New
New
Year 3

The function of leaves

I can describe why plants have leaves.

New
New
Year 3

The function of leaves

I can describe why plants have leaves.

Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Many plants have roots, stems, leaves and flowers.
  2. Plants can make their own food. This happens in the leaves of a plant.
  3. Plants make food in their leaves, using sunlight, carbon dioxide and water.
  4. To investigate why plants have leaves, a plant with leaves removed can be observed over time.

Keywords

  • Leaf - A leaf is the part of a plant where the plant makes its food using the process of photosynthesis.

  • Function - The task that something has is its function.

  • Carbon dioxide - Carbon dioxide is a type of gas that is in the air around us.

  • Photosynthesis - The way in which plants make food in their leaves is called photosynthesis.

  • Observation over time - In an observation over time investigation, we observe and record how something changes over a period of time.

Common misconception

Pupils may think that a plant’s leaves are for the collection of water, due to their shape and the way we often appear to pour water over the leaves when we water plants.

Use the lesson resources to explain that the function of the leaves is to make food for the plant.

Gather a collection of leaves from the local area, or photos of the same, for pupils to explore as part of this lesson. Pupils could be part of this collection, each bringing in a leaf of their own to share. This will help them understand that leaves come in many different shapes, sizes and colours.
Teacher tip

Equipment

See Additional material.

Content guidance

  • Risk assessment required - equipment

Supervision

Adult supervision 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).

Lesson video

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6 Questions

Q1.
What is the name for this part of a plant?
An image in a quiz
Correct Answer: leaf, leaves
Q2.
Which of these are leaves?
Correct answer: A
B
C
Correct answer: D
Q3.
Plants need air, water, , warmth, room to grow and nutrients from soil to survive and grow.
An image in a quiz
Correct Answer: light, sunlight, sun light
Q4.
Which of these statements is incorrect?
Correct answer: We can see when there is air around us.
There is air everywhere, inside and outside buildings.
We breathe air in when we inhale.
Q5.
When we observe something we…
say what we think will happen to it.
choose a name for it.
Correct answer: look at it closely using our senses.
put it away in the correct place.
Q6.
Which of these statements is correct?
An image in a quiz
Plants can survive without water.
Plants are not living things.
Plants need to be given plant food by humans to survive.
Correct answer: Plants get many of the nutrients they need from the soil.

6 Questions

Q1.
Many plants have roots, stems, and flowers.
An image in a quiz
Correct Answer: leaves, leaf
Q2.
What is the function of leaves on a plant?
to collect water
to attract insects
Correct answer: to make food for the plant
to take in nutrients from the soil
Q3.
Plants make food in their leaves using sunlight, carbon dioxide and ...
An image in a quiz
Correct Answer: water
Q4.
A plant could survive and be healthy without…
water from the soil.
Correct answer: plant food from a human.
light from the sun.
nutrients from the soil.
Q5.
The function of leaves is to make food for the plant. What is the name for this process?
An image in a quiz
Correct answer: photosynthesis
observation
growth
preparation
Q6.
We can a plant with its leaves removed over time to find out more about leaves and their function.
An image in a quiz
Correct Answer: observe, measure

Additional material

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