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Year 5

Asexual reproduction in plants

I can explain how plants can reproduce asexually.

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New
New
Year 5

Asexual reproduction in plants

I can explain how plants can reproduce asexually.

Download all resources
Share activities with pupils

Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Plants reproduce to make new plants, or offspring, in different ways.
  2. Plants can reproduce asexually, which means a single parent plant can reproduce on its own.
  3. Plants produced asexually are identical to their parent plant; they are clones.
  4. Bulbs, runners and tubers are examples of asexual plant reproduction.

Common misconception

Pupils may think that the only way for plants to reproduce is by making seeds (i.e. as a result of sexual reproduction).

Plants can reproduce asexually in a number of ways. Use the lesson resources to show alternative ways for plants to reproduce that don’t involve pollination, fertilisation and seed formation.

Keywords

  • Reproduce - When living things reproduce they create offspring.

  • Offspring - Living things create offspring when they reproduce.

  • Parent plant - A parent plant is a plant that has reproduced and created offspring.

  • Asexual - Asexual reproduction involves one parent and produces offspring that has the same characteristics as the parent.

  • Clone - Clones are offspring that have been created asexually and have identical characteristics to their parent.

If possible, allow pupils to observe first-hand some plants with bulbs, runners or tubers to enhance the lesson. They could look at garlic bulbs, a potted spider plant or, if it is the right time of year, an outdoor strawberry plant with runners.
Teacher tip

Equipment

None required.

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2024), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

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Starter quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
What does it mean to be identical to something?
An image in a quiz
to be the complete opposite of it
to be very different to it
to share some similarities
Correct answer: to be exactly the same
Q2.
All living things can reproduce. What does this mean?
Correct answer: They make more living things of the same type.
They live in habitats that they are suited to.
They make their own food.
They have a life cycle.
Q3.
What is the offspring of a living thing?
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the group they live and hunt with
the food they gather from their habitat
Correct answer: the young they create through reproduction
Q4.
The is the part of the plant that allows it to reproduce by making seeds.
An image in a quiz
Correct Answer: flower, flowers
Q5.
Before flowers can make seeds, they must be pollinated. What is pollination?
when pollen is made by the male anthers of a flower
Correct answer: when pollen is transferred from a male part of a flower to a female part
when animals eat pollen from the female part of the flower and make honey
Q6.
Starting with the one that happens first, put the steps of flowering plant reproduction into the correct order.
1 - A flower is pollinated by animals or the wind.
2 - The flower is fertilised when pollen moves to its ovary.
3 - Seeds are formed inside the ovary.
4 - Seeds are dispersed.

Exit quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
Which statement is correct?
An image in a quiz
Plants can only reproduce by pollination and fertilisation.
Plants cannot reproduce without help from animals.
Correct answer: Plants can reproduce in different ways.
Q2.
What is asexual reproduction in plants?
Reproduction that produces only one offspring.
Reproduction that creates many offspring.
Correct answer: Reproduction by a single plant.
Reproduction that involves two parent plants.
Q3.
Which of these is not an example of asexual reproduction in plants?
Correct answer: seeds
bulbs
runners
tubers
Q4.
Offspring that are produced asexually from a single parent plant are called , which means they are identical to their parent plant.
An image in a quiz
Correct Answer: clones, clone, a clone
Q5.
Some plants can reproduce asexually using tubers or bulbs. Whereabouts on plants are tubers and bulbs found?
An image in a quiz
in the centre of flowers
at the top of the stem
on edge of the leaves
Correct answer: under the ground beneath the plant
Q6.
Some plants can reproduce asexually using runners. What does this mean?
Growing special food stores under the ground that can grow their own new plants.
Correct answer: Growing long, horizontal stems that can take root and grow new plants.
Forming seeds inside an ovary following fertilisation.
Q5 Firn/Shutterstock