Leaves as little kitchens
A leaf is like a little kitchen. The ingredients are water, carbon dioxide and light. The roots take in water and the xylem carries it up to the leaf. Carbon dioxide, a gas in the air, enters through the stomata. Chlorophyll, the green material in the leaf, captures light. Then the leaf joins water and carbon dioxide to make glucose, a sugar. This is photosynthesis. Oxygen is let out into the air as well, and animals and people breathe it. The phloem carries the glucose to the rest of the plant. The plant uses glucose for energy to live and grow, and stores some for later.
| Goes in | Comes out |
|---|---|
| water (from the roots) | glucose (sugar) |
| carbon dioxide (from the air) | oxygen (into the air) |
| light (from the Sun) |
Kitchen cards. Write six cards: water, carbon dioxide, light, glucose, oxygen, chlorophyll. Sort them into three piles: “goes into the leaf”, “comes out of the leaf” and “helper that catches light”. Then tell a grown-up the story of a leaf kitchen in five sentences.
| Letter | Step |
|---|---|
| A | The leaf makes glucose. |
| B | Roots take in water. |
| C | Phloem carries glucose to the plant. |
| D | Xylem carries water up. |