• Quick retrieval from earlier learning (How plants protect themselves). Students answer on mini whiteboards.
• Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.

1. How is this plant part protected: a stinging nettle? (spines instead of flat leaves / prickly edges / sticky sap (resin) / tiny stinging hairs) → tiny stinging hairsPrompt: What would hurt or annoy an animal trying to eat it?
2. Engineers copied thorny plants to design… (barbed fences that keep animals in or out / smooth slides / soft pillows / quiet shoes) → barbed fences that keep animals in or outPrompt: What job do thorns and spikes do?
3. True or false? Thorns help a plant take in water. (True / False) → FalsePrompt: Plants cannot move. How else could they stay safe?

• Bring in a plant that has been kept in the dark next to one in the light, and ask what happened.
• Share the objective: Plant structures for growth, survival and reproduction. Read the success criteria together.

• Work through the example out loud, saying why you do each step, not just what you do.
• Example: What does this structure do for the plant: thorns?
• Step 1: So the answer is: stop animals eating the plant
• Answer: stop animals eating the plant
• 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. What does this structure do for the plant: roots? (protects seeds and helps spread them / stop animals eating the plant / anchor the plant and take in water and minerals / stops the leaves losing too much water) → anchor the plant and take in water and mineralsPrompt: Is it for growing, staying safe, or making new plants?
2. What is this structure mainly for: a stem carrying water up? (growth / protection / reproduction) → growthPrompt: Does it help the plant grow, stay safe, or make seeds?

• 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. Why do many trees in cold places drop their leaves in autumn (fall)? (To save water and avoid frost damage when the ground is frozen. / To catch more sunlight in winter. / Because birds eat them. / Because leaves are too heavy.) → To save water and avoid frost damage when the ground is frozen.Prompt: Can roots take in water from frozen soil?
2. What does this structure do for the plant: a waxy coat on leaves? (anchor the plant and take in water and minerals / protects seeds and helps spread them / stops the leaves losing too much water / attract pollinators so seeds can form) → stops the leaves losing too much waterPrompt: Is it for growing, staying safe, or making new plants?

Free online practice with hints and printable worksheets for this skill: eurekami.com/science/grade-4.