Plants: What They Need, Their Parts and Their Animal Helpers

A sunflower grows taller than you. A tiny seed becomes a tree. But a plant cannot walk to a river to drink, and it does not eat lunch. So what does a plant need? Let’s find out, test it like scientists, look at the parts of a plant, and meet the animals that help plants.

This lesson takes about 15 minutes. You can take a break after each part.

Before you start

Plants: What They Need, Their Parts and Their Animal Helpers

Learning objectives

  • I can name what a plant needs to live and grow: water, light and air.
  • I can plan a fair test to find out if a plant needs light or water.
  • I can name the roots, the stem, the leaves and the flower of a plant.
  • I can tell how animals help plants by carrying pollen and seeds.

What plants need

Water, light and air

A plant is a living thing. To live and grow, it needs water, light and air. It also needs room to grow.

Plants do not eat

Animals must eat food. Plants do not eat food like animals do. A plant takes in water with its roots and needs light to grow.

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A fair test

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Does a plant need light? To find out, take two plants of the same kind. Put one in the light and one in the dark. Give them the same water.

Change only one thing

In a fair test, we change only one thing and keep everything else the same. Then we watch, draw what we see, and compare the two plants.

We can test water the same way: both plants get the same light, but only one gets water.

Three potted plants of the same kind. On the left, a green, healthy plant in the sun, next to a watering can. In the middle, a pale, thin plant inside a dark box. On the right, a plant in the sun with drooping, wilted leaves and dry soil.
Left: light and water, the plant is green and strong. Middle: no light, it grows pale and thin. Right: no water, it wilts.

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The parts of a plant

Under the ground

The roots grow in the soil. They hold the plant in place and take in water.

Above the ground

The stem holds the plant up and carries water to the leaves. The leaves catch the light. Many plants also have flowers, which make seeds.

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Animals help plants

Carrying pollen

Flowers make a yellow powder called pollen. Bees, butterflies and some birds go from flower to flower and carry pollen. This helps the flowers make seeds.

Carrying seeds

A plant cannot move, but its seeds can travel. A bird eats a berry and drops the seed far away. Some seeds have tiny hooks and stick to fur. A squirrel buries nuts and forgets some of them.

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Review game

Final assessment

To master the lesson, you need at least 60% correct answers.

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Summary

  • A plant needs water, light and air to live and grow; it does not eat food like animals do.
  • In a fair test, we change only one thing and compare the plants.
  • The roots take in water, the stem holds the plant up, the leaves catch the light.
  • The flowers make seeds; bees and other animals carry pollen from flower to flower.
  • Birds and other animals carry seeds to new places, where new plants can grow.

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