Plants
Week 4
Directions
1.Prepare your desk for science.
• Leave your plant quiz (signed) on your desk.
2.Use voice level 2 (conversation) to discuss this
question: What is an adaptation? What would
happen if plants didn’t adapt? Why is this
important to the survival of a plant species?
If you have OLD homework or quizzes to turn
in, please put them on the desk up front.
Targets & Warm Up
Targets:
Students will discover how plants adapt to various
environments.
Warm Up: What biomes did we discuss
yesterday? What plant adaptations did your group
discover as you read yesterday?
Adaptation
A change that living things go through to fit
better with their environment.
Biome
A biome is a large geographical area of
distinctive plant and animal groups, which
are adapted to that particular environment.
Each biome consists of many ecosystems whose
communities have adapted to the small
differences in climate and the environment
inside the biome.
Biomes
Plant Text Vocabulary
Dense
• Very thick; so thick that it is difficult or impossible to
see through
Vegetation
• The plants of an area or a region; plant life
Canopy
• The upper (top) layer of the forest
Moisture
• Presence of a liquid, especially water, often in small
amounts
Your Task
1. There will be 4 groups of 5 to 6 people.
2. Each group will rotate from station to station.
3. The group will read (out loud) the text about
how plants adapt to a specific biome.
4. After reading, each group will discuss the
adaptations that they read about.
Table of Contents
Date
Title
Plant Adaptations
Page
9
Once you are finished with the Table of Contents,
go to page 9 and add the title and date to the top
of the page.
Desert Plants
•
•
•
•
Capture water with special roots and leaves
Use leaves to get water
Store water in roots, leaves, stems, or fruits
Change size and texture of leaves to hold on to
moisture
Desert Plants
Tundra Plants
• Grow close together and
to the ground
• Able to grow under snow
• Carry out photosynthesis
in cold temperatures
• Produce flowers quickly
• Have small leaves to hold
on to moisture
Tundra Plants
moss
lichen
Tropical Rainforest Plants
• Some plants below the canopy can grow in the
shade
• Some plants below the canopy work to reach
the sunlight
• Example: Strangler fig
Tropical Rainforest Plants:
Strangler Fig
• Seeds are deposited on
branches of host trees
• Seeds sprout and send a long
root to the ground
• Root gets bigger, branches
and leaves grow up and
create a canopy that blocks
sunlight from the host tree
• More roots are sent out and
wrap around the host to
strangle and kill it!
Tropical Rainforest Plants:
Strangler Fig
Deciduous Forest
• When it gets colder, the
tree closes off the area
between the stem and
the tree to prevent
damage to the leaves.
• The leaves fall off and
then grow back when it is
warm.
Deciduous Trees
Abscission: the process by which a plant drops
one or more of its parts, such as a leaf, fruit,
flower, or seed
Plant Adaptation Questions
1. Why do plants need to adapt? What causes
a plant’s adaptation?
1. How are plant adaptions in the tundra and
desert similar? How are they different?
THINK QUESTION: Natural selection says, “Only
the fittest survive.” – What does this mean?
How does this relate to plant adaptations?
Targets (Revisited)
Targets:
Students will discover how plants adapt to various
environments.
Plants
Mangrove tree
Barrel cactus
Water lily
Orchid
Bromeliad
Aloe plant
Cattail
Birch tree
Pitcher plant
Venus flytrap
Fir tree
Palm tree
Ocotillo
Bengal bamboo
Bougainvillea
Arctic moss
Labrador tea
White oak tree
Homework
Subject
Science
Homework
None
Due Date
None