Plants for a Dry Texas Garden

Plants for a Dry Texas Garden Worksheet: Plant structures that help plants survive (Grade 4 Science)

Students learn how thick stems, waxy leaves, deep roots, spines, and floating leaves help plants survive, circle the job of a part of a prickly pear, mesquite, agave, and water lily, then help a West Texas school choose plants for a dry garden. 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 plant parts that help plants survive, with a pine needle example
• Part A: four Texas plant pictures; circle one job for each plant part
• Part B: three circle questions to plan a dry school garden
• 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 plant structures help plants survive. Standards: TEKS 4.13A: explore and explain how structures and functions of plants such as waxy leaves and deep roots enable them to survive in their environment.

Why It Works

Planning a real dry garden gives students a reason to care about plant parts. Questions are short, mostly circle answers, and the reasoning is on the teacher key.