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2nd grade · Science · Unit 5 of 9

Plants, Seeds & Pollinators

What plants need, and how animals help them.

What your child practices

Practices testing what plants need to grow, and how animals carry pollen and spread seeds.

New York State Learning Standards learning standard: 2-LS2-1; 2-LS2-2 · plants need sunlight and water, and animals pollinate plants and spread seeds

How we explain it

Children can open this short lesson before they practice.

  1. Plants need water and light to grow. Without water, leaves wilt.
  2. Bees carry pollen from flower to flower.
  3. Animals spread seeds, like squirrels burying acorns.

Example: A plant gets too little water. What happens to its leaves? Leaves need water to stay firm. They droop. Answer: they wilt

Plants, Seeds & Pollinators in New York

In the New York State Learning Standards, this is unit 5 of 9 in 2nd grade Science, after Mixtures & Materials and before Build, Test & Rebuild.

Gradelings describes a child's practice on this unit as Beginning, Approaching, Meeting or Exceeding (Four practice steps). That reflects practice, not a report-card mark: the teacher decides the mark.

Source: New York State Education Department (NYSED)

Sample questions

A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.

  1. Question 1

    A squirrel buries acorns and forgets some. What can happen?

    • Nothing ever
    • The acorns melt
    • New oak trees grow
    • Rocks grow

  2. Question 2

    How does wind help some plants?

    • It digs roots
    • It makes flowers
    • It carries seeds and pollen
    • It waters them

  3. Question 3

    Why do flowers have bright colors?

    • To attract pollinators
    • To scare pollinators
    • To keep warm
    • To hold water

  4. Question 4

    Burrs stick to a dog's fur. This helps the plant…

    • make flowers
    • drink water
    • spread its seeds
    • get sunlight

  5. Question 5

    A plant is kept in a dark closet. What happens?

    • It turns into a tree
    • It makes fruit faster
    • It grows weak and pale
    • It grows strong and green

  6. Question 6

    What would happen to apples if there were no bees?

    • More apples would grow
    • Fewer apples would grow
    • Nothing would change
    • Apples would be bigger

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