🎯What Do Plants Need? A Grade 1 Investigation

Lesson plan

Objectives

• Identify the four main things plants need to survive (air, water, light, and nutrients/soil).
• Describe the role of the sun as a source of energy for plant growth.
• Distinguish between living plants and non-living objects based on their needs.
• Predict what might happen to a plant if one of its needs is not met.

Materials

• A healthy potted flowering plant (e.g., a Marigold or Pothos)
• A small watering can or spray bottle
• Clear plastic cups and dried lima beans for every student
• Paper towels and potting soil
• Flashlight (to represent the sun)
• Printed 'Need vs. Want' sorting cards
• Box or dark closet for investigation

Warm-up

Begin by asking students to sit in a circle. Hold up a stuffed animal and a real plant, then ask: 'Which one of these is alive?' After students identify the plant, ask: 'What does this plant need to stay alive that the stuffed animal doesn't need?' List their student ideas on a whiteboard labeled 'Living Things Need.' Transition to the lesson by explaining that today we are becoming 'Plant Detectives' to find out exactly what keeps green things growing.

Direct instruction

1. Define 'Living Things': Explain that plants are alive just like us, but they have different ways of eating and breathing.
2. Introduce Sunlight: Use a flashlight to represent the sun. Explain that leaves act like tiny solar panels that catch light to turn it into food energy.
3. Introduce Water: Show how a plant's roots act like straws. Explain that water moves from the soil, up the stem, and to the tips of the leaves.
4. Introduce Air: Explain that even though we can't see it, plants 'breathe' through tiny invisible holes in their leaves.
5. Introduce Nutrients/Soil: Compare soil to a vitamin. Explain that soil holds the plant in place and provides the 'minerals' or vitamins needed for strength.
6. The 'What If' Game: Ask students what happens if we put a plant in a dark closet for a week. Use this to emphasize that if one need is missing, the plant cannot grow.
7. Model Planting: Demonstrate how to place a seed in a cup with soil, emphasizing the importance of not 'drowning' the seed with too much water.

Guided practice

As a class, we will create a 'Needs of a Plant' anchor chart. The teacher will draw a flower in the center. I will call on four students to come up and draw one 'need' around the plant: one student draws a sun, one draws a watering can, one draws clouds for air, and one draws dark brown soil at the bottom. We will practice a hand-motion chant: 'Roots need soil (touch toes), Leaves need light (reach for sky), Stems need water (slurp sound), and we all need air (deep breath)!'

Independent practice

Students will complete the 'Plant Needs' worksheet where they must identify and circle the correct items a plant requires. After finishing the worksheet, students will move to the lab station to prepare their own 'Bean in a Cup.' They will wet a paper towel, tuck a lima bean inside, and place it in a clear cup. They will then draw a 'Day 1' picture in their science journals showing the bean and the water provided.

Closure

Gather the students back at the rug. Ask: 'Can a plant grow if it has water and light but is kept in a vacuum with no air?' (No). Use the 'Exit Ticket' prompt: 'Name one thing a plant needs that a rock does not need.' Have each student whisper their answer to a partner before lining up.

Assessment

Mastery will be measured through the accuracy of the students' 'Identify the Needs' worksheet (aiming for 8/10 correct) and the successful setup of their bean experiment. Observation during the 'What If' game will assess conceptual understanding of survival requirements.

Differentiation

For struggling learners: Provide a visual word bank with pictures for all writing tasks; use 'stencils' for drawing the needs. For advanced learners: Provide three different seeds (bean, sunflower, radish) and ask them to hypothesize which will sprout first; have them write one sentence explaining the function of the roots.

Plants and what they need Worksheet

Complete each item to practice Plants and what they need. Show your thinking.

1. Explain Plants and what they need in your own words.
2. Complete one example related to Plants and what they need.
3. Draw, label, or write about a second example of Plants and what they need.
4. Create your own problem or question about Plants and what they need.

Plants and what they need Quick Quiz

1. What is one important idea from today's lesson on Plants and what they need?
   Answer: Answers will vary.
2. How can you show or explain Plants and what they need?
   Answer: Use details, examples, drawings, or equations from the lesson.
3. What strategy helped you understand Plants and what they need?
   Answer: Answers will vary.

Plants and what they need Homework

Review today's lesson and practice Plants and what they need at home.

• Complete three practice examples about Plants and what they need.
• Write one question you still have about Plants and what they need.

Vocabulary

Plants and what they need

The main idea or skill for this lesson.

strategy

A method students can use to solve a problem or explain their thinking.

evidence

Information that supports an answer.

Activities

• Partner practice · 10 minutes

  Students work in pairs to practice and explain Plants and what they need.

• Exit ticket · 5 minutes

  Students answer one short question showing what they understand about Plants and what they need.