• 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 cactus? (spines instead of flat leaves / tiny stinging hairs / thick, tough bark / prickly edges) → spines instead of flat leavesPrompt: What would hurt or annoy an animal trying to eat it?
2. Some plants taste very bitter. How does this help them? (It makes their flowers bigger. / It makes them taller. / Animals learn not to eat them. / It helps them make food.) → Animals learn not to eat them.Prompt: Would you take a second bite of something horrible?
3. True or false? Bark protects a tree like skin protects your body. (True / False) → TruePrompt: 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: a waxy coat on leaves? (curl around supports so the plant can climb / stops the leaves losing too much water / protects the trunk from damage and disease / attract pollinators so seeds can form) → stops the leaves losing too much waterPrompt: Is it for growing, staying safe, or making new plants?
2. What is this structure mainly for: thick bark? (growth / protection / reproduction) → protectionPrompt: 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)? (Because leaves are too heavy. / To catch more sunlight in winter. / Because birds eat them. / To save water and avoid frost damage when the ground is frozen.) → 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: bark? (curl around supports so the plant can climb / anchor the plant and take in water and minerals / protects the trunk from damage and disease / stop animals eating the plant) → protects the trunk from damage and diseasePrompt: 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.