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Lesson 10 of 14

Plant adaptations

I can describe some adaptations in a range of plants.

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Lesson 10 of 14
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Plant adaptations

I can describe some adaptations in a range of plants.

Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Plants have special features, or adaptations, that help them to survive, live and grow in their habitats.
  2. Adaptations are passed from one generation of a species to another.
  3. Many plants have adaptations to help them successfully reproduce.
  4. Some plants have adaptations that protect them from being eaten.

Keywords

  • Adaptation - An adaptation is a feature of a plant or animal that helps them to survive in their habitat.

  • Survive - To survive means to continue to stay alive.

  • Habitat - The place where a plant or animal lives is called its habitat.

  • Environment - An environment is the surroundings or conditions that an animal or plant lives in.

  • Pollinator - A pollinator is an animal which pollinates a flowering plant.

Common misconception

Pupils may think that, while animals need to be well adapted to survive, plants do not and they simply grow where and how they can.

Use the examples in the slide deck to exemplify the various ways plants are adapted to survive in different environments, just like animals are.

The lesson begins with a child looking at fruit packaging and noticing his produce has been shipped in from another country. Pupils could be encouraged to do the same, making observations of where their food has been grown and using that to infer what sort of habitat these plants would grow best in.
Teacher tip

Equipment

None required.

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2026), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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Prior knowledge starter quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
What is the function of leaves on a plant?

reproduction
transporting water and nutrients
absorbing water
Correct answer: making food

Q2.
What is the function of flowers on a plant?

Correct answer: reproduction
transporting water and nutrients
absorbing water
making food

Q3.
What is seed dispersal?

the way seeds are formed inside a plant
the way gardeners can collect seeds from plants
the way seeds grow into plants
Correct answer: the way seeds are moved away from the parent plant

Q4.
What are animal adaptations?

the different places animals live
Correct answer: special characteristics animals have to help them survive
the range of food sources animals can eat

Q5.
How do animals get their adaptations?

They choose to adapt during their lifetime.
They are shown how to adapt by humans.
Correct answer: They are passed from one generation of a species to another.

Q6.
Order the stages of pollination in flowering plants.

1 - An insect or other pollinating animal lands on a flower to drink nectar.
2 - Pollen from the flower’s anthers is rubbed onto the animal.
3 - The animal, covered in pollen, moves to another flower.
4 - The pollen rubs off the animal onto the stigma of another flower.
5 - Pollen from the stigma moves down to the ovary where fertilisation takes place.

Assessment exit quiz

Download quiz pdf

6 Questions

Q1.
What is the name for the special features that plants have that help them to survive and grow in their habitats?

Correct Answer: adaptations, adapting, adapt, adapts

Q2.
Plant adaptations are …

the same for every plant.
Correct answer: passed from one generation of a species to another.
transported from plant to plant by pollinators.
only for plants living in extreme environments.

Q3.
Which of these adaptations would help to prevent a plant form being eaten?

tasty fruit
large, flat leaves
Correct answer: sharp thorns
deep roots
thick stem

Q4.
Which of these adaptations would help a plant to be pollinated?

Correct answer: large, bright flowers
sharp spines
long, thin leaves
strong roots
Correct answer: pleasant smell

Q5.
Match the plant adaptation to the habitat it is suited for.

Correct Answer:carnivorous plant,habitat with few nutrients in soil

habitat with few nutrients in soil

Correct Answer:thick stem for storing water,very hot, dry habitat

very hot, dry habitat

Correct Answer:seeds that can float,habitat near bodies of water

habitat near bodies of water

Correct Answer:hairy stem,very cold habitat

very cold habitat

Q6.
Which of these plants has adaptations that would suit a rainforest floor habitat, where there is plenty of water but little sunlight?

Correct answer: taro plant
cactus
rosemary

Lesson appears in

UnitScience / Evolution and inheritance

Science

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