Are you looking for some fun photosynthesis activities for your middle school science classroom? Whether you are introducing photosynthesis, teaching it, or looking for some fun extension activities, this is the post for you. Let’s bring the WOW Factor to your science classroom!
Plants need energy to survive. They are living organisms! Photosynthesis is the process that uses sunlight, carbon dioxide, and water to make glucose (sugar) and oxygen. This is used by the plant to create energy!
In this post, I share some photosynthesis activities to introduce this fun topic to students to help them become internally motivated to learn. Second, I share an interactive lesson to help students learn the content without all of the overwhelm that comes with so much content. Finally, I share some fun photosynthesis lab activities and other things to help extend their knowledge on this topic!
Check out the photosynthesis teaching resources below!
Photosynthesis Activities for Introduction – WONDER
WONDER activities are super important to do before diving into a lesson. Why? Well, this is because you want your students to become internally motivated to learn. If they actually want to learn, the rest is a piece of cake! Here are three different WONDER photosynthesis activities to try before diving deep into the content. You can choose to do one, two, or all three!
Leaf Stomata Lab
When we look at a plant, we see beauty, but we don’t see everything that is there. There is so much more to a plant than what we can see with our naked eye.
Giving students a chance to explore some microscopic aspects of plants before learning about photosynthesis can be really powerful.
You’ll need:
- a leaf
- clear fingernail polish
- a microscope
- microscope slides
- scissors
- packing tape
You’ll need this for each group if your students are working in groups.
- Grab a leaf and paint a thin layer of the clear fingernail polish on the underside of the plant leaf. Let it dry.
- Take a piece of packing tape and place it on top of the underside of the leaf. Be sure not to get any fingerprints on the area that will be on the leaf. Press down on the side that the fingernail polish is on.
- Remove the tape and press it on the slide. Cut off any excess tape.
- Place this under the microscope. You will be able to see the stomata impressions.
Here’s a video that does a great job explaining. It’s a little quiet, so just turn up the volume a bit.
Have a Snack
I’m telling you, if you have followed my posts for any amount of time, you’ll know that I love to incorporate food into the classroom when I can! It’s just the way to a middle school student’s heart! This will be one of the most popular photosynthesis activities for introduction!
So, what kind of snack? Any! So, the point of this would be to have a snack, talk about how it gives us energy, and then ask students, “How do plants get their energy to survive and thrive?”.
From there, you can see what they already know about photosynthesis. It’s a great conversation starter for sure!
In our state standards, photosynthesis is taught in multiple grade levels, each grade building on another. Your students may already know so much, and this is a great way to get their brains back focused on the topic!
Go Outside and Explore Plants
This is another way to activate prior knowledge. If you don’t have the time and the means to explore the stomata at the microscopic level, this is a great alternative to get students thinking about what microscopic parts a plant may have.
Just take a quick walk outside. Explain to students that plants need energy, and they make it themselves. Students can explore different plants to brainstorm how plants may do this!
I believe that anytime you can get students moving and outside, it’s a great day!
Photosynthesis Interactive Lesson
Interactive lessons are great to teach a lesson! They help reduce student cognitive load by incorporating the 7 steps to help students retain information!
If students are given too much content at one time, they end up not learning anything at all. This is why it’s important to use strategies such as highlighting important information, segmenting information and allowing students to process before moving on, and taking out unnecessary information. Taking these steps, and more, helps students to better grasp the material.
In this photosynthesis interactive lesson, students will learn about cellular metabolism, ATP, stomata and guard cells, the photosynthesis formula, chloroplasts, chlorophylls, and so much more!
Inside of the lesson, there are activities along the way to help students process the information. These activities include an anticipation guide, drag-and-drop activities, text box activities, and more! Skip the photosynthesis activity sheet and try it out!
You can learn more about this resource in the Bright in the Middle Shop or on TPT.
Here are some other related interactive lessons!
Photosynthesis, Respiration, and Transpiration
Photosynthesis and Cellular Respiration
Photosynthesis Activities to WIDEN Knowledge
So, your students have learned a whole lot about photosynthesis, but there is still more time to extend their knowledge. Maybe you’re working on a photosynthesis 5E lesson plan, and you need some elaborate ideas! Here are three you can check out for photosynthesis.
Lego Photosynthesis
I have not tried this out myself, but it seems to be all of the rage, and it looks so much fun!
Here is a video I found to explain it! It’s much easier to show you than to explain it!
Pretty much, you’ll have different Legos to represent different elements. For example, you’ll have a small yellow block to represent hydrogen, and a longer red block to represent oxygen. You then connect them together to make elements, such as water.
This is a great way to model the formula!
Here are some instructions. I love it!
*You can also use paper pieces if purchasing the Legos doesn’t work out! You can even have students cut their own out of construction paper to save you time!
Photosynthesis Comic
Another great WIDEN activity to do with any topic is to have students to create a comic to apply their knowledge, and even learn more in the process.
Students can brainstorm a way to tell a story about the photosynthesis process. They can do this alone or in groups.
The next step will be to create their masterpiece! You can find a comic strip template to make life a little easier. Canva has a lot of templates that can be printed, or students can create their comic digitally!
This is a great way to bring art and writing into your science classroom!
Interactive Assessment
This is another neat interactive that I found by Virtual Science Teachers. It’s a review of photosynthesis with a final slide that your students can screenshot once they finish! It’s a nice alternative to a photosynthesis review worksheet.
It guides students through the process and provides a nice review if you are looking for a WIDEN activity that is quicker to complete.
Which photosynthesis lesson ideas will you choose?
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