Lesson 2: Plants
Activities
Activity 1: Parts of a Plant (tiered assignment)
Materials: colored pencils or markers, hole punch*, index cards (kit)*, metal hanger*, yarn (kit)*
Encourage your child to read the web page posted below from the Missouri Botanical Garden about the parts of a plant. After she has finished reading, select one of the following options for your child to complete.
Web Link
Plant Parts — Missouri Botanical Garden
This page from the Missouri Botanical Garden will introduce your child to the parts of a plant.
This link was verified on 12/1/2023.
Option 1
For this option, your child will draw a flowering plant and label the parts on the sheet, "Parts of a Plant." On the left side of the page, she can write a sentence that describes the function of each part.
Answers: (Answers will not be exact but should have the general idea.)
Stem — supports the plant and carries nutrients from the roots to the rest of the plant.
Roots — anchor the plant and absorb nutrients from the soil.
Leaves — where plants make their food.
Flower — where seeds are produced.
Stem — supports the plant and carries nutrients from the roots to the rest of the plant.
Roots — anchor the plant and absorb nutrients from the soil.
Leaves — where plants make their food.
Flower — where seeds are produced.
Student Activity Page
Option 2 (Advanced)
For this option, your child will create a mobile of plant parts. Give her five index cards. Tell her to label both sides of the card that will go at the top of the mobile, "Parts of a Plant." The other four cards will have the name of the plant part on one side of the card: stem, roots, leaves, and flower. The opposite side of the card will either have a picture of the plant part or will list the function of each part of the plant.
Note: If your child has a more in-depth understanding of plant parts, encourage her to include additional parts on her mobile.
Note: If your child has a more in-depth understanding of plant parts, encourage her to include additional parts on her mobile.
Parts of a Plant Mobile
Activity 2: Absorbing Water
Materials: jar or glass, measuring cup, paintbrush (kit), plastic wrap, small knife, small potted plant
Explain to your child that plants absorb water through their roots and release water through their leaves. In this experiment your child will measure how much water passes through a plant in 24 hours. Help your child with the following directions.
- Use a measuring cup to fill a jar or glass with water.
- Write down how much water you put into the jar.
- Cover the jar with plastic wrap.
- Carefully remove a small potted plant from its dirt. Be very careful not to damage the roots.
- Use a small paint brush to clean as much soil as possible from the roots.
- Have an adult cut a small slit into the plastic wrap that covers the jar.
- Push the roots through the slit until they are in the water, and the plant rests on top of the plastic wrap.
- If the slit opens wider, add more plastic wrap.
- After 24 hours, remove the plastic wrap and the plant from the jar and measure how much water is left in the jar.
- Subtract this amount of water from the original amount to see how much water the roots absorbed in one day.
If your child is intrigued by this experiment, encourage her to try this experiment with different types of plants to see which species absorbs the most water.
Activity 3: Types of Plants
Materials: colored pencils or markers*
For this activity, your child will look at the variety of plants living in different habitats. Explain that different types of plants grow in different types of places, and the design of a plant allows it to survive in its habitat.
Discuss that plants can be grouped into categories: flowering plants and nonflowering plants.
Review the difference between herbaceous and woody plants — woody plants have stems or trunks covered by a layer of bark, and herbaceous plants have stems that are soft and green. An herbaceous plant has stems that die at the end of the growing season.
Select one of the following options.
Review the difference between herbaceous and woody plants — woody plants have stems or trunks covered by a layer of bark, and herbaceous plants have stems that are soft and green. An herbaceous plant has stems that die at the end of the growing season.
Select one of the following options.
Option 1
For this option, your child will label the habitats on the page, "Types of Plants" (Option 1), and draw the correct plant in each box. She can label the plants as flowering or nonflowering and herbaceous or woody on the lines beneath the plant. She may need to do some online research to help her reach her decision.
Answer Key:
- Milkweed (prairie) — herbaceous, flowering
- Fir (forest) — woody, nonflowering
- Bromeliad (rainforest) — herbaceous, flowering
- Joshua tree (desert) — woody, flowering
Student Activity Page
Option 2 (Advanced)
For this option, your child will draw and label the habitats for the four plants shown on the page, "Types of Plants" (Option 2). She can label the plants as flowering or nonflowering and herbaceous or woody on the lines beneath the plant. She may need to do some online research to learn more about the plants and their habitats. (Refer to the answers for Option 1).
Student Activity Page