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Do plants eat dirt?
Plant Adventures Unit | Lesson 2 of 4

Do plants eat dirt?

Plant Adventures Unit | Lesson 2 of 4
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Predict:

What do you think will happen? Why?

Turn to someone next to you. Tell them your prediction and your reason why.

Discuss:

What do you think will happen if we keep growing our plant without dirt? Why?

Discuss:

Where do you think these plants get the minerals they need to survive?

Discuss:

So if someone said to you, "Plants eat dirt," would you agree or disagree with them? What would you say to them?

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# Extensions
Below are ideas for extending this topic beyond the activity & exploration which you just completed.

Flower Demonstration

To do this demonstration, you have to prepare the day before. You'll need a bouquet of white flowers and food coloring. See below for detailed instructions.

When your flowers are ready for the demonstration, pass out them out so that everyone can look at a flower up close.


Discuss: These flowers soaked up water that had been colored blue. Where did the water go in the plant?

Reveal answer

Extra Activity: Dissect a Root

Dissecting a radish root gives students a chance for careful observation. For instructions, see this sample lesson on roots from the University of California’s botanical garden. If you have time for an extensive examination of edible roots, you’ll find many ideas in this detailed lesson.

Extra Activity: Branches in a Leaf

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.

Extra Activity: 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.

Image & Video Credits

Mystery Science respects the intellectual property rights of the owners of visual assets. We make every effort to use images and videos under appropriate licenses from the owner or by reaching out to the owner to get explicit permission. If you are the owner of a visual and believe we are using it without permission, please contact us—we will reply promptly and make things right.

Exploration
Venus Fly Trap inside pot by Andrew Dalton
garden by Srl
dirt mixed with water in jug by Ildar Sagdejev
watering can by Imgur
finger in Venus Fly Trap by Carnivorous Corner
sprout by Living Countryside
fly landing on Venus Fly Trap by skmarimba
Venus Fly Trap video by Totally Amazing Videos (User name)
dirt by 0x0077BE
seeds in water by missvickie.com
Pitcher plant by François MEY
bean root by Ms. Roo
salt on spoon by Charlotte Jain
Chewable vitamins by Carlson Labs
growing corn by mindlapse
Pitcher plant chambers by François MEY
Frog in pitcher plant by Brad's Greenhouse
Hydroculture by Ma9900
mouse in pitcher plant by Ken Hannaford
space city drawing (1) by Seth Pritchard
space city drawing (2) by NASA Ames Research Center
space city drawing (3) by NASA Ames Research Center
sprouts in dirt by Christhefuzzy
Red flowers by Alex Gall
venus fly trap by William Vann

