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Science lesson plan · 3rd grade (Year 4 in England) · 45 minutes

How water travels up through a plant

Plants

CCSS NGSS.4-LS1-1England: KS2 Y3 Plants

Objective and success criteria

Students will: How water travels up through a plant.

  • 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: Parts of a plant

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 (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 leaves / the seeds / the stem / the roots) → the leavesPrompt: Which part is usually green and flat to catch the light?
  2. Plant parts: which statement is true? (Only flowers are part of a plant. / Leaves are usually green. / Leaves take in water from the soil. / Roots grow up towards the sky.) → Leaves are usually green.Prompt: Picture a plant from its roots to its flower.
  3. The trunk of a tree is a very thick… (root / stem / flower / leaf) → stemPrompt: It holds the tree up.

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: How water travels up through a plant. 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 white carnation is put in red water. After a day its petals are pink at the edges. What does this show?
  • Step 1: The stem carries water up to every part of the plant, including the flower.
  • Step 2: So the answer is: Water reaches all the way to the flower.
  • Answer: Water reaches all the way to the flower.
  • 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 stick of celery is left in blue-coloured water overnight. What do you see the next day? (The celery has grown roots. / The celery has turned to ice. / Blue lines up the stem and blue in the leaves. / The water is clear and the celery is unchanged.) → Blue lines up the stem and blue in the leaves.Prompt: Where does the water go once it enters the stem?
  2. True or false? Water travels up the stem in tiny tubes. (True / False) → TruePrompt: Which way does water move: up or down?

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 the coloured water a useful part of the celery experiment? (It lets us see where the water goes. / It makes the celery taste better. / It feeds the celery. / It makes the water heavier.) → It lets us see where the water goes.Prompt: Can you see plain water moving inside a stem?
  2. True or false? Water enters a plant mainly through its flowers. (True / False) → FalsePrompt: Which way does water move: up or down?

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: Parts of a plant.
  • 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-3.

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

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How water travels up through a plant

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Date

Score/ 8

  1. Question 1

    A white carnation is put in red water. After a day its petals are pink at the edges. What does this show?

    • A. Flowers make red paint.
    • B. Petals soak up water from the air.
    • C. The flower is dying.
    • D. Water reaches all the way to the flower.

  2. Question 2

    True or false? Water enters a plant mainly through its flowers.

    • A. True
    • B. False

  3. Question 3

    A stick of celery is left in blue-coloured water overnight. What do you see the next day?

    • A. The water is clear and the celery is unchanged.
    • B. The celery has grown roots.
    • C. The celery has turned to ice.
    • D. Blue lines up the stem and blue in the leaves.

  4. Question 4

    True or false? Cut flowers in a vase do not need water.

    • A. True
    • B. False

  5. Question 5

    Where does most of the water that travels up a plant end up?

    • A. It goes back down to the roots.
    • B. It turns into soil.
    • C. It stays in the stem for ever.
    • D. It evaporates out through tiny holes in the leaves.

  6. Question 6

    True or false? Water travels up the stem in tiny tubes.

    • A. True
    • B. False

  7. Question 7

    True or false? Water travels down the stem from the leaves to the roots.

    • A. True
    • B. False

  8. Question 8

    Why is the coloured water a useful part of the celery experiment?

    • A. It makes the water heavier.
    • B. It makes the celery taste better.
    • C. It lets us see where the water goes.
    • D. It feeds the celery.

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Answer key: How water travels up through a plant

  1. 1. D. Water reaches all the way to the flower.

  2. 2. B. False

  3. 3. D. Blue lines up the stem and blue in the leaves.

  4. 4. B. False

  5. 5. D. It evaporates out through tiny holes in the leaves.

  6. 6. A. True

  7. 7. B. False

  8. 8. C. It lets us see where the water goes.