Identify plant structures (roots, stems, leaves, flowers) and describe the survival function each one performs.
Plants, like animals, have structures that each do a specific survival job. Roots anchor a plant in the ground and pull in water and nutrients from the soil. Stems hold the plant upright and carry water and nutrients between the roots and the leaves. Leaves capture sunlight and use it, along with water and air, to make the plant's food.
Flowers have their own separate job: reproduction. A flower attracts pollinators like bees, or catches the wind, so that pollen can move from one flower to another, eventually leading to seeds that can grow into new plants. Every structure on a plant, like every structure on an animal, connects back to a specific survival function.
Mastery looks like: They can name the four major plant structures, roots, stems, leaves, and flowers, and correctly describe the survival function of each.
Common stumbles: Mixing up which structure performs which function (for example, saying roots make food); forgetting that a flower's job is reproduction, not daily survival like feeding.