Resources: Research tools such as books and the internet
Support Handout (1): The handout provides a scaffolded template for the children to research three plants covered in the lesson.
Core Handout (2): The handout provides a table that includes the five plants covered in the lesson with columns for the children to fill in.
Stretch Handout (3): The handout provides a research prompt sheet, including the five plants covered in the lesson and space for children to present research in their own way.
Challenge Handout (4): The handout provides a space for the children to design the perfect plant for the desert or Arctic, with lines underneath for them to describe their plant's adaptations.
Enquiry Approach - Research
Using information from a variety of sources to answer scientific questions.
Enquiry Skill - Interpreting and communicating results
Using information, results and data to present findings, including oral and written explanations.
Rocket Thinking - Teacher Notes: A key question is an open-ended prompt that can facilitate discussion, address misconceptions or give children the opportunity to probe more deeply into a topic. Encourage the children to think back to last lesson, where they learnt about the conditions that exist in the desert and the adaptations of animals that live there. For example, the sand cat is an animal that lives in the desert and has several adaptations:
The children then apply their understanding to the animals on the slide by suggesting adaptations these animals would need to survive in the desert.
The lesson presentation then looks at adaptations in plants. Watch the expert film to link the knowledge of desert conditions to plants.
Expert Film: Mike Linley explains how cacti have adapted to survive in the desert.
The presentation then introduces the children to the adaptations of five particular plants. The children can use this knowledge as a basis to complete their independent research about these same plants.
Ask the children to use the pictures and names of the plants to research their habitats and the conditions they live in. Ask the children to use what they have learnt in the lesson, as well as their research, to suggest how the plants have adapted to live in their habitat and how these adaptations help the plants to survive. Alternatively, the children could use their exercise books to record their research or create presentation slides for each plant using a laptop or computer.
Challenge Task: Ask the children to design a ‘super plant’. The children will draw and label the perfect plant to survive either in the desert or the Arctic. Ask the children to answer the questions on the handout that prompt them to think about how exactly it will adapt and survive, and also think about how it compares to any real plants they know.
Link back to last lesson's discussion about how climate change is affecting animals. Ask the children whether they think climate change poses a threat to plants as well. Encourage them to back up their answers with scientific reasons.
Plants have evolved a range of adaptations that allow them to survive in a wide variety of environments. These adaptations can be physical, physiological, or behavioural, and they often develop over many generations through the process of natural selection.
Physical adaptations are changes in a plant's body structure or form that help it to better survive in its environment. Examples of physical adaptations include:
Thick, waxy leaves: Some plants, such as cacti and succulents, have evolved thick, waxy leaves to help them retain water in arid environments.
Roots: Some plants have evolved specialised roots to help them obtain water and nutrients from their environment. For example, mangrove trees have roots that allow them to survive in salty, waterlogged soils.
Protective coverings: Some plants have evolved protective coverings, such as thorns, spines, or tough bark, to deter herbivores and protect against environmental stresses.
Physiological adaptations are changes in a plant's body chemistry or internal processes that help it to better survive in its environment. Examples of physiological adaptations include:
Drought tolerance: Some plants have evolved mechanisms to cope with drought conditions. For example, some desert plants can photosynthesise at night to conserve water, while others can store water in their tissues.
Heat tolerance: Some plants have evolved mechanisms to cope with high temperatures, such as producing heat-shock proteins that protect against cellular damage.
Chemical defences: Some plants produce chemicals that deter herbivores, such as caffeine in coffee plants or capsaicin in chili peppers.
Behavioural adaptations are changes in a plant's behaviour or growth patterns that help it to better survive in its environment. Examples of behavioural adaptations include:
Shade avoidance: Some plants have evolved to grow taller and lean towards sources of light in order to avoid being shaded by taller plants.
Wind resistance: Some plants have evolved to bend or flex in response to wind, in order to avoid being uprooted or damaged.
Flowering time: Some plants have evolved to flower at particular times of the year in order to coincide with the availability of pollinators.
Overall, plant adaptations are a result of the process of natural selection, in which individuals with advantageous traits are more likely to survive and reproduce, passing on those traits to their offspring. Over time, this can lead to the development of a wide range of physical, physiological, and behavioural adaptations that help plants better survive in their environments.
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