Plant Power: Unlocking the Secrets of Plant Science!

Science Grades 5th Grade 4:33 Video
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Lesson Description

Explore how scientists investigate plants, understand their needs, and even discover how they sense the world around them. Get ready to experiment!

Video Resource

Look Who's Talking: Crash Course Kids #27.2

Crash Course Kids

Duration: 4:33
Watch on YouTube

Key Concepts

  • Plants need air, water, and sunlight to survive and grow.
  • Scientists use investigations to answer questions about plants.
  • Plants can sense their environment and respond to it.

Learning Objectives

  • Students will be able to explain that plants use air and water for growth.
  • Students will be able to describe the steps of a scientific investigation.
  • Students will be able to identify ways that plants sense and respond to their environment.

Educator Instructions

  • Introduction (5 mins)
    Begin by asking students what they know about plants and what they need to survive. Show the Crash Course Kids video, 'Look Who's Talking: Crash Course Kids #27.2'.
  • Discussion (10 mins)
    Discuss the video's main points. Ask students what surprised them about plant science and what questions they still have.
  • Activity: Plant Investigation Challenge (25 mins)
    Divide students into small groups. Each group chooses a question about plants that they want to investigate (e.g., 'Do plants grow better with more or less water?', 'Do different colors of light affect plant growth?'). Groups design a simple experiment to investigate their question, collect data, and draw conclusions.
  • Wrap-up (10 mins)
    Each group presents their investigation and findings to the class. Discuss the challenges and successes of their investigations.

Interactive Exercises

  • Plant Observation Journal
    Students observe a plant over a week, recording their observations in a journal. They note changes in the plant's appearance and growth, and try to identify factors that might be affecting it.
  • Seed Germination Experiment
    Students plant seeds in different conditions (e.g., with and without light, with different amounts of water) and observe how the seeds germinate and grow. They record their observations and draw conclusions about the factors that affect seed germination.

Discussion Questions

  • What are some things that plants need to survive?
  • What are the steps that scientists use to investigate plants?
  • How do plants sense their environment?
  • Why is it important to share results when doing an experiment?

Skills Developed

  • Scientific Inquiry
  • Data Collection
  • Critical Thinking
  • Collaboration

Multiple Choice Questions

Question 1:

What do plants need to survive?

Correct Answer: Air, water, and sunlight

Question 2:

What is a good first step when doing a scientific investigation?

Correct Answer: Asking a question

Question 3:

What did Charles Darwin investigate about plants?

Correct Answer: How plants sense light

Question 4:

What do scientists do with their investigation results?

Correct Answer: Share them with others

Question 5:

A Venus flytrap closes its leaves when it feels:

Correct Answer: An insect

Question 6:

Where do plants get most of what they need to grow?

Correct Answer: Air and water

Question 7:

What is something that scientists are still trying to figure out about plants?

Correct Answer: How they communicate with each other

Question 8:

In Darwin's experiment, what did he cover with a dark cap?

Correct Answer: The tip of the plant

Question 9:

What kind of plant did the video talk about that eats insects?

Correct Answer: Venus flytrap

Question 10:

What is the name for a scientist's good guess about the answer to a question?

Correct Answer: Hypothesis

Fill in the Blank Questions

Question 1:

Plants provide the ______ that we breathe.

Correct Answer: oxygen

Question 2:

Scientists use ______________ to answer questions about plants.

Correct Answer: investigations

Question 3:

Plants bend toward the ________ because they need it for photosynthesis.

Correct Answer: light

Question 4:

Darwin guessed that the ______ of a plant helps it sense light.

Correct Answer: tip

Question 5:

A Venus flytrap eats ___________ as part of its diet.

Correct Answer: insects

Question 6:

Plants get most of their materials for growth from ______ and ______.

Correct Answer: air, water

Question 7:

Scientists study how to stop __________ in plants.

Correct Answer: disease

Question 8:

Darwin covered the tip of one of his plants with a _________ cap.

Correct Answer: dark

Question 9:

The Venus flytrap's leaves close when the ______ inside jiggle a few times.

Correct Answer: hairs

Question 10:

Before doing an investigation, scientists make a _________ about what they think the answer will be.

Correct Answer: guess

Educational Standards

5-LS1-1:Support an argument that plants get the materials they need for growth chiefly from air and water.

Teaching Materials

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