Plants: Lesson 2: Transpiration & the Xylem

In this lesson, students will take the journey through a plant via the perspective of a water droplet (traveling with a mineral). By reading an adventure-like story and illustrating it, the teacher can easily check for understanding, then later, explain the science behind what is happening.

By using a story instead of a boring text, students are more engaged and visualize processes much better. This then, can provide an excellent foundation for building vocab or understanding larger scientific processes.

Depending on the level of your class (or mixture of kids), you may have students work/read together, or do so independently. For my more heavily ELL classes, I partner them up with someone with slightly higher levels of reading comprehension. Stories (especially when you can model with a smart board) are great for quick and easy differentiation!

The lesson contains a relevant do-now (about the water cycle), as well as answer keys, guided pictures of actual plant parts (like a stomata), and engaging online activities.

Kid friendly objective:I will be able to illustrate and explain how water travels through a plant.
I will be able to identify the parts of a plant relevant to transpiration.

Vocab: Root, root cap, root hairs, stem, mineral, water, xylem, leaf, stomata, transpiration, water cycle

Before you talk about photosynthesis, phloem, sap formation and other integral plant functions, it is important to figure out where water comes into play first!