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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. What is pollination? (moving pollen from the male part of a flower to the female part / leaves falling in autumn (fall) / watering a plant / planting seeds in soil) → moving pollen from the male part of a flower to the female partPrompt: Pollen has to reach the stigma.
  3. Which plant's seeds are mainly spread by exploding pods? (Himalayan balsam / acorns buried by squirrels / cherries / burdock burrs) → Himalayan balsamPrompt: 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: beans sown in spring? (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. / Each piece with an "eye" grows into a plant just like the parent, and it is quicker. / 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.Prompt: A potato is a tuber: a swollen underground stem.

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. Gardeners take cuttings from a rose bush with perfect flowers. Why not just plant its seeds? (Seeds are only for trees. / Rose seeds never grow. / Cuttings grow slower. / Cuttings grow into plants identical to the parent; seeds may differ.) → Cuttings grow into plants identical to the parent; seeds may differ.Prompt: Which method has only one parent?
  2. How is this new plant produced: a geranium cutting in water? (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?

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: a potato tuber sprouting?

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

  2. Question 2

    True or false? Plants grown from cuttings are identical to the parent plant.

    • A. True
    • B. False

  3. Question 3

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

  4. Question 4

    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)

  5. Question 5

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

    • A. True
    • B. False

  6. Question 6

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

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

  7. Question 7

    How is this new plant produced: an apple tree from a pip?

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

  8. Question 8

    True or false? A potato is a root.

    • A. True
    • B. False

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

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

  2. 2. A. True

  3. 3. C. Cuttings grow into plants identical to the parent; seeds may differ.

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

  5. 5. B. False

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

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

  8. 8. B. False