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Mr. Miller
Grades 3/4
Length: 3-4 weeks
Introduction
You are driving with your
family on a snowy winter night. The houses and trees are covered with snow, but
the road is staying melted. As you continue driving you get behind a truck
spreading salt and you wonder why it’s doing this.
In the spring you are driving down the same road and
everything is turning green and coming back to life, but you notice that along
the side of the road, the plants and grass look brown. You think back to that
winter night and wonder if the salt is harmful to plants.
The Task
You will be working with a partner to find out more about how
salt melts snow and ice and if this is harmful to plants. Together you will
complete the following steps:
1. You will complete a WebQuest to learn more about these topics by clicking on
links and answering questions on a worksheet.
2. You will grow your own plants using water with different amounts of salt in
it. As they grow you will collect data to see how the salt affects their growth.
3. Using the data you collect, you will create a bar and line graph that shows
your results and present your results to the class.
The Process Part 1
Working together with your partner, complete the following
WebQuest by clicking the links and recording your answers on your worksheet.
1. Click the link and answer the question.
**http://www.ebfarm.com/Kids/Farming_Grow.aspx
What do plants need to grow?
2. Click the link and answer these questions:
http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/gpe/case2/c2facts3.html
a. Name 3 important nutrients for plants and write how each one helps a plant.
b. How does the plant get these nutrients?
4. Click the link and answer the questions.
http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/gpe/case2/c2facts1.html
a. What is soil made of?
b. Why is soil important to plants?
5. Now that you’ve learned some information about plants, we
will learn about how salt may affect them. Click the link and answer the
question.
**http://www.micron.com/k12/lessonplans/salt/uses.html
Read the part that says Salt as a De-icer and write why salt is put on the road.
6. Click the link and answer the question.
http://weathersavvy.com/Q-Winter_Salt_On_Ice.html
Explain what salt does to ice.
7. Click the link and answer the question.
**http://www.freep.com/news/weather/weahome/salt.htm
Will salt always melt ice?
8. Click the link and answer the question
http://chicagowildernessmag.org/issues/winter2004/clearingdriveway.html
What are some other ways to remove snow and ice?
9. Now for some thinking questions:
a. What do you think happens to all the salt that gets put on the roads after
the snow is gone?
b. How do you think salt would affect plant growth?
The Process Part 2
In this next step, you and your partner will follow the teacher’s directions and grow some plants in the classroom. Each plant will be watered with water that has different amounts of salt in it. As they grow you will collect data on a chart. Before you begin, you should make a hypothesis (an educated guess) about what will happen.
WebQuest Student
Worksheet
**Plant Growth Chart
After you collect the data for several weeks, you will return to the WebQuest
and complete Part 3.
The Process Step 3
Now that you have collected the data, you will make 2 kinds of
graphs to show your results. Click the links and follow the teacher’s
directions.
1. Line Graph Link
http://nces.ed.gov/nceskids/Graphing/classic/line_data.asp
2. Bar Graph Link
http://nces.ed.gov/nceskids/Graphing/classic/bar_pie_data.asp?ChartType=bar
When you are done, print your graph and on a separate sheet of paper, write a
conclusion about your results. You will be presenting your graphs and conclusion
to the class.
Evaluation
Click here for the rubric**
Conclusion
Congratulations, you’ve done a great job! Spring is here and we won’t have to
worry about snow again for a while, but next time you’re driving behind a salt
truck, think about what you learned. Maybe you would like to plant your own
garden, but remember:
Skip the salt!