Featured Reviews

“My students loved seeing the seeds grow and especially loved seeing the Venus Flytrap in action! I was super pleased and proud that they were able to predict so well and come up with the idea that Venus Flytraps eat bugs to help them grow with all the nutrients inside!”
“My students were totally engaged. We had amazing class discussions. They had very good questions and a depth of knowledge that really surprised me. The root viewer was very interesting and exciting for them. They want to do more!”
“The best part is that it truly is plug and play, once you have your materials prepped. Easily adapted up to 3rd and 4th grades using Think Notice Wonder chart, and advanced discussion. ”
“We are doing an exploration of a plant's life cycle and this lesson enhanced the learning that we are already doing. The kids were able to discuss more in depth about the root observations that were taking place on their own plants.”
“The kids were absolutely floored to see a root popping out of their radish seeds already on day 2. The root hairs caused much delight too. We can't wait to see what turning it will do. Many have already made excellent predictions. ”
“The children loved seeing the time lapse videos. We even did a dance-- moving the speed of a time lapse video, and then moving the speed of a real plant. The kids loved embodying the plants, and are noticing so much more in the garden!”
“This is a no fail exploration! The seeds always grow and the kids love looking closely at the growing process. ”
“We're still observing the radish roots, but the kids were engaged the whole time. They also come in asking when they can do science. Love that!”
“Students had remembered knowledge from the previous lesson.”
“The "competition"...I started out with asking how do plants compete? Do they play soccer? Basketball? and this really had the students thinking. Finally, the word make the connection and bam, important vocabulary is printed in their brains!”
“The root viewers were a huge success...We invited several grade students to participate...then return and share with their class...the other teacher loved the project and that her students were so excited to stand in front of the class and share what they learned...”
“They loved to watch all the changes in the roots. ”
“The videos were different volumes. One of them was SUPER LOUD and needed to be turned down, but then the next one was quiet. ”
“With each lesson we do, the kids come up with more and more theories on the answers to the questions. I love that!! On this one, they were so shocked to see roots coming out of a seed that was not in dirt!”
“My students enjoyed the experiment and learning about root hairs! ”
“I love how the videos are so detailed and step-by-step. It really doesn't require a lot of prep work on my part!”
“The videos are very interesting and keep the kids attention. The discussion questions are spot on! All the students love making predictions and then listening to the explanation that follows. The experiment with the radish seeds was wonderful! It made it very clear for the students which plant part grows first and which way it grows. Many students said they were going home to repeat the experiment with their families! It would be awesome to have a print out for families to follow. We'll see how much these kiddos remember! Thank you for this wonderful resource! Ms. Woyno and 2nd grade Sunshines”
“Watching my kids excitement at the new learning. The lessons are so fun and engaging. It has made teaching so much fun!”
“My boys were shocked to find out that plants don't actually need soil to live if they get the nutrients they need in water. Our seed viewers are set up and they are looking forward to seeing what happens. We added a bit to the experiment...one set of seeds is sitting in a sunny window and another set in a dark closet. ”
“We really enjoyed watching the roots grow for the radish seeds. The reaction to the observation after we switched the directions of the seeds was great!!! The kiddos couldn't wait to see what their seeds were doing. I also enjoyed having them practice writing the dates of the observation on the page - a little extra calendar and handwriting practice never hurts!”
“I didn't realize the radish seeds would do that! The kids were so excited to see how quickly they sprouted”
“Root Viewers... WOW! What a great idea! ”
“In my daughter's own words, "I honestly think the listening part is really fun."”
“My daughter was so amazed and interested regarding how plants get their nourishment! She's quite convinced we now need a Venus Fly Trap. :) She really got into the activity of watch the seeds sprout in the CD case. We did Spinach seeds as that's all we had on hand but they also sprout and grow quite quickly so that worked well. She was really eager to draw what went on with the seed each day and took care to make her drawings as detailed as possible. We're very impressed with the lesson! There was only a small portion that was a bit confusing to her but she is just 5 and most of it she picked up very easily!”
“Mt students were so captivated by this lesson! I just simply say, "Who is ready for a Mystery science question?" and they all begin to cheer!”
“The kids loved the four day observation. They couldn't wait until our science period to check out what had happened. We have since replanted our germinated seeds and are looking forward to more observations of how these plants grow or if they grow at all.”
“It was real world science and applicable. I have a busy student who normally builds with his Legos while listening to lectures but he actually stopped what he was doing to view the lesson and answer questions. Great job.”
“The best part was how engaging the videos were for the students. Also, the details and step-by-step instructions given to the students to complete the hands-on activity. The "Root Viewer" was awesome. The students loved it!!! ”
“The best part of the lesson was when we made the root viewer. Afterward, we planted the radishes and we are continuing to watch them grow!”

Grade 2

Plant Adaptations

Roots, Water, & Minerals

2-LS2-1, 2-LS4-1

Activity Prep

Print Prep
To view a revised version of this lesson, please click here.
In this Mystery, students will learn the importance of water (which is taken in by the roots) for plants, and what it is about dirt that plants really need. In the activity, Root Viewer, they’ll build a Root Viewer to observe a radish seed as it develops roots. Students draw a picture of the seed and its root each day for four days.
Preview activity

Exploration

30 mins

Grade 2

Plant Adaptations

Roots, Water, & Minerals

2-LS2-1, 2-LS4-1

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Plants Lesson 2: Do plants eat dirt?

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