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Science lesson plan · 5th grade (Year 6 in England) · 30 minutes

Plant reproduction: seeds versus runners, bulbs, tubers and cuttings

Plants

CCSS NGSS.3-LS1-1England: KS2 Y5 Living things and their habitats

Objective and success criteria

Students will: Plant reproduction: seeds versus runners, bulbs, tubers and cuttings.

  • 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: Pollination and seed dispersal

Leads to: the next skill in this area.

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 (Pollination and seed dispersal). Students answer on mini whiteboards.
  • Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.
  1. How are the seeds of this plant mainly spread: Himalayan balsam? (wind / animals / water / exploding pods) → exploding podsPrompt: Are the seeds light and fluffy, hooked or tasty, able to float, or in a pod?
  2. Grass flowers are small and green with no scent. How are they pollinated? (they are never pollinated / by birds only / by the wind / by bees) → by the windPrompt: They do not need to attract insects.
  3. Which plant's seeds are mainly spread by wind? (willowherb / gorse / burdock burrs / blackberries) → willowherbPrompt: Think about the shape of each seed or fruit.

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: Plant reproduction: seeds versus runners, bulbs, tubers and cuttings. 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: How is this new plant produced: a daffodil bulb splitting into new bulbs?
  • Step 1: A new plant grows from part of one parent and is identical to it.
  • Step 2: So the answer is: from part of one parent (asexual reproduction)
  • Answer: from part of one parent (asexual reproduction)
  • 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. How is this new plant produced: a sunflower growing from a seed? (from seeds (sexual reproduction) / from part of one parent (asexual reproduction)) → from seeds (sexual reproduction)Prompt: Did it come from a seed, or from a piece of one plant?
  2. Why do farmers plant pieces of potato instead of potato seeds? (Potatoes have no flowers. / Each piece with an "eye" grows into a plant just like the parent, and it is quicker. / Potatoes are not plants. / Potato seeds are poisonous to soil.) → Each piece with an "eye" grows into a plant just like the parent, and it is quicker.Prompt: A potato is a tuber: a swollen underground stem.

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. A strawberry plant sends out long stems along the ground that grow new plants. What are they called? (pollen / runners / petals / roots) → runnersPrompt: They "run" along the soil.
  2. True or false? Some plants can reproduce without seeds. (True / False) → TruePrompt: One parent or two? Seeds or plant parts?

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: Pollination and seed dispersal.
  • 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

  • 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/grade-5.

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

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Plant reproduction: seeds versus runners, bulbs, tubers and cuttings

Name

Date

Score/ 6

  1. Question 1

    How is this new plant produced: a sunflower growing from a seed?

    • A. from seeds (sexual reproduction)
    • B. from part of one parent (asexual reproduction)

  2. Question 2

    True or false? Plants grown from cuttings are identical to the parent plant.

    • A. True
    • B. False

  3. Question 3

    Gardeners take cuttings from a rose bush with perfect flowers. Why not just plant its seeds?

    • A. Rose seeds never grow.
    • B. Cuttings grow slower.
    • C. Seeds are only for trees.
    • D. Cuttings grow into plants identical to the parent; seeds may differ.

  4. Question 4

    How is this new plant produced: strawberry runners rooting nearby?

    • A. from seeds (sexual reproduction)
    • B. from part of one parent (asexual reproduction)

  5. Question 5

    True or false? A plant grown from a seed is always identical to its parent.

    • A. True
    • B. False

  6. Question 6

    What is one advantage of plants making seeds rather than copies?

    • A. Copies spread further.
    • B. Seeds need no pollination.
    • C. Seeds are always identical.
    • D. Seeds create variety, so some young may survive changes such as new diseases.

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Answer key: Plant reproduction: seeds versus runners, bulbs, tubers and cuttings

  1. 1. A. from seeds (sexual reproduction)

  2. 2. A. True

  3. 3. D. Cuttings grow into plants identical to the parent; seeds may differ.

  4. 4. B. from part of one parent (asexual reproduction)

  5. 5. B. False

  6. 6. D. Seeds create variety, so some young may survive changes such as new diseases.