Mississippi Science L.1.3A.1
The Standard
- L.1.3A
- Students will demonstrate an understanding of what plants need from the environment for growth and repair.
Conduct structured investigations to make and test predictions about what plants need to live, grow, and repair including water, nutrients, sunlight, and space. Develop explanations, compare results, and report findings.
2026 Mississippi College- and Career-Readiness Standards for Science · Ecology and Interdependence
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students predict how water, sunlight, nutrients, and space affect plants. They change one condition, watch plants over time, and compare what happens. They also look for new growth after a plant is damaged.
What Mastery Looks Like
- A student sets up two similar seedlings with only one condition changed. They draw what they see, compare the plants, and say whether the results matched their prediction. They know a plant may grow a new leaf, but a torn leaf does not mend.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may think plants eat soil or that more water always helps. They may think crowded seedlings grow just as well as spaced ones, or that a torn leaf will join back together.
How to Assess It
- Give students two matching seedlings and ask, “How could you test whether sunlight helps them grow?” Have them draw where each plant will go, tell what they will keep the same, and predict what they will see.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Put matching bean seedlings near the same window, cover one with a vented opaque box, water both equally, and sketch changes daily.
Show a photo of a seedling with a torn leaf and a new leaf; ask, “Did the old leaf mend, or did the plant grow?”
Deal cards showing dry soil, shaded leaves, crowded seedlings, and nutrient-poor soil; have students match each card to a plant need.
Show photos of crowded and spaced garden carrots; have students mark which seedlings a gardener should remove and explain why.
Free download
Printable L.1.3A.1 Worksheet
A ready-to-print activity worksheet aligned to L.1.3A.1, with an answer key for the teacher on its own page. No account needed.
PDF, US Letter, prints cleanly in black and white.
Download the worksheetKeep exploring
Related Standards
- L.K.2.3
With teacher guidance, conduct a structured investigation to observe and measure (comparison of lengths) the changes in various individuals of a single plant sp...
- L.1.1.1
Construct explanations using first-hand observations or other media to describe the structures of different plants (i.e., root, stem, leaves, flowers, and fruit...
- BOT.1.7
Conduct investigations, collect and analyze data, and communicate results that explain the processes of photosynthesis and cellular respiration (e.g., light int...
- L.K.3A.1
With teacher guidance, conduct a structured investigation to determine what plants need to live and grow (water, light, and a place to grow). Measure growth by ...
Turn this exact standard into a lesson
Grade, subject, topic, and the complete standard are prefilled. Create one free, no account needed.
Also for this standard:Make a WorksheetMake a QuizMake a Sub Lesson