{"id":317179,"date":"2026-06-26T15:46:13","date_gmt":"2026-06-26T06:46:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/isnedu.org\/?post_type=nakano-campus&p=317179"},"modified":"2026-06-26T15:46:14","modified_gmt":"2026-06-26T06:46:14","slug":"nakano-grade-5-inquiry-in-action-what-can-our-soybeans-teach-us-june-22-26","status":"publish","type":"nakano-campus","link":"https:\/\/isnedu.org\/en\/nakano-campus\/nakano-grade-5-inquiry-in-action-what-can-our-soybeans-teach-us-june-22-26\/","title":{"rendered":"Nakano Grade 5 : Inquiry in Action: What Can Our Soybeans Teach Us? (June 22-26)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Our Grade 5 students have been developing one of the most important skills of scientists\u2014careful observation<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As part of our current Unit of Inquiry, we are investigating how biotic (living) and abiotic (non-living) elements interact within an ecosystem<\/strong>. To explore this concept, we designed a simple but exciting experiment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the same day, we planted soybean seeds in two different environments. One group was planted in our school garden outdoors, while the other was planted inside our “Ecosystem in a Bottle,”<\/strong> a closed mini ecosystem that allows us to observe how plants grow in a different environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before we began, students made predictions. Which soybeans would grow first? Would both environments provide everything the plants needed? How would sunlight, water, air, and soil affect their growth?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After one week, our observations surprised us!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Both sets of soybeans germinated successfully. However, the soybeans growing inside the bottle sprouted first and quickly became taller than the plants growing outside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At first glance, it seemed that the bottle plants were growing better. But as we continued to observe more closely, we noticed something interesting. Although the outdoor plants were shorter, they appeared healthier. Their leaves were larger, greener, and stronger than the leaves of the plants inside the bottle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This led to even more questions:<\/p>\n\n\n\n