Science & Technology — Living Things

Subtopic: Characteristics of Plants 🌿

Plants are living things. Here are easy points for Class 4 / age 9 learners in Kenya.

1. Plants make their own food (Photosynthesis) ☀️🍃

- Leaves use sunlight, water and air (carbon dioxide) to make food called sugar. This is why leaves are usually green (chlorophyll).
- Short: Sun + Water + Air + Leaf = Food for plant.

2. Main parts of a plant

• Roots — hold the plant and take water and minerals from the soil.
• Stem — carries water and food between roots and leaves; holds the plant up.
• Leaves — make food and have chlorophyll (green color).
• Flower — makes seeds or fruit (used for making more plants).
• Seed — grows into a new plant.

3. What plants need to live

• Sunlight ☀️
• Water 💧
• Air (carbon dioxide and oxygen)
• Soil with minerals
• Space to grow

4. How plants reproduce

Many plants make seeds from flowers (e.g., maize, tomato, mango). Some reproduce from parts of the plant (cuttings) like banana or sweet potato.

5. Types of plants (easy examples)

• Trees — mango, acacia, eucalyptus.
• Herbs — spinach, sukuma wiki, tomato plants.
• Crops — maize (corn), beans, tea (grown on small bushes).
• Climbers & Creepers — passion fruit (climber), sweet potato (creeper).

Try this at home or school (Activity)

1. Plant a bean seed in a clear plastic cup with soil. Put it on a window that gets sunlight.
2. Water a little every few days. Watch roots grow and the shoot come out.
3. Draw the plant each day and write what changed.

Short quiz (answers below)

1. Which part takes water from the soil?
2. What do leaves use to make food?
3. Name one Kenyan plant that gives fruit.

Good job! Keep observing plants around you — in the school garden, at home, or on the road. 🌱