PLANT PROCESSES

PLANT PROCESSES LESSON

Directions:

Print the Plant Processes reading comprehension passage and questions (see below).

Students should read the passage silently, then answer the questions.

Lesson Excerpt

     Plants live on Earth because Earth has certain things that allow them to grow and reproduce:  light, air, water, nutrients, and space.

     Nutrients are certain substances found in soil that plants need to live.  Some nutrients come from rocks, which are filled with minerals.  Minerals are not living, but they contain compounds that plants use as nutrients.  Nutrients from non-living things are called inorganic.  These nutrients become part of the soil when rock minerals break up into very small pieces and dissolve. 

     Plants also get nutrients from other living things.  These are organic nutrients.  When plants and animals die, they decay and release their nutrients, which return to the soil.  Plants get nutrients because they dissolve and mix with the water in the soil.  When plants take in water through their roots, the water is carrying dissolved nutrients.

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