Best Salad Greens Experiment for 4th Grade Ask a Question: What is the best salad green for

school lunches? Brainstorm ideas about what makes the best salad green. Research: a. There are many different salad green cultivars. b. There are differences in what salad green cultivars are used for. c. Different salad green cultivars have differences in the leaves- color, leaf, margin (edge of the leaf), and other differences. d. Here is a link to previous Best Salad Greens data: http://bestlettuce.wikispaces.com Hypothesis: I predict that all salad greens will / will not (circle one) grow the same. I predict that all salad greens will / will not (circle one) taste the same. Design Experiment: a. We will plant 6 salad greens: 1. Bambino 2. Esmeralda 3. Pacheco 4. Parris Island 5. Pyramid 6. Simpson Elite b. All salad greens will be planted in the same size pots. c. All salad greens will be planted in the same soil (greenhouse soil mix). d. All salad greens will be given the same fertilizer. e. All salad greens will be watered the same. f. All salad greens will be grown in the greenhouse under the same conditions. Here are some salad green characteristics we could measure: Height, color, texture, taste What other ones can you think of? Collect Data: Plant Growth- How tall are your plants? Week 1 Week 2 Week 3

Plant Height (cm)

Week 4

Leaf Data-What do the leaves look like? Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Describe the leaf

Week 4

Sketch the Leaf

Describe the color(s)

Leaf Evaluation- assign 1-5 rating for each type of salad greens (1 is unacceptable, 5 is outstanding) Date: Baby Star Esmeralda Pacheco Parris Island Pyramid Simpson

Taste Evaluation- assign 1-5 rating for each type of salad greens (1 is disgusting, 5 is delicious) Date: Baby Star Esmeralda Pacheco Parris Island Pyramid Simpson

Explain Data: Does your data support your hypothesis about plant growth? Explain: Does your data support your hypothesis about plant taste? Explain: Look at all of your data (height, leaf evaluation, taste). What salad green do you recommend as the best for school lunches? Explain why you recommend that salad green: Ask New Questions: What new questions do you have? What should the next Lettuce Experiment be?