Cactus and Water Lily Adaptations

Plant Adaptations Worksheet - Saguaro Cactus and Water Lily

Two plants. Two very different habitats. This plant adaptations worksheet asks students to compare a saguaro cactus from the Sonoran Desert with a water lily growing in a pond, and to explain why their bodies are not the same.

Students study a labeled illustration and a data table of real measurements, then work through three short parts: a table hunt, a structure and function matching activity, and a reasoning question that confronts the most common misconception in this unit - the idea that a plant's body changes during its life to fit a new place.

The matching activity is the heart of the page. Leaves, stem, and waxy coating are the same structures on both plants, but each one does a different job. The waxy coating holds water inside the cactus and keeps water off the top of the lily pad - one structure, opposite purposes.

What's included

• 2 printable worksheet pages
• 1 answer key
• Print-ready PDF, no prep required

Standards: NGSS 4-LS1-1. Grades 3-5.

Great for science centers, homework, sub plans, early finishers, small group work, or review before a plant and animal adaptations test. Pairs with our animal adaptations worksheet featuring the fennec fox and arctic fox.