, but for a plant, instead of calling them vitamins, we call them nutrients. Today, we are going to create a special box that allows us to observe the roots as they grow.

Garden Activity

Part 1- Plant Pictorial

Draw a pictorial for students to see the roots in the soil and show what they do for the plant. It should be mentioned that soil has nutrients that help the plant grow and are also sucked up by the roots. Use the photographs of the roots (provided in appendix) to aid in this lesson.

Part 2- Root viewer

Create a root viewer box with the students.

First, wash out a milk carton and open up the flaps.
Cut a 1” x 1” square in the side of the carton. It would be best to have this cut beforehand.
Use a piece of plastic slightly larger than the 1” x 1” opening. Tape the plastic on all four sides on the inside of the container. NOTE: plastic passed through a laminating machine works well. An extra grown-up would be useful to help students tape the plastic.
Fill the milk container with soil and put a seed in the container. NOTE: It is best to use a plant that can be transplanted into the garden. Sugar snap peas works well. When planting the seed, place it TOWARDS the area with the VIEWING SQUARE.
Have the students water and observe the plants weekly. In a couple of weeks, they will begin to see roots! When the plants are ready, transplant them into the garden.

Wrap Up

Have students review from the last lesson what plants need to survive: water, nutrients, and sunlight.
Ask students to share different ways they learned that plants have special parts that help them survive.

What's Next?

Students can continue the discussion about special features that animals have to help them survive.