Five leaf parts are the core of this 3-page 5th grade science sheet on photosynthesis. Page 1 shows a cutaway of a leaf with five numbered arrows, and students pick the cuticle, chloroplast, vein, stoma and guard cells from a word bank. Page 2 lists a job for each part, such as the waxy coat that keeps water in, and ends with a written question about guard cells staying open on a hot, dry day. Page 3 holds the answers. It supports NGSS 5-LS1-1.
5-LS1-1
“Support an argument that plants get the materials they need for growth chiefly from air and water.”
Matching the stoma to carbon dioxide in, the vein to water in and sugar out, and question 6 on water loss ties each leaf part to the air and water a plant uses.
A leaf drawn layer by layer: a yellow waxy top, tall green cells with dots, a vein in the middle and tiny openings on the underside with guard cells beside them. Five numbered arrows point to the parts, and students fill in a five-row table from the word bank.
Five job descriptions in a table, each with a blank for the leaf part. Examples are a tiny opening that lets carbon dioxide in and oxygen out and a bundle of tiny tubes that carries water and sugar.
Four lines to explain what would happen to a plant on a hot, dry day if its guard cells stayed open all the time.
The five labels, the five matches and a sample answer saying that too much water would escape through the stomata and the plant would wilt.
Quick pre-test
Give out page 1 before you teach the vocabulary. With only five words in the bank, you see at once who already knows chloroplast and stoma.
Hot day question
Have partners answer question 6 aloud before they write. The idea that open stomata let water escape is the hardest link on the sheet.
Real leaf
Bring in a leaf and a hand lens. Students can find the veins and match them to the picture, while the stomata are too small to see and stay on the diagram.
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