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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: coconut? (wind / animals / water / exploding pods) → waterPrompt: Are the seeds light and fluffy, hooked or tasty, able to float, or in a pod?
  2. Why do many flowers have bright petals and a sweet smell? (to take in water / to attract insects that carry pollen / to keep warm / to scare animals away) → to attract insects that carry pollenPrompt: Which visitors do flowers want?
  3. Which plant's seeds are mainly spread by wind? (gorse / lupin / willowherb / Himalayan balsam) → 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: an oak from an acorn? (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. / Potato seeds are poisonous to soil. / Potatoes are not plants. / Each piece with an "eye" grows into a plant just like the parent, and it is quicker.) → 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. How is this new plant produced: a potato tuber sprouting? (from seeds (sexual reproduction) / from part of one parent (asexual reproduction)) → from part of one parent (asexual reproduction)Prompt: Did it come from a seed, or from a piece of one plant?
  2. A strawberry plant sends out long stems along the ground that grow new plants. What are they called? (petals / runners / roots / pollen) → runnersPrompt: They "run" along the soil.

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

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

    • A. True
    • B. False

  2. Question 2

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

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

  3. Question 3

    Why do farmers plant pieces of potato instead of potato seeds?

    • A. Potatoes have no flowers.
    • B. Potatoes are not plants.
    • C. Each piece with an "eye" grows into a plant just like the parent, and it is quicker.
    • D. Potato seeds are poisonous to soil.

  4. Question 4

    True or false? All plants can only reproduce with seeds.

    • A. True
    • B. False

  5. Question 5

    How is this new plant produced: a geranium cutting in water?

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

  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. B. False

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

  3. 3. C. Each piece with an "eye" grows into a plant just like the parent, and it is quicker.

  4. 4. B. False

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

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