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Science lesson plan · Kindergarten (Reception and Year 1 in England) · 30 minutes

Test what a plant needs: light and water

Plants

CCSS NGSS.K-LS1-1CCSS NGSS.SEP 3England: EYFS Understanding the World: The natural worldEngland: KS1 Y2 Plants

Objective and success criteria

Students will: Test what a plant needs: light and water.

  • I can answer questions on today's skill on my own, without help.
  • I can explain each step and say why it works.
  • I can check my answer and spot a mistake.

Before and after

Needs first: Parts of a plant

Leads to: Plant growth experiments: read the results

Materials: Real plants or seeds, Hand lenses, Mini whiteboards, A diagram or short video clip of the idea, Printed student sheet (below).

Warm-up · 4 min

  • 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 of a plant makes seeds? (the roots / the flower / the stem / the leaves) → the flowerPrompt: Bees visit this colourful part.
  2. Plant parts: which statement is true? (Trees are not plants. / Roots grow up towards the sky. / Only flowers are part of a plant. / A tree trunk is a stem.) → A tree trunk is a stem.Prompt: Picture a plant from its roots to its flower.
  3. Which part holds the plant up and carries water to the leaves? (the stem / the petals / the flower / the roots) → the stemPrompt: It is like a straw and a pole at the same time.

Hook · 3 min

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

I do: model it · 7 min

  • Work through the example out loud, saying why you do each step, not just what you do.
  • Example: One plant is kept in a dark cupboard and one on a sunny windowsill. Which grows green and strong?
  • Step 1: Plants need light to make food, so the one in the light grows well.
  • Step 2: So the answer is: the plant on the windowsill
  • Answer: the plant on the windowsill
  • Pause after each step and ask a student to say what comes next.

We do: guided practice · 6 min

  • Do these together. Students try each step on whiteboards before you reveal it.
  • Use the hints as prompts rather than giving the answer.
  1. One plant is kept in a dark cupboard and one on a sunny windowsill. Which grows green and strong? (the plant in the cupboard / neither, plants need darkness / both the same / the plant on the windowsill) → the plant on the windowsillPrompt: What do leaves need to make food?
  2. Plant experiments: which statement is NOT true? (A plant without water will wilt. / In a fair test you change only one thing. / A plant gets its food by eating soil. / Plants grown in the dark often turn pale and weak.) → A plant gets its food by eating soil.Prompt: Remember what plants need and what makes a test fair.

You do: independent practice · 7 min

  • 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.

Exit ticket · 3 min

  • Two questions on their own. Sort answers into got it / nearly / not yet to plan the next lesson.
  1. Plant experiments: which statement is NOT true? (A plant gets its food by eating soil. / Plants need water, light and air to grow well. / A plant without water will wilt. / Plants grown in the dark often turn pale and weak.) → A plant gets its food by eating soil.Prompt: Remember what plants need and what makes a test fair.
  2. Two bean plants are the same. One gets water, one gets none. After a week, what do you see? (Both look exactly the same. / The plant with no water grew taller. / The plant with no water is droopy and dry. / The watered plant turned brown.) → The plant with no water is droopy and dry.Prompt: What happens to a plant left without a drink?

Watch out for

  • Everyday meanings of words getting in the way of the science meaning: define key words explicitly.
  • Remembering facts without the reason: ask "why?" and "what is the evidence?"

Support and stretch

Support

  • Review first: Parts of a plant.
  • Use concrete materials: real plants or seeds.
  • Give the first step of each question, or a partly worked example to finish.
  • Pair with a confident partner for the guided practice.

Stretch

  • Move on to: Plant growth experiments: read the results.
  • Explain a common mistake in writing and how to fix it.
  • Write a word problem that uses today's skill, then solve a partner's.

Homework and more practice

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

Free lesson plan from eurekami.com/lesson-plan-builder

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Test what a plant needs: light and water

Name

Date

Score/ 6

  1. Question 1

    Plant experiments: which statement is NOT true?

    • A. In a fair test you change only one thing.
    • B. Plants grown in the dark often turn pale and weak.
    • C. Plants grow best in a dark cupboard.
    • D. A plant without water will wilt.

  2. Question 2

    Two cress pots grew for a week, one in the light and one in the dark. The chart shows how many seedlings stood up green and strong. How many more strong seedlings grew in the light?

    Strong green seedlings0246810121414in the light2in the dark

    Answer

  3. Question 3

    Two bean plants are the same. One gets water, one gets none. After a week, what do you see?

    • A. The plant with no water grew taller.
    • B. The plant with no water is droopy and dry.
    • C. Both look exactly the same.
    • D. The watered plant turned brown.

  4. Question 4

    Cress grown in the light gave 10 strong seedlings. Cress grown in the dark gave 4. What do these results show?

    Strong green seedlings024681010in the light4in the dark
    • A. Plants need light to grow well.
    • B. Plants need sweets to grow.
    • C. Plants grow best in the dark.
    • D. Light makes no difference to plants.

  5. Question 5

    A plant on a windowsill leans towards the glass. Why?

    • A. The glass pulls it.
    • B. It is cold inside.
    • C. It is trying to get out.
    • D. It is growing towards the light.

  6. Question 6

    To test if plants need light, what must be the SAME for both plants?

    • A. the amount of light
    • B. the water, the soil and the type of plant
    • C. only the colour of the pot matters
    • D. nothing, everything should be different

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Answer key: Test what a plant needs: light and water

  1. 1. C. Plants grow best in a dark cupboard.

  2. 2. 12

  3. 3. B. The plant with no water is droopy and dry.

  4. 4. A. Plants need light to grow well.

  5. 5. D. It is growing towards the light.

  6. 6. B. the water, the soil and the type of plant