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What Parts Do We Eat?

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The Book

Plants Can’t Sit Still

Written by Rebecca Hirsh, illustrated by Mia Posada

Plants Can’t Sit Still is a fascinating and poetic exploration of the many ways plants move, grow, and respond to their environment. Through engaging text and vivid illustrations, the book challenges the common perception that plants are motionless, showcasing how they creep, climb, curl, and reach toward the sun. It helps young readers observe and understand the external features of plants and how they help them survive (AC9SFU01 – Foundation Year, Science). The book also supports learning about how plants, like other living things, have basic needs, such as water, sunshine, and room to grow (AC9S1U01 – Year 1, Science). With its dynamic storytelling and rich scientific concepts, Plants Can’t Sit Still encourages curiosity about the natural world and inspires children to observe plants in action.

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Resource creator

Lian Khanh

Subject

Science,

Level

Foundation,

Description

In this lesson, children will revise the names of external features of a plant and explore which parts of different plants we eat — like roots, stems, leaves, flowers, fruits, and seeds. Through a story, hands-on discussion, and sorting activity, children will learn that the food we eat often comes from different parts of plants.

Learning Intentions

• We are learning that we eat different parts of plants.

Successful Criteria

• I can identify what part of the plant we eat for some fruits and vegetables.
• I can sort foods into groups based on which part of the plant they come from.

Curriculum Alignment

AC9SFU01 9.0 (Science Foundation): Observe external features of plants and animals and describe ways they can be grouped based on these features

• observing fruits and vegetables and identifying them as parts of plants such as roots, flowers, fruits or leaves
• recognising humans as animals, describing external features of humans and exploring similarities and differences compared with other animals
• using magnifying glasses or digital cameras to observe and identify external features of plants including seeds, flowers, fruits and roots, or of animals such as eyes, body covering, legs and wings
• sorting collections of model animals and explaining different grouping strategies
• recognising First Nations Australians’ use of observable features to group living things
• exploring how First Nations Australians’ observations of external features of living things are replicated in traditional dance

Materials

  • Big book: Plants Can’t Sit Still by Rebecca E. Hirsch

  • Real, toy, or photo samples of plants/foods: strawberries, sunflower seeds, cucumbers, carrots, corns, celery, lettuce, cauliflower, beans, etc.

  • Hoops labelled different parts of a plant: Root, Stem, Leaf, Flower, Fruit, Seed

  • Printable worksheet with fruit & veg pictures and sorting boxes (Roots, Stems, Leaves, Flowers, Fruits, Seeds)

  • Scissors and glue sticks

  • Plant parts poster/chart for reference

Instruction

1. Warm-Up – Revise Plant Parts

  • Show a plant diagram or use a simple chart/poster.
  • Ask: “Who remembers the names of the parts of a plant?” (root, stem, leaf, flower, fruit, seed)
  • Quickly go over each part and what it does (keep it short and simple).

2. Story Time – Plants Can’t Sit Still

  • Read the story aloud with enthusiasm.
  • Pause at pages showing edible plants like sunflower, strawberry, or cucumber.
  • Ask guiding questions like:
    • “Where do strawberries grow on the plant?”
    • “What part of the sunflower can we eat?”
    • “Is this cucumber a flower or something else?”

3. Real-World Examples – Common Fruits & Veggies

  • Show a few common fruits and vegetables from your basket or photos.
  • Say the name together and ask: “What part of the plant do we eat?”
  • Emphasise: Sometimes we eat more than one part of the plant!
  • If you do have fruit and vegetable toys, ask students place each item on the correct hoop of plant part.
  • Help them connect it to the chart:
    • Root: Carrot
    • Seed: Sunflower seed, beans, corn
    • Leaf: Lettuce, celery
    • Stem: Celery, broccoli
    • Flower: Broccoli, cauliflower
    • Fruit: Strawberry, cucumber, beans

4. Sorting Activity

  • Hand out the cut-and-sort worksheet.
    • Students cut out pictures of different fruits and vegetables.
    • Then they glue each into the correct plant part group: root, stem, leaf, flower, fruit, seed.
    • Remind them some foods might go in more than one group (e.g. green beans = seeds + pod/fruit).

5. Wrap-Up & Reflection

  • Gather the group and ask:
    • “What surprised you today?”
    • “What’s your favourite part of a plant to eat?”
  • Recap the big idea: Plants give us food, and we eat different parts of them!

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AC9SFU01 (Science – Foundation)

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