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Science lesson plan · 5th grade (Year 6 in England) · 45 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 · 5 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: cherries? (wind / animals / water / exploding pods) → animalsPrompt: 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 keep warm / to scare animals away / to take in water / to attract insects that carry pollen) → to attract insects that carry pollenPrompt: Which visitors do flowers want?
  3. Which plant's seeds are mainly spread by animals? (coconut / lupin / acorns buried by squirrels / Himalayan balsam) → acorns buried by squirrelsPrompt: Think about the shape of each seed or fruit.

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 reproduction: seeds versus runners, bulbs, tubers and cuttings. 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: 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 · 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. 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. What is one advantage of plants making seeds rather than copies? (Copies spread further. / Seeds are always identical. / Seeds create variety, so some young may survive changes such as new diseases. / Seeds need no pollination.) → Seeds create variety, so some young may survive changes such as new diseases.Prompt: If every plant were identical, one disease could affect them all.

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. A strawberry plant sends out long stems along the ground that grow new plants. What are they called? (petals / runners / pollen / roots) → runnersPrompt: They "run" along the soil.
  2. True or false? Sexual reproduction in plants needs pollination. (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/ 8

  1. Question 1

    How is this new plant produced: an oak from an acorn?

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

  2. Question 2

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

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

  3. Question 3

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

    • A. True
    • B. False

  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

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

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

  6. Question 6

    True or false? Sexual reproduction in plants needs pollination.

    • A. True
    • B. False

  7. Question 7

    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)

  8. Question 8

    A strawberry plant sends out long stems along the ground that grow new plants. What are they called?

    • A. roots
    • B. pollen
    • C. runners
    • D. petals

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

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

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

  3. 3. B. False

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

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

  6. 6. A. True

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

  8. 8. C. runners