Plant Growth Activities for 5th Grade Science

The Kesler Science Plant Growth Complete 5E Lesson offers a comprehensive, low-prep solution for 5th grade teachers to engage students in exploring how plants grow and thrive in different environments. This lesson follows the 5E model—Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate, and Evaluate—ensuring a well-rounded, hands-on learning experience that encourages student autonomy. With minimal teacher direction, students will engage with essential questions, such as how the conditions in an environment affect plant growth, while learning through multiple modalities that keep them actively involved.

The lesson’s student-led activities include a differentiated station lab that covers a variety of learning styles and offers eight unique stations, each designed to help students explore the science behind plant growth. The stations include hands-on experiments, research tasks, readings, and videos, allowing students to engage in both independent and collaborative activities. There are also multiple output stations for students to demonstrate their knowledge through writing, drawing, organizing, and more. This format allows students to personalize their learning, while teachers can easily adjust for individual needs, whether for remediation or challenge.

In addition to the station lab, the lesson includes editable PowerPoints, interactive notebook templates, and assessments to further extend learning. Teachers can tailor the lesson materials to their classroom needs, and with Spanish translations of key components, the lesson is fully accessible to diverse learners. Whether used in-person or virtually, the Plant Growth Complete 5E Lesson ensures that students not only grasp the concept of plant growth but also develop essential skills in reasoning, inquiry, and communication.

The Kesler Science Plant Growth Station Lab offers a modular, student-led experience that keeps 5th grade students engaged while they explore the requirements for plant growth in different environments. These ready-to-use materials save prep time while allowing students to guide their own learning.

With eight differentiated activities and a bonus challenge station for early finishers, the lab provides a flexible, student-centered approach. The nine stations include resources, task cards, and signage, which students complete independently or in small groups. Some materials may be already available in the classroom, particularly for the hands-on "Explore It!" station.

The stations include diverse activities, such as hands-on demonstrations, research tasks, reading passages in English and Spanish, and videos. Students can also organize, illustrate, write, and assess their knowledge through various output stations. The bonus "Challenge It!" station offers fun extension activities for advanced students, and all the stations are adaptable for both in-person and virtual learning environments.

The Kesler Science Plant Growth Student Choice Projects give middle school students the freedom to select from multiple project options that match their learning style. With six project choices and a "design your own" option, students can create personalized projects that showcase their understanding of plant growth. A flexible grading rubric allows for assessments by teachers, peers, or self-assessment, offering a dynamic approach to evaluation.

The resource includes nine project options, teacher directions, and editable rubric pages to assess concepts, vocabulary, presentation, and accuracy. The projects are differentiated for various student needs, with modified versions for those requiring additional support and combinations available for advanced learners.

Designed to use basic classroom materials like paper and markers, these projects can also be completed digitally, making them adaptable to different learning environments and preferences.

The Kesler Science 5th Grade Life Science Interactive Notebook Bundle provides engaging, hands-on learning for key life science topics. This comprehensive resource includes both print and digital versions, making it perfect for traditional classrooms, 1:1 environments, and distance learning.  

The digital interactive notebook features a unique PowerPoint format, Google Slides compatibility, reflection pages, space for notes, and a modified version for students with accommodations. The paper version includes blank and pre-filled templates, plus color photo examples for easy implementation.  

Covering topics like plant growth, ecosystems, fossil evidence, and inherited traits, this bundle helps students organize their learning while giving teachers flexible, high-quality materials to enhance instruction.