Nutrients and fertilisers for plants (non-statutory)
I can explain how soil quality can be changed using fertilisers.
Nutrients and fertilisers for plants (non-statutory)
I can explain how soil quality can be changed using fertilisers.
These resources will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.
Lesson details
Key learning points
- Soil is an important source of nutrients for plants.
- Some plants may struggle to grow and survive in certain types of soil.
- Nutrients can be added to soil using fertilisers.
- Fertilisers added to soil make plants grow bigger and be more healthy.
- Fertilisers can be organic, such as compost and manure, or human-made.
Keywords
Soil - Soil is ground up rock mixed up with plant and animal remains.
Organic - Anything which is alive or was once alive is organic.
Nutrients - A nutrient is any substance that plants or animals need in order to live or grow.
Fertiliser - A substance containing nutrients that we can add to soil to make it better for growing plants.
Human-made - Something that is human-made is made or caused by humans.
Common misconception
Pupils may think that fertiliser added to plants is their ‘food’ and so is necessary for their survival.
Explain that plants do not eat food in the same way that we do but they do need nutrients to survive, grow and stay healthy. They get these nutrients from soil and we can add fertiliser to soil to increase the nutrients within it.
To help you plan your year 3 science lesson on: Nutrients and fertilisers for plants (non-statutory), download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your year 3 science lesson on: Nutrients and fertilisers for plants (non-statutory), download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
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The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
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Explore more key stage 2 science lessons from the What plants do and what they need unit, dive into the full secondary science curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.
Equipment
none required
Licence
Lesson video
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Starter quiz
6 Questions
Exit quiz
6 Questions
