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Year 5

Plants from cuttings

I can explain how to reproduce new plants from cuttings.

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New
New
Year 5

Plants from cuttings

I can explain how to reproduce new plants from cuttings.

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. Some plants reproduce when part of a single plant is used to generate a new plant.
  3. Cuttings produce clones of the parent plant; they are exactly the same.
  4. Plant growth can be observed and recorded over time.

Common misconception

Pupils may think that the only way for plants to reproduce is by creating seeds.

Explain that, as well as making seeds, plants can also reproduce asexually in a range of ways, including form cuttings taken from a plant by humans.

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.

Herbs, such as mint, rosemary and basil are suggested for this lesson because they are easily and cheaply sourced from supermarkets, but, if possible, pupils could instead head outside and take cuttings of plants in their own school grounds.
Teacher tip

Equipment

See additional materials.

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.
Look at the plant below. Is this an example of a flowering or non-flowering plant?
An image in a quiz
Correct answer: flowering plant
non-flowering plant
Q2.
Reproduction is when…
Correct answer: living things make more living things of the same type.
plants produce food for themselves.
seeds germinate and start to grow.
living things change over time.
Q3.
Runners, bulbs and tubers are examples of reproduction in plants.
Correct Answer: asexual
Q4.
A plant that has reproduced and created offspring is called a…
An image in a quiz
houseplant.
flowering plant.
Correct answer: parent plant.
Q5.
After a flower has been pollinated, form inside the flower.
An image in a quiz
Correct Answer: seeds, seed, a seed, some seeds
Q6.
A clone of a plant is offspring that has…
characteristics that are a combination of two parent plants.
Correct answer: the same characteristics as the parent plant.
different characteristics to its parent plant.
Q4 shamsul75/Shutterstock

Exit quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
Which statement about plant reproduction is correct?
An image in a quiz
Plants can only reproduce by making seeds.
Plants must always be pollinated by animals before they can reproduce.
Correct answer: Plants can reproduce in different ways.
Plants cannot reproduce on their own; there must be a second parent plant.
Q2.
We can take from plants to produce a new plant.
Correct Answer: cuttings, cutting, a cutting
Q3.
Starting with the first, order the steps to explain how to produce a new plant from a cutting.
1 - Cut a small stem or side stem from a plant.
2 - Remove all but the very top leaves.
3 - Place it in water or compost.
4 - Keep it somewhere light and warm but out of direct sunlight.
Q4.
Plants that have been produced with cuttings are clones of the parent plant, which means…
Correct answer: they will have the same characteristics as the parent plant.
they will grow to be bigger and stronger than their parent plant.
they have been created in a lab by scientists.
Q5.
Plant growth from cuttings can be __________ over time to help us understand more about plant reproduction.
Correct answer: observed
predicted
concluded
Q6.
Sofia is observing how some plants are developing from cuttings in her classroom. Which information could she gather to help her understand how the plant is growing?
An image in a quiz
the weather outside
the colour of the compost
Correct answer: the height of the plant
the time it took her to write down her observations

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