Back to the lesson plan builder
Lesson length30 min45 min60 min
Questions🔀 New questions

Print the plan for yourself; the student sheet prints on its own page after it.

Science lesson plan · 2nd grade (Year 3 in England) · 45 minutes

Plant growth experiments: read the results

Plants

CCSS NGSS.2-LS2-1CCSS NGSS.SEP 4England: KS1 Y2 PlantsEngland: KS1 Working scientifically

Objective and success criteria

Students will: Plant growth experiments: read the results.

  • 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: What plants need to grow; Test what a plant needs: light and water

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 · 5 min

  • Quick retrieval from earlier learning (What plants need to grow; Test what a plant needs: light and water). Students answer on mini whiteboards.
  • Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.
  1. A plant on a windowsill bends towards the window. Why? (It grows towards the light. / It is falling over. / It wants to look outside. / The window is cold.) → It grows towards the light.Prompt: Where does the light come from?
  2. One plant is kept in a dark cupboard and one on a sunny windowsill. Which grows green and strong? (neither, plants need darkness / both the same / the plant in the cupboard / the plant on the windowsill) → the plant on the windowsillPrompt: What do leaves need to make food?
  3. What plants need: which statement is true? (Plants need light to grow well. / Plants never need water. / Plants grow best in the dark. / The more water you give a plant, the better it always grows.) → Plants need light to grow well.Prompt: Think about what keeps a plant healthy.

Hook · 5 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 growth experiments: read the results. Read the success criteria together.

I do: model it · 10 min

  • Work through the example out loud, saying why you do each step, not just what you do.
  • Example: A sunflower seedling was 3 cm tall on Monday. Two weeks later it was 17 cm tall. How many centimetres did it grow?
  • Step 1: 17 − 3 = 14
  • Step 2: So the answer is: 14 cm
  • Answer: 14 cm
  • Pause after each step and ask a student to say what comes next.

We do: guided practice · 10 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. A bean plant was 3 cm tall on Monday. Two weeks later it was 15 cm tall. How many centimetres did it grow? → 12 cmPrompt: Growth is the change in height.
  2. Ana wants to test whether plants need water. She gives one plant water and one none. What else must she do? (Keep the light, soil, pot and type of plant the same. / Put the watered plant in a dark cupboard. / Use a different type of plant for each. / Give the dry plant extra sunlight to make up for it.) → Keep the light, soil, pot and type of plant the same.Prompt: Only one thing should be different.

You do: independent practice · 10 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 8 questions are on the student sheet below, with answers in the key.

Exit ticket · 5 min

  • Two questions on their own. Sort answers into got it / nearly / not yet to plan the next lesson.
  1. Why is it better to grow five plants in each group instead of just one? (One plant might be unusual; more plants give more reliable results. / Plants are lonely on their own. / More plants make the test faster. / It makes the chart more colourful.) → One plant might be unusual; more plants give more reliable results.Prompt: What if your only plant had a weak seed?
  2. A bean plant was 3 cm tall on Monday. Two weeks later it was 10 cm tall. How many centimetres did it grow? → 7 cmPrompt: Growth is the change in height.

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: What plants need to grow.
  • 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-2.

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

eurekami

Plant growth experiments: read the results

Name

Date

Score/ 8

  1. Question 1

    Three bean plants were grown for two weeks in different conditions. The chart shows their heights in cm. Which plant grew best?

    Plant height after 2 weeks (cm)024681012141616light and water6water, no light2light, no water
    • A. light and water
    • B. water, no light
    • C. light, no water

  2. Question 2

    Why is it better to grow five plants in each group instead of just one?

    • A. One plant might be unusual; more plants give more reliable results.
    • B. More plants make the test faster.
    • C. It makes the chart more colourful.
    • D. Plants are lonely on their own.

  3. Question 3

    A tomato seedling was 6 cm tall on Monday. Two weeks later it was 15 cm tall. How many centimetres did it grow?

    Answercm

  4. Question 4

    Which is the best way to measure how much a plant has grown?

    • A. Measure its height with a ruler at the start and the end.
    • B. Count its roots every day by digging it up.
    • C. Weigh the pot only once.
    • D. Guess by looking at it.

  5. Question 5

    A sunflower seedling was 3 cm tall on Monday. Two weeks later it was 15 cm tall. How many centimetres did it grow?

    Answercm

  6. Question 6

    Three bean plants were grown for two weeks in different conditions. The chart shows their heights in cm. Which plant grew least?

    Plant height after 2 weeks (cm)0246810121413light and water5water, no light2light, no water
    • A. light and water
    • B. water, no light
    • C. light, no water

  7. Question 7

    Ana wants to test whether plants need water. She gives one plant water and one none. What else must she do?

    • A. Put the watered plant in a dark cupboard.
    • B. Keep the light, soil, pot and type of plant the same.
    • C. Use a different type of plant for each.
    • D. Give the dry plant extra sunlight to make up for it.

  8. Question 8

    A tomato seedling was 3 cm tall on Monday. Two weeks later it was 17 cm tall. How many centimetres did it grow?

    Answercm

Free from eurekami.com

for the adult only

Answer key: Plant growth experiments: read the results

  1. 1. A. light and water

  2. 2. A. One plant might be unusual; more plants give more reliable results.

  3. 3. 9 cm

  4. 4. A. Measure its height with a ruler at the start and the end.

  5. 5. 12 cm

  6. 6. C. light, no water

  7. 7. B. Keep the light, soil, pot and type of plant the same.

  8. 8. 14 cm