Week 4 — Light Eaters
“If it is not the water, where does a plant's food come from?”
Monday Mission
Hook video (3:05) + discussion + class task — “Leaf Focus”
Prep: print Prediction Slips (1 pg) · 4 min · 21 min total
Daily Ritual
Measure leaves and check the light · 4 min
Main Block (Wed)
“The Light Test and Plant Rescue” · 35 min
Prep: 1 printable, cups from kit · 5 min
Friday Recap
Predictions resolved + graph moment + parent note
Printables (3)
Teacher notes
Read 2 minutes before Monday. The big reveal this week is that plants make their own food in their leaves, using light. Keep photosynthesis simple and honest: leaves take in light, water, and air, and make food (a sugar) plus oxygen. You do not need the word glucose; 'food the plant makes itself' is enough. The grow-light stops being decoration and becomes the food source, which is why it runs every day. Wednesday is also our troubleshooting beat: most classes have a slower or paler row by now (often basil), and that is the real-world moment to run a Plant Rescue check and take one visible action. A struggle the class fixes is more memorable than a garden where nothing goes wrong.