3rd Grade Science — Plants and Ecosystems — God's Green Earth
Students will understand the basic process of photosynthesis and recognize it as part of God's brilliant design for sustaining life.
Have you ever wondered how plants make their own food? God gave plants an incredible ability called photosynthesis. This word means 'making things with light,' and it is one of the most amazing processes in all of creation.
Here is how it works: Leaves take in sunlight, roots bring up water from the soil, and tiny holes in the leaves let in a gas called carbon dioxide from the air. The plant mixes these three ingredients together to make sugar, which is its food!
As a bonus, photosynthesis also produces oxygen — the very air we need to breathe! God designed plants to make food for themselves while also making the air clean and fresh for animals and people. What an amazing Creator!
Leaves are green because they contain a special substance called chlorophyll. Chlorophyll captures sunlight and uses its energy to power the food-making process. Without chlorophyll, photosynthesis could not happen.
Do an experiment: Place one leaf in sunlight and cover another leaf with foil for a few days. Compare them and discuss why sunlight is needed. Draw a diagram showing water + sunlight + carbon dioxide = sugar + oxygen.