The Mystery of Sap

Objective:

Students will demonstrate an understanding of how sap runs up to the leaves by conducting a science experiment with celery and food coloring.

Length of Lesson: 1 Hour

GCO:

            Students will be expected to demonstrate an understanding of the past and how it affects the present and the future.

SCOs:

            Demonstrate an understanding of the concepts and vocabulary associated with time, continuity and change

            Identify, evaluate and use appropriate primary and secondary sources to learn and communicate about the past

            Research and describe historical events and ideas from different perspectives

            Apply historical methodology to interpret and understand time, continuity and change at an age appropriate level

Cross Curricular Links: Science

Materials:  

• A glass
• Celery
• Some red or blue food coloring

Procedure:

• The teacher will explain to the class that pioneers found that they could tap into maple trees and sap would drip out. They boiled it down to make maple syrup and maple candy. When the leaves began to grow, the sap went to them. After winter the sap runs up to the branches to provide food for the leaves’ growth.
• The teacher will have students fill a glass half full of water and have them add a little red or blue food coloring
• The teacher will cut a piece of the bottoms of the celery
• The students will let the celery stand in the water for at least twenty-four hours
• The students will be asked to make predictions and come up with a hypothesis about what will happen to the celery. They will be asked to write these down in their science scribbler.
• The students will then examine the leaves and analyze the changes and make the connections to the travelling of sap through the tree. They will record this in a reflection.

Evaluation:

The teacher will assess student progress by looking at their hypotheses and predictions and then evaluating their reflections about the changes and why they believed the changes occurred.