While the soil outside may be frozen solid, plant science is springing to life in Mr. Cotes fifth-grade classroom at Cobbet Elementary. When we visited on Friday, Mr. Cote and his students were getting their hands dirty with a laboratory investigation of the effects of acid rain on plant structures and growth. This lab exercise stems from the KnowAtom, LLC science curriculum that is being implemented in Grades 3-5 throughout our elementary schools. A distinctive feature of this curriculum is that it provides fully-prepared materials kits to our teachers, saving them valuable preparation time. Over the next week, Mr. Cotes students will continue to treat their plant specimens with acid rain (a vinegar-water solution) and unpolluted rain, to test their hypothesis that the acid rain will negatively affect the plants structures and growth. Good luck to our budding scientists - no matter what results you find in your data, your understanding of the scientific method is bound to grow!
Posted on: Sat, 17 Jan 2015 10:20:00 +0000