Plant Investigation Notes are three pages of guided notes for a 2nd grade science test on what plants need, aligned to NGSS 2-LS2-1. Students fill blanks while four matching plants are set up. Plant A gets sunlight and water, B gets no water, C goes in the dark, and D gets neither. Students predict, record how the plants are checked, and explain why only one thing changes at a time. Model answers are in the key.
2-LS2-1
“Plan and conduct an investigation to determine if plants need sunlight and water to grow.”
Setting Up Our Test plans the four-plant investigation, and the In your own words prompt in Watching Them Grow asks why only one condition changes.
Blanks cover plants as living things that need air, water, and sunlight. Students then predict what happens to a plant that gets no water.
Students fill in the setup for four plants of the same size, A to D, each given sunlight, water, one of them, or neither.
Blanks describe checking the plants every week, measuring how tall they grow with a ruler, and watching leaf color. Students then explain why only one thing changes at a time.
Two final blanks record that the healthiest plant had both sunlight and water, which plants need to grow and survive.
Alongside a real test
Set up four real plants on the day you hand this out. The notes follow the test over several weeks, so keep the sheets in a folder.
Fair test talk
The prompt about changing one thing at a time is the heart of the sheet. Give it a full class discussion before students write.
Measurement practice
Have students measure each plant with a ruler every week, in inches or centimeters, and keep a small table beside the notes.
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