• Quick retrieval from earlier learning (Parts of a plant). Students answer on mini whiteboards.
• Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.

1. Which part holds the plant up and carries water to the leaves? (the roots / the flower / the petals / the stem) → the stemPrompt: It is like a straw and a pole at the same time.
2. Plant parts: which statement is true? (Only flowers are part of a plant. / Roots grow up towards the sky. / Flowers help plants make seeds. / Leaves take in water from the soil.) → Flowers help plants make seeds.Prompt: Picture a plant from its roots to its flower.
3. Which part of a plant takes in water from the soil? (the flower / the stem / the leaves / the roots) → the rootsPrompt: Which part is under the ground?

• Bring in a plant that has been kept in the dark next to one in the light, and ask what happened.
• Share the objective: How water travels up through a plant. Read the success criteria together.

• Work through the example out loud, saying why you do each step, not just what you do.
• Example: A white carnation is put in red water. After a day its petals are pink at the edges. What does this show?
• Step 1: The stem carries water up to every part of the plant, including the flower.
• Step 2: So the answer is: Water reaches all the way to the flower.
• Answer: Water reaches all the way to the flower.
• Pause after each step and ask a student to say what comes next.

• Do these together. Students try each step on whiteboards before you reveal it.
• Use the hints as prompts rather than giving the answer.

1. A stick of celery is left in blue-coloured water overnight. What do you see the next day? (The celery has turned to ice. / The celery has grown roots. / Blue lines up the stem and blue in the leaves. / The water is clear and the celery is unchanged.) → Blue lines up the stem and blue in the leaves.Prompt: Where does the water go once it enters the stem?
2. True or false? Water travels down the stem from the leaves to the roots. (True / False) → FalsePrompt: Which way does water move: up or down?

• Students work on the student sheet. Circulate and check the first two answers of every student early.
• Students who finish: write a question of their own for a partner, with the answer.

The 6 questions are on the student sheet below, with answers in the key.

• Two questions on their own. Sort answers into got it / nearly / not yet to plan the next lesson.

1. True or false? Water travels down the stem from the leaves to the roots. (True / False) → FalsePrompt: Which way does water move: up or down?
2. Why is the coloured water a useful part of the celery experiment? (It lets us see where the water goes. / It makes the water heavier. / It feeds the celery. / It makes the celery taste better.) → It lets us see where the water goes.Prompt: Can you see plain water moving inside a stem?

Free online practice with hints and printable worksheets for this skill: eurekami.com/science/grade-3.