Getting to Know Plants — Class 3 EVS (CBSE)
From the current NCERT Our Wondrous World Grade 3 book, Unit 2: Life Around Us, Chapter 4. Plants are all around us — let us get to know them better.
1. Why this chapter matters
Plants give us food, air, shade, and beauty. Learning to tell plants apart and to know their parts helps children observe nature closely and understand how living things grow.
2. Key ideas
- Plants come in many kinds, grouped by their stems:
- Herbs — small, soft stems (e.g., mint, coriander, tomato).
- Shrubs — bushy, with many woody stems near the ground (e.g., rose, hibiscus).
- Trees — tall, with one thick, woody stem called a trunk (e.g., mango, neem).
- Climbers — weak stems that need support to climb (e.g., money plant, grapevine).
- Creepers — weak stems that spread along the ground (e.g., pumpkin, watermelon).
- A plant has parts: roots, stem, leaves, flowers, and fruits.
- Plants need water, sunlight, air, and soil to grow.
3. Let's understand
Look around and you will see plants of many shapes and sizes. Tiny herbs have soft stems, shrubs are bushy, and trees are tall with a thick trunk. Some plants are weak and need help — climbers climb up a support, while creepers spread along the ground.
Every plant has parts, and each part has a job:
- Roots hold the plant in the soil and absorb water and nutrients.
- The stem holds the plant up and carries water to the leaves.
- Leaves make food for the plant using sunlight.
- Flowers can grow into fruits, and fruits hold the seeds for new plants.
To grow well, every plant needs water, sunlight, air, and soil.
4. New words
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| herb | a small plant with a soft stem |
| shrub | a bushy plant with woody stems near the ground |
| climber | a weak-stemmed plant that needs support to climb |
| creeper | a weak-stemmed plant that spreads along the ground |
| roots | the part of a plant that holds it and absorbs water |
5. Activity corner
Observe three plants near your home or school. For each, write:
- Is it a herb, shrub, tree, climber, or creeper?
- Name two parts you can see
- One thing the plant needs to grow
6. Common mistakes
- Mistake: Calling every plant a "tree". Fix: Plants can be herbs, shrubs, trees, climbers, or creepers — look at the stem.
- Mistake: Confusing climbers and creepers. Fix: Climbers climb up a support; creepers spread along the ground.
- Mistake: Thinking roots make food. Fix: Leaves make food using sunlight; roots absorb water and nutrients.
7. Let Us Think
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Name the five kinds of plants by their stems. Herbs, shrubs, trees, climbers, and creepers.
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What is the difference between a climber and a creeper? A climber needs support to climb up; a creeper spreads along the ground.
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Which part of a plant makes its food, and how? The leaves make food using sunlight.
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What do roots do? They hold the plant in the soil and absorb water and nutrients.
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What does a plant need to grow? Water, sunlight, air, and soil.
8. Answer key
- Herbs, shrubs, trees, climbers, creepers.
- Climbers climb up a support; creepers spread on the ground.
- The leaves, using sunlight.
- Hold the plant and absorb water and nutrients.
- Water, sunlight, air, and soil.
9. Quick revision
- Plants are grouped by stems: herbs, shrubs, trees, climbers, creepers.
- Parts: roots, stem, leaves, flowers, fruits.
- Roots absorb water; the stem carries it; leaves make food using sunlight.
- Fruits hold seeds for new plants.
- Plants need water, sunlight, air, and soil.
Unit 2: Life Around Us
This chapter is part of Unit 2: Life Around Us. The three chapters in this unit are:
- Chapter 4: Getting to Know Plants
- Chapter 5: Plants and Animals Live Together
- Chapter 6: Living in Harmony
