Plant Nutrition and Reproduction
Year 3
Unit Overview
This project teaches children about the requirements of plants for growth and survival. They describe the parts of flowering plants and relate structure to function, including the roots and stem for transporting water, leaves for making food and the flower for reproduction.
❇ MEMORABLE MOMENT
Planting their own seeds.
Dissecting sycamore seeds
️✏️ WRITING OPPORTUNITIES
Investigation booklet
🌳 LEARNING OUTSIDE THE CLASSROOM
Leaf rubbing
Exploring different plants and parts of plants.
Unit Sequence: Learning Intentions
Function of plant parts -Identify and describe the functions of different parts of flowering plants: roots, stem/trunk, leaves and flowers.
Focus on root and stems- Identify and describe the functions of different parts of flowering plants: roots, stem/trunk, leaves and flowers. Water is transported in plants from the roots, through the stem and to the leaves, through tiny tubes called xylem.
Investigating plant vessels - Set up simple practical enquiries, comparative and fair tests. Make systematic and careful observations and, where appropriate, take accurate measurements using standard units, using a range of equipment, including thermometers and data loggers.
- Flowering plant life cycle, Flower anatomy & Pollination - Draw and label the life cycle of a flowering plant. Explore pollination process.
- Seeds and seed dispersal -Name and describe the functions of the different parts of flowering plants (roots, stem, leaves and flowers).
Scientific Enquiry: Investigations
Why is water important?- Place Vaseline on celery and observe changes of leaves over time.
Set up and carry out some simple, comparative and fair tests, making predictions for what might happen.
Record observations through drawings.
Why are trees tall?-Children suck up water through straws to investigate how water is transported in trees and plants.
To record data in a table.
To analyse findings.
🏁 BIG FINISH
Quiz
📖 FOCUS TEXT(S)
Plants by Angela Royston
Cool stuff to grow by Stephanie Turnbull
The Secret Life of trees by Moira Butterfield and Vivian Minemaker