Year 2 Growing plants worksheet

“Plants from seeds” is free to print, with no account. It is the first sheet in the Year 2 science unit “Growing plants”, for children aged 6 to 7, and takes about 22 minutes.

Print it on A4. The child's pages come first; the answers, and what each wrong answer tells you, are on the grown-up page that follows. Weeks 6 to 13 of the year, 8 sheets in the unit.

Free sample · answers on the last page

Plants from seeds

Name: ____________ · Date: ____________
Year 2 · Science · about 22 minutes
Answers are on the grown-up page

Today I can say what a seed is and how roots and shoots grow from it.

A Look back3 min

These numbers are made up for a practice sheet.

1.
In a made-up class, children grew plants on a windowsill. Which plant did they grow the most of?
2.
Plant A grew 12 cm in a sunny window. Plant B grew 4 cm in a dark cupboard. Write the sign: 12 4
3.
A made-up packet has 10 seeds. 4 are planted. How many are left?

B Watch me, then you4 min

Ola sorts 8 seeds. 3 are smooth. The rest are stripy. How many are stripy?

Watch me

The whole is 8. One part is 3.

8 − 3 = 5

5 seeds are stripy.

Now you

1.
Sam sorts 9 seeds. 4 are round. How many are flat?

C Your turn7 min

Look at the seeds on the table. Then try each row.

Several seeds of different sizes laid out on a wooden table

1.
Write each seed under Big seed or Tiny seed.
coconutconkerpoppy seedmustard seed
Big seed Tiny seed
2.
Join each plant part to its job.
rootshoot
grows up towards the lightgrows down into the soil
3.
Write 1 to 4 in the boxes to show the order these happen.
1. A shoot pushes up towards the light.
2. The seed is planted in damp soil.
3. A root pushes down into the soil.
4. The seed takes in water and swells.
4.
Which seed will start to grow?
a seed in damp soila seed in a dry tina seed kept in a dry box

Say it out loud: What did the seed need before its root could push down into the soil?

D Spot the mistake3 min

A shiny brown conker on the grass under a tall horse chestnut tree

Kit says: “Big trees do not grow from seeds. They just appear out of the ground.”

1.
Kit is wrong. Where does a big horse chestnut tree come from? Explain in your own words.

E Think deeper4 min

Two clear glass jars of seeds on a windowsill

1.
Two jars each hold 10 bean seeds. Jar A has damp cotton wool. Jar B has dry paper. Which seeds will start to grow first? Explain how you know.

How did it feel?

I can do it Nearly Not yet

For the grown-up

Plants from seeds · 2 minutes to read

Answers, and what a wrong one tells you

A

1. Look for: Says beans.

2. >

3. 6 Adding gives 14, but the packet had only 10 seeds, so fewer are left. Ask your child whether the answer should be smaller than 10.

B

1. 5 Adding gives 13, but the whole is only 9, so the flat seeds must be fewer than 9. Ask your child to find the missing part.

C

1. Big seed: coconut, conker · Tiny seed: poppy seed, mustard seed If your child puts the conker with the tiny seeds, ask which one would fit in a hand and which fits on a fingertip.

2. root → grows down into the soil; shoot → grows up towards the light

3. 1 The seed is planted in damp soil. · 2 The seed takes in water and swells. · 3 A root pushes down into the soil. · 4 A shoot pushes up towards the light. If your child puts the shoot first, ask what the shoot would grow from. The seed takes in water and swells before any root or shoot appears.

4. a seed in damp soil If your child circles the dry tin, ask what the seed needs to swell. Seeds need water to start growing.

D

1. Look for: Says a big tree grows from a seed, such as a conker or an acorn, that grows a root and a shoot. If your child agrees with Kit, ask what a conker is. It is a seed, and a horse chestnut tree grows from it.

E

1. Look for: Jar A, because the damp cotton wool gives the seeds water to start growing.

Words to use

Say“Which part of the seed pushes down first, and what is it looking for?”

Instead of“Tell them the answer straight away.”

After the sheet

Soak a dry bean in a cup of water overnight. Gently peel off its skin together and look for the tiny root and shoot.

Tick what your child got right in StudyDen. Anything missed comes back in a later Look back box, so there's no need to redo the sheet.

The rest of this unit

7 more sheets come with a StudyDen plan, in teaching order:

Plants from bulbs(with a plan)
What plants need to grow(with a plan)
Is my plant healthy?(with a plan)
Thirsty plants(with a plan)
Just the right warmth(with a plan)
Plants in the Dark(with a plan)
Grow your own food(with a plan)

Every Year 2 science worksheet

The worksheets plan opens a printable sheet for every lesson in Years 1 to 6, each with its answers on a separate page for you. It costs £6.99 a month or £59 a year for the whole family, with no free trial.

The full StudyDen plan adds the lessons themselves, marked as your child works, with the worksheets included. It is 7 days free, then £29.99 a month.

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