• Quick retrieval from earlier learning (What plants need to grow; Test what a plant needs: light and water). Students answer on mini whiteboards.
• Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.

1. A plant is left in a dark cupboard for two weeks. What will probably happen? (It turns pale and weak. / It grows greener. / It grows flowers faster. / Nothing changes.) → It turns pale and weak.Prompt: What do leaves need to make food?
2. A plant on a windowsill leans towards the glass. Why? (It is growing towards the light. / It is cold inside. / It is trying to get out. / The glass pulls it.) → It is growing towards the light.Prompt: Where does most light come from in a room?
3. What plants need: which statement is true? (Plants grow best in the dark. / Plants need water. / The more water you give a plant, the better it always grows. / Plants eat soil to get their food.) → Plants need water.Prompt: Think about what keeps a plant healthy.

• 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 growth experiments: read the results. Read the success criteria together.

• Work through the example out loud, saying why you do each step, not just what you do.
• Example: A sunflower seedling was 3 cm tall on Monday. Two weeks later it was 17 cm tall. How many centimetres did it grow?
• Step 1: 17 − 3 = 14
• Step 2: So the answer is: 14 cm
• Answer: 14 cm
• 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. A tomato seedling was 5 cm tall on Monday. Two weeks later it was 17 cm tall. How many centimetres did it grow? → 12 cmPrompt: Growth is the change in height.
2. A plant kept in the dark grew tall, thin and pale. What do the results suggest? (It had too much light. / Pale plants are the healthiest. / Darkness is the best way to grow plants. / It was stretching to find light and could not make enough food.) → It was stretching to find light and could not make enough food.Prompt: Being tall is not the same as being healthy.

• 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. A bean plant was 5 cm tall on Monday. Two weeks later it was 9 cm tall. How many centimetres did it grow? → 4 cmPrompt: Growth is the change in height.
2. Ana wants to test whether plants need water. She gives one plant water and one none. What else must she do? (Use a different type of plant for each. / Keep the light, soil, pot and type of plant the same. / Put the watered plant in a dark cupboard. / Give the dry plant extra sunlight to make up for it.) → Keep the light, soil, pot and type of plant the same.Prompt: Only one thing should be different.

Free online practice with hints and printable worksheets for this skill: eurekami.com/science/grade-2.