Growing Plants Without Soil!
Videos
GradesK, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5Science
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Provided by SciShow Kids
What it is
- In this episode of SciShow Kids, students will learn about the needs of a plant and how plants don't necessarily need to grow in soil.
- Students will understand the role of soil in plant growth and how to create their own hydroponic planter.
Teaching tips
Positives
- The project shown in the video is fairly simple and uses materials that should be readily available.
- This video covers many topics while remaining brief and kid-friendly.
Prerequisites
- Students should have a general understanding of how plants grow and that plants are the base of the food chain for almost all life on Earth.
Differentiation & Implementation
- Before watching the video, teachers can lead students in an activity sprouting seeds. On the day teachers play this video, they can have each student bring in a bottle to use, as is shown in the video. Students can use data and measurement skills to track their plant's growth.
- Teachers can connect this video to climate change by looking at some of the harm done to the planet through traditional agriculture, such as deforestation and soil degradation.
- To make language arts connections, students can use the video to create a written how-to guide for creating the hydroponic planter from a bottle.
- Teachers can make social studies connections by explaining food deserts and discussing how hydroponics can help. Teachers can also talk about environmental justice and how marginalized people are disproportionately impacted by food deserts.
From the scientist review
This resource shows how soil is important for plant growth and also experiments with how plants can grow without soil if they have a host, air, water, sunlight, and basic nutrients. This resource is recommended for teaching.
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