Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College
Serc: Investigating What Living Things Need: Space
A lab experiment where students study what living things need to survive. Students will observe plant growth over several weeks.
![Huntington Library: Garden Lesson Plans: Rooting Into the Soil [Pdf] Activity](https://d15y2dacu3jp90.cloudfront.net/images/attachment_defaults/resource/large/FPO-knovation.png "Huntington Library: Garden Lesson Plans: Rooting Into the Soil [Pdf] Activity")
Huntington Library
Huntington Library: Garden Lesson Plans: Rooting Into the Soil [Pdf]
An experiment to investigate the capacity of different soils to retain water, and how this impacts on the survival, evolution, and adaptations of plants. Extension activities are included.
Huntington Library
Huntington Library: Garden Lesson Plans: Learning From Leaves [Pdf]
An investigation into how light levels affect leaf adaptations in plants.
Other
Nasa: The Case of the Prize Winning Plants [Pdf]
This program uses a scenario with fictional detective characters to present plant growth to students. While the unit focuses on the basic needs and parts of plants, the topics of plant classification and adaptations, soil formation and...
Huntington Library
Huntington Library: Garden Lesson Plans: Learning From Leaves: Adaptation [Pdf]
A scavenger hunt where young scholars find and study examples of leaf adaptations for different environments. This activity is designed to be used on a visit to botanical gardens or greenhouse but could be adapted and used with specimens...
Huntington Library
Huntington Library: Seeds, Soil, and Surprises
This site has excellent resources for teaching students about plants. It has a guide to scientific investigation and a glossary of plant terms. There are three lessons that each include a slideshow on the parts of a plant, the needs of...
Utah Education Network
Uen: Do Plants Need Water?
Activity focuses on the impact of water on seed germination.
Michigan Reach Out
Michigan Reach Out: Do Plants Need Sunlight?
Do plants need sunlight? What happens to plants if they do not get sunlight? Students will act like scientists in order to answer these questions. A scientist takes questions like this and then conducts an experiment to see what really...
Utah Education Network
Uen: Water and Plants How Dry I Am
Activity helps students understand that plants need water to live.
PBS
Pbs Learning Media: Animals and Plants Can Live in a City!
In this interactive lesson, students learn that animals need air, food, water, and shelter, while plants need air, sunlight, and water. Students watch videos and engage with drawing and sorting activities to reinforce their learning....
Ministerio de Educación (Spain)
Ministerio De Educacion: Las Plantas
These interactive activities provide the minimum information necessary to understand the plant kingdom.
Huntington Library
Huntington Library: What Plants Need in Order to Survive and Grow: Soil [Pdf]
A lesson unit where students conduct an experiment to test whether plants need soil in order to grow.
Huntington Library
Huntington Library: What Plants Need in Order to Survive and Grow: Light [Pdf]
A lesson unit where students conduct an experiment in small groups to test whether plants need light or not.
Museum of Science
Museum of Science and Industry: Online Science: Color Changing Carnations
A popular plant experiment where food coloring is added to the water that flowers sit in, to see how this affects the color of the flowers. It demonstrates how water travels through the xylem of a flower stem.
Museum of Science
Museum of Science and Industry: Online Science: Activities: Habitat Overcrowding
An experiment where several containers are set up with different numbers of seeds planted in each. The objective is to investigate how seed density affects the health of the plants that grow.
Huntington Library
Huntington Library: What Plants Need in Order to Survive and Grow: Water [Pdf]
A lesson unit where students work in small groups to conduct an experiment with two cacti to test whether plants need water.
Huntington Library
Huntington Library: What Plants Need in Order to Survive and Grow: Air [Pdf]
A lesson unit where students work in small groups to examine stomata on a leaf's upper and lower surfaces. They then conduct an experiment to test whether plants can survive without air, learning about transpiration in the process.
eSchool Today
E School Today: Introduction to Photosynthesis
Find out about the needs of plants to grow and live.
The Wonder of Science
The Wonder of Science: 5 Ls1 1: Plant Requirements: Air and Water
Create lessons to show that plants use air and water primarily to grow with help from the resources on this site. Use the work samples, phenomena, assessment templates, and videos to help students understand the requirements of plants to...
NC State University
Ncsu.edu: Adventures of the Agronauts
This site is an online science curriculum on how to grow plants on the Moon. There are six lessons that have a glossary also included. There are movies that demonstrate concepts, and teacher resources. The sites topics cover, the Earth,...
BioEd Online
Bio Ed Online: Needs of Plants
Each student will make his/her own mini-garden and will observe the growth and development of radishes. To help students learn about requirements for plant growth, the teacher will make four experimental gardens and place them in...
TVOntario
Tvo Kids: Games: Get Growing
Choose and plant your seeds, and then give them everything they need to grow in this interactive garden.
Alabama Learning Exchange
Alex: Plants Are Survivors!
All plants have basic life requirements. Understanding these requirements as well as plant structure helps explain why plants prefer some locations over others. This project allows students to work in cooperative groups to explore the...
Alabama Learning Exchange
Alex: Little River Canyon's Carnivorous Green Pitcher Plants
A digital slide program introduces the Green Pitcher Plant (Sarracenia oreophila) to the students. Students use a model of the Green Pitcher Plant and plastic insects to role play. They will tell the story of habitat adaptation and...