• 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 stem / the roots / the seeds) → the leavesPrompt: Which part is usually green and flat to catch the light?
2. Plant parts: which statement is true? (Roots grow up towards the sky. / Flowers help plants make seeds. / Only flowers are part of a plant. / Leaves take in water from the soil.) → Flowers help plants make seeds.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 petals / the roots / 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: Pollination and seed dispersal. Read the success criteria together.

• Work through the example out loud, saying why you do each step, not just what you do.
• Example: How are the seeds of this plant mainly spread: burdock burrs?
• Step 1: Hooked seeds stick to fur; seeds in tasty fruit are eaten and dropped elsewhere; nuts are buried and forgotten.
• Step 2: So the answer is: animals
• Answer: animals
• 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. How are the seeds of this plant mainly spread: sea bean? (wind / animals / water / exploding pods) → waterPrompt: 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 / watering a plant / leaves falling in autumn (fall) / planting seeds in soil) → moving pollen from the male part of a flower to the female partPrompt: Pollen has to reach the stigma.

• 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. What is pollination? (moving pollen from the male part of a flower to the female part / planting seeds in soil / watering a plant / leaves falling in autumn (fall)) → moving pollen from the male part of a flower to the female partPrompt: Pollen has to reach the stigma.
2. Which plant's seeds are mainly spread by water? (cherries / coconut / willowherb / acorns buried by squirrels) → coconutPrompt: Think about the shape of each seed or fruit.

Free online practice with hints and printable worksheets for this skill: eurekami.com/science/grade-3.