Do slaters prefer a dry or a moist environment?
Students work in pairs or in small teams. Each team is given six slaters and guidance on how to handle them. Students use a hand lens to examine the body structure of the slaters. Based on their prior knowledge, they predict whether the slater might prefer a moist or dry environment. Students fill a broad shallow container with soil and leaves from the slaters’ natural environment. They make sure that the mixture on one side of the tray is moist and that on the other side is dry. Students discuss the variables that should be controlled for a fair test. Slaters are placed at the interface of the moist and dry mixture and the container is covered. Their position is recorded appropriately at five minute intervals over a 25 minute period. Students record the number of slaters in each location in a spreadsheet. After completing the exercise, students draw a graph showing the movement and position of the slaters throughout the experiment. Students display their results and compare their data
