Grade 3 (age 8-9)

Plant Life Cycle

A plant begins from a single seed, sprouts, grows a stem and leaves, blooms into a flower, and forms fruit. Inside that fruit are new seeds, so the cycle runs from seed to seed. Seeds form only after pollination, when bees, butterflies, and the wind carry pollen between flowers. Here you can drag the slider to grow the plant from seed to fruit and compare annual and perennial plants.

From Seed to Fruit

Growth Stage0

🌱 Order of a Plant's Life

①Seed: planted in soil and watered

②Sprouting: roots come out and seed-leaves rise

③Growing: stem lengthens, more leaves

④Flowering: beautiful flowers bloom

⑤Fruit: flower fades, fruit and seeds form

What Flowers Do

🌸 Role of Flowers

①Pollination occurs

②Bees, butterflies, and wind move pollen

③After pollination, seeds form

④Seeds make the next generation possible

Annual vs. Perennial

🌳 Lifespan Differences

①Annuals: spring sprout → summer flower → fall fruit → winter die

②Perennials: live for many years

③Annual examples: bean, sunflower, rice

④Perennial examples: pine, apple, rose

Summary

Plant Life Cycle

Seed → Sprout → Stem·Leaves → Flower → Fruit (Seed)

A cycle that starts and ends with seeds

Pollination

Pollen + Pistil → Seed → Fruit

Bees, butterflies, and wind carry pollen for fertilization

Plant Classification

Annual (1 yr) vs. Perennial (many yrs)

Bean (annual) / Pine (perennial)

🎯 Key Points

①Life cycle: seed→sprout→leaves→flower→fruit (seed)

②Needs water, sunlight, right temperature

③Pollination creates seeds

④Annual = 1 year, perennial = many years

⑤Seeds in fruit make the next generation

Examples and Unit Test

Example 1

Put the plant life cycle in the correct order using seed, sprout, flower, and fruit.

A plant starts from a seed, sprouts, and grows a stem and leaves before flowering.

After the flower, a fruit forms with seeds inside, continuing into the next life cycle.

▸ Seed → sprout → flower → fruit (seed)

A plant life cycle starts from a seed and cycles back to a seed.

Example 2

What process is needed for a flower to make seeds, and what role do bees and butterflies play?

Pollination, where pollen is carried to the pistil, must happen for seeds to form.

Bees and butterflies move between flowers and carry pollen, helping pollination.

▸ Pollination / bees and butterflies carry the pollen

Pollination must happen for seeds to form, and insects and wind help it.

Unit-test style

Which statement about plant life cycles is correct?

①A plant starts first from a fruit

②Pollination must happen for seeds to form

③An annual plant lives for many years

④A seed needs no water to sprout

⑤A pine is an annual plant

▸ ② Pollination must happen for seeds to form

Seeds form only after pollination, where pollen reaches the pistil.

A plant starts from a seed (①), an annual completes its life cycle within a year (③), a seed needs water to sprout (④), and a pine is a perennial plant (⑤).

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