Parts of a plant

Ages 6 to 8 Read together, then try alone · about 20 minutes

Read together

Roots hold the plant and drink water. The stem carries water up. Leaves catch sunlight.

Flowers make seeds.

Do it

1. Put a stalk of celery in water with food colouring. Check after a few hours.
2. See the colour travel up the stem and into the leaves.
3. Draw a plant and label roots, stem, leaves and flower.
4. Plant a bean in a clear jar against the side to watch the roots grow.

Talk about it

• How does water reach the leaves?
• What does each part do?

For the grown-up

Plants take in water through roots and send it up through tubes in the stem. Food colouring is safe, but check for allergies and do not eat plants you are unsure of.

Mark as done

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Where this comes from

• NGSS Lead States, Next Generation Science Standards: For States, By States (National Academies Press, 2013), performance expectation 4-LS1-1 (structures that help plants survive and grow)
• Royal Horticultural Society, guidance on how plants take up water

Written with AI assistance and checked against the sources listed. Please read it before sharing it with a child.