Unit Plan 11 (Grade 2 Science): Plant Structures & Growth

Focus: Observe and describe plant roots, stems, leaves, and flowers and explain how these structures help plants grow and survive, connecting back to how plants need sunlight and water.

Grade Level: 2

Subject Area: Science (Life Science • Science & Engineering Practices)

Total Unit Duration: 5 sessions (one week), 30–45 minutes per session

I. Introduction

In this unit, students become plant detectives, closely examining how different parts of a plant—roots, stems, leaves, and flowers—help the plant grow and survive. They use real plants, diagrams, and simple magnifiers to observe how roots anchor and take in water, stems hold the plant up and move water, and leaves spread out to catch sunlight. Students connect these structures to what they learned in the previous unit: that plants need sunlight and water to grow.

Through drawings, labels, and short explanations, students build evidence-based descriptions of plant structures and how they work together. By the end of the week, students can explain that when plants don’t get enough water or sunlight, plant parts (especially leaves and stems) start to look unhealthy, reinforcing the connection to 2-LS2-1.

Essential Questions

• What are the main parts of a plant, and what does each part do?
• How do roots, stems, and leaves help plants get the water and sunlight they need to grow?
• What do healthy plant parts look like, and how do they change when plants don’t get what they need?
• How can careful observations of plant parts help us explain how plants grow and survive?

II. Objectives and Standards

Learning Objectives — Students will be able to:

1. Identify and name the main plant parts: roots, stem, leaves, and flowers.
2. Describe what each part does in simple terms (e.g., roots take in water, stems hold the plant up and move water, leaves catch sunlight).
3. Make careful observations (drawings, labels, notes) of plant structures, noting color, shape, size, and position.
4. Compare healthy and unhealthy plant parts and connect these changes to plants’ needs for sunlight and water.
5. Help plan and conduct a simple observation-based investigation (e.g., colored water and stems) that shows water moving through plant structures, connecting to how plants need water to grow (2-LS2-1 connection).
6. Use their observations as evidence to explain how plant parts work together to help plants grow and survive.

Standards Alignment — 2nd Grade (NGSS-Aligned)

• 2-LS2-1 (connection) — Plan and conduct an investigation to determine if plants need sunlight and water to grow.
  • In this unit, students revisit and connect prior investigations about sunlight and water to plant structures, especially roots, stems, and leaves, using new observations as supporting evidence.

Success Criteria — Student Language

• I can point to and name the roots, stem, leaves, and flowers of a plant.
• I can tell what each plant part does to help the plant (roots take in water, stems hold it up and move water, leaves catch sunlight).
• I can draw and label plant parts with details like shape, color, and size.
• I can tell the difference between healthy and unhealthy plant parts and connect that to what plants are or are not getting (water/sunlight).
• I can explain, using observations, how plant parts work together to help plants grow and stay alive.