Plants

Plants are living breathing things just like you and I! Plants are born, grow, reproduce, and die. To stay alive, plants need sunlight, water, minerals, and air. Unlike humans, plants can't move. Like humans, plants can move one or more of their parts (although most humans can move much more than one of their parts). While humans have to get nutrients from the world around them, plants make their own food through a process called photosynthesis. Although plants and humans are different in many ways, humans depend on plants for life. What are some ways plants are used in or benefit your life? Do you like to look at plants? Do you eat plants? 

The Parts of a Plant

Plants have leaves, stems, and roots. Each of these parts has a vital function for the plant's overall well-being. The leaves of a plant make the food for it. The leaves make food with water, air, minerals, and sunlight. The stem of a plant connects the roots and the leaves. Water, minerals, and nutrients pass through the stem. The stem also holds the plant up. The roots of a plant absorb water and minerals from the soil. The roots also fix the plant in the soil. 

Try these activities to test your knowledge of plants! 

 Write the correct part of the plant according to the description.

LEAVES     -      STEM      -      FLOWER     -      ROOTS

_____________________they take in water and nutrients from the soil.

_____________________they take energy from sunlight and make food for the plant.

_____________________it takes water though the plant to the leaves.

_____________________it matures to form the fruit. 

Fill out this word search and identify the needs of plants! :) 

Plant Reproduction

All plants have a process of reproduction. Plants that have flowers or flowering plants, reproduce by making seeds in their flowers. Inside a plant's flower, there are various reproductive organs that allow the plant to reproduce! Here are the reproductive parts of a flower.  

A flower's corolla is made up of its petals. A flower's petals are meant to attract insects. The pistil is the flower's female reproductive system, inside the pistil are ovules. The stamens are the flower's male reproductive organs. They have pollen on the top of them. Flowers have both male and female reproductive organs. The calyx is made of sepals. Sepals are green and protect the flower! 

Plants reproduce through a process called pollination. Watch this video to review the parts of a flower and understand pollination. Parts of a flower and pollination!

Plant Nutrition

Plants make food through a process called photosynthesis. Photosynthesis is the process of plants converting minerals, water, sunlight, and carbon dioxide into food for them and air for us! Without the process of photosynthesis we would have no air to breathe. This is one of the many reasons it is so important to protect all the plants on our earth! Watch this video to understand the process of photosynthesis!

Lets review! The process of photosynthesis begins with a plant absorbing water and minerals from the soil through the plants roots. From the plants leaves it absorbs carbon dioxide and sunlight. The water and the minerals travel up the plant's stem to the leaves. In the leaves, the water, minerals, sunlight, and carbon dioxide make food for the plant and oxygen for us!  

I hope you enjoyed learning about plants! Now that you know why we need plants to survive, can you think of anyways we can help protect all the plants on our earth?