• Quick retrieval from earlier learning (Parts of a plant). Students answer on mini whiteboards.
• Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.

1. Which part of a plant makes food using sunlight? (the seeds / the leaves / the roots / the stem) → the leavesPrompt: Which part is usually green and flat to catch the light?
2. Plant parts: which statement is true? (A tree trunk is a stem. / Roots grow up towards the sky. / Leaves take in water from the soil. / Trees are not plants.) → A tree trunk is a stem.Prompt: Picture a plant from its roots to its flower.
3. Which part holds the plant up and carries water to the leaves? (the stem / the roots / the petals / the flower) → the stemPrompt: It is like a straw and a pole at the same time.

• Bring in a plant that has been kept in the dark next to one in the light, and ask what happened.
• Share the objective: Which part of the plant do we eat?. Read the success criteria together.

• Work through the example out loud, saying why you do each step, not just what you do.
• Example: Which part of the plant is this food: cauliflower?
• Step 1: These are bunches of tiny flower buds.
• Step 2: So the answer is: flowers (flower buds)
• Answer: flowers (flower buds)
• 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. Which part of the plant is this food: kale? (stem / fruit (holds seeds) / root / leaves) → leavesPrompt: Did it grow under the ground, hold the plant up, catch sunlight, bloom, or is it something you could plant to grow a new plant?
2. Why are lettuce and spinach leaves usually green and thin? (They are not ripe yet. / Leaves are made to catch light and make food. / They grow underground. / They are full of seeds.) → Leaves are made to catch light and make food.Prompt: What job do leaves do for a plant?

• 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.

• Two questions on their own. Sort answers into got it / nearly / not yet to plan the next lesson.

1. Scientists call a tomato a fruit, not a vegetable. Why? (It is red. / It grows under the ground. / It is sweet like sweets. / It grows from a flower and has seeds inside.) → It grows from a flower and has seeds inside.Prompt: Cut one open: what do you find inside?
2. Which part of the plant is this food: artichoke? (seeds / leaves / stem / flowers (flower buds)) → flowers (flower buds)Prompt: Did it grow under the ground, hold the plant up, catch sunlight, bloom, or is it something you could plant to grow a new plant?

Free online practice with hints and printable worksheets for this skill: eurekami.com/science/grade-1.