How a Pecan Tree Makes Food

How a Pecan Tree Makes Food Worksheet: How plants make food (Grade 4 Science)

Students look at a pecan tree, the Texas state tree, and circle whether water, carbon dioxide, sugar, and oxygen are taken in, used as food, or given off. Then they answer three questions about roots, sunlight, and the carbon dioxide animals breathe out. The page teaches the idea first, so no prior lesson is needed, and every answer is on the page.

What's Inside

• A teach box on how producers use sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide to make sugar and give off oxygen
• Part A: a pecan tree picture; circle what happens to water, carbon dioxide, sugar, and oxygen
• Part B: three circle questions about roots, sunlight, and cycling of matter
• A raccoon guide with a hint that matches the answer key
• An answer key with answers marked in red, plus a short teacher note with what to watch for

How Teachers Use It

Read the teach box and the worked example together, then let students try Part A and Part B. It takes 8 to 10 minutes and prints clearly in black and white. The focus skill is explaining how producers make their own food. Standards: TEKS 4.12A: investigate and explain how most producers can make their own food using sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide through the cycling of matter.

Why It Works

A familiar Texas tree turns photosynthesis into something students can picture. Questions are short, mostly circle answers, and the reasoning is on the teacher key.