GoalSay that plants grow well where they have enough water and warmth, and badly or not at all in very hot, dry or very cold places.
New words
freezing · so cold that water turns to icedry · with no water, or very littlesurvive · to stay alive
Explanation
Some habitats are good for plants, and some are not. A damp meadow gets plenty of rain, so grass and flowers grow thickly there. A hot desert gets very little rain. Most plants cannot get enough water there, and they dry up. A cactus is different. It keeps water inside its thick stem, so it can survive. In icy polar lands the ground is frozen for most of the year. Plants cannot take in water that is frozen, so only a few small plants grow. Plants grow best in a place that is not too dry and not too cold.
Worked examples
In a damp meadow, grass, clover and flowers grow close together. Rain keeps the soil wet.
In the hot desert it hardly ever rains. Only plants such as the cactus can live there.
In the icy polar lands it is freezing, and snow and ice cover the ground. Only a few tiny plants grow in the short summer.
Class activity
Plant race (with an adult): fill three small cups with soil and put cress or grass seeds in each. Cup 1 stays on a warm window sill and gets a little water each day. Cup 2 goes on the window sill but gets no water. Cup 3 goes in a clean tub in the fridge and gets a little water each day. Predict which will grow best. Look every day for a week and write down what you see. Wash your hands afterwards.
Practice
1
Why can plants not grow well in a hot desert?
There is almost no rain, so they cannot get enough water.
2
Omar drops some seeds in three places near his home. Where will they grow best?
C, the damp soil, because the seeds get water there.
3
A seed lands on frozen ground. What will happen to it?
It will not grow, or it will die, because it cannot take in water from ice.
