PLANTS THROUGH THE YEAR

 

 

Mentor Message

In addition to the activity which is part of the unit, please encourage the student to acquire 2-3 potted plants to care for as well as to learn about plants from first hand observation and a care taking perspective.

 

Unit Overview

Student will study plants in this unit! Students will learn about plant parts and their functions. They will also learn about where plants grow, how they survive in a variety of environments, and how plants change in appearance from season to season.

 

Unit Directions

Read the unit, do the activity, then answer questions on the reading.

 

 

 

 

Vocabulary Practice Activities
Word Search Word Search Key

Click on each for a printable.

 

 

 

 

Plants grow almost everywhere on Earth. They grow to many sizes and shapes. They have different colors.

 

 

Some plants live for a long time. Grass and ivy live for many years. Trees also live for many years. Some grow to be very old. Other plants live for a short time. Some plants may live for only a few weeks. They live where it is cold most of the time. They grow when the air and ground get warmer. Most of these plants are small.

 

 

 

Plants change as they grow. Most plants change with the seasons. They will look different. However, some plants do not seem to change much. They look about the same in each season.

 

 

 

 

Plants change very much in the spring. The air gets warmer, and the ground gets warmer, too. There are also more hours of sunlight. Plants grow when this happens.

 

   

SEEDS

BULBS

 

Most seeds and bulbs start to grow in the spring. The seeds and bulbs grow into young plants.

 

 

You can find small buds on many plants in early spring. The buds grow bigger and open up. Flowers grow from some kinds of buds. Leaves are light green or yellow. The small leaves grow bigger, and some turn dark green.

 

 

Tree leaves change in the summer. The leaves grow bigger. Young plants grow bigger. They grow more leaves and bigger leaves. Many plants grow flowers with bright colors. Many fruits and vegetables grow from plants in the summer.

 

 

Autumn follows summer. Many plants change again in the autumn. Seeds are formed. These seeds will be planted to grow the next spring. Many trees change color in autumn. These trees that change color and drop their leaves are called deciduous. The green leaves change to red, yellow, and orange. Once the leaves change colors, they fall off the tree.

 

 

Winter follows autumn. Winter can get very cold. Most flowers, bulbs, and seeds can not grow in winter. Many plants die. The trees that lost their leaves look dead.

Evergreen trees do not lose all their leaves in winter. Their leaves are needles. The needles stay green all year.

 




Some people live where it is warm all year. The seasons change in a different way. Part of the year is a dry season, and part of the year is a wet season.

 

 

Some Places Are Cold All Year. Few Plants Can Grow Here. The Plants That Grow In The Cold Are Small And Close To The Ground.

 

    Now answer questions 1 through 8.

 

 

 

ALL ABOUT PLANTS

What parts do both of these plants pictured on this page and the next page (the cactus and the dandelion) have? They both have roots. Roots help hold each plant in the soil. Roots also take in water and minerals from the soil.

 

 

 

 

Both plants have stems. Stems carry water and food to other parts of the plant. The stem in a cactus also makes food and stores water.

 

 

 

 

Leaves make food for a plant. Different plants have different kinds of leaves. The dandelion has broad, flat leaves. The cactus has tiny, sharp leaves called spines. Spines help protect the cactus by keeping animals from eating it. Plants lose less water from spines than from broad, flat leaves. Look at the next two pictures to see these parts labeled.

 

 



 

How does a plant get what it needs to live? Point to the roots, stem, and spines of the cactus. Follow the blue arrows up from the roots. The arrows show how water moves through a cactus. Look at the dandelion. Water and minerals move from the roots to the stems to the leaves. This is how the plants get what they need to continue to grow. The roots of these plants are different. The cactus lives in the desert. Its roots stay near the top of the soil. This helps them take in water quickly when rain falls.


Plants need more than food, water, and air to live. They also need light. The plants in the picture are getting light from the sun. Plants use sunlight to help them make food.

 

Click to watch the following video to get a closer look at the parts of a plant.

 

 

    Now answer questions 9 through 12.

 

Activity #1 - Which Seeds Will Grow?

What you need:

  • 12 bean seeds
  • 2 paper towels
  • 2 rubber bands
  • water

What you do:

1.   Wet the paper towels with some water.

2.   Put 6 seeds on each towel.

3.   Fold the seeds in the towel. Tie it with a rubber band.

4.   Put one towel in the freezer. Put the other one in a warm place.

5.   Unwrap the rolls each day. Observe what happens. Do this for 5 days.

Click here for printable instructions.
 

 

 

 

Activity #2 - Build a Terrarium

What you need:

  • 2-liter soda bottle, cleaned with soap and water

  • Scissors

  • Soil

  • Small plant that likes humidity

  • Pebbles

  • Small plastic animals

  • Bits of bark

  • Masking tape

What you do:

  1. First, ask your mentor to cut off the top of the bottle, down a few inches so that you can easily reach into it. Ask your mentor to put tape around the edge of the area, to cover the sharp edge. Save the top. 

  2. Now, you will sprinkle some pebbles into the bottom of the terrarium for drainage. 
  3. Fill the terrarium ¾ full with soil and make a hole in the soil for the plant.
  4. Carefully place the plant into the hole and fill around it with soil.
  5. Arrange some pebbles, plastic animals and bits of bark to make it look like a nature scene.
  6. Lastly, water your plant and put the "lid" back on the plant.  Leave the small plastic cap off of the bottle.  You now have a terrarium!  Make sure to put it somewhere there is light from the sun.
Click here for printable instructions.
 

 

Do you still want to learn more about plants, trees and leaves? You can! If you would like to read a story about why leaves change their color, click here for a printable copy of the book "Why Leaves Change Their Color."

 

    Now answer questions 13 through 15.