Where Photosynthesis Happens

Open class with a quick Science Spotlight that pins down one of the most misunderstood ideas in life science: where a plant actually makes its food. Students read four short scenarios and identify the plant structure at work — roots, stomata, chloroplast, or chlorophyll.

Then comes the sort. Each structure is classified as one that brings in raw materials or one that marks where food is made. Placing roots and stomata on the materials side — while the chloroplast and chlorophyll hold the food-making side — directly confronts the stubborn misconception that plants make food in their roots or “eat” soil. It makes clear that water and carbon dioxide arrive from different structures, but the reaction itself happens inside the leaf.

A four-term word bank does the scaffolding, so each definition hands students the clue they need to both name the structure and sort it — rewarding close reading over guessing. A built-in text-evidence task has students underline the exact proof phrase, and the streamlined answer key shows every structure, the correct chip, and the evidence in red.

Built for grades 5–8, anchored to NGSS MS-LS1-2 (cell part function) and supporting MS-LS1-6 (photosynthesis), with a CCSS literacy tie-in. Just print and teach.