Worksheet

Structure Clues at the Lotus Basin

Use lotus and dragonfly observations to argue how internal and external structures support life in a city park basin.

Grade 4ScienceInteractive · Printable

Aligned to4-LS1-1

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Single worksheet
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1 NGSS standard
Printable answer key
13 questions
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Details

Format: Interactive · Printable
Grade: Grade 4
Subject: Science
Question types: Multiple choice, Matching, Circle the answer, Sorting, Short answer

About this worksheet

What students practice

Students distinguish internal and external structures in lotus plants and dragonflies.
Students connect structures with survival, growth, behavior, and reproduction.
Students support arguments about plant and animal structures with observational evidence.

How to use

Read the passage together and have students mark evidence about each organism. Students then answer independently and support their final claims with passage details.

Curriculum

NGSS standard covered

4-LS1-1

Argue that plants and animals have inside and outside structures that help them survive, grow, behave and reproduce.

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Structure Clues at the Lotus Basin

Use observations to connect body structures with the jobs they do.

Investigate the Structure Clues

Read the passage. Use its observations and model descriptions to answer the questions.

A Close Look at Two Living Things

A circular lotus basin sits beside a walking path in Bellstone City Park. Visitors watch lotus plants and dragonflies from a railing. A volunteer uses photographs and cutaway models to show parts that visitors cannot see from the path. A cutaway model shows the inside of a body without harming a living thing.

Lotus roots spread into the mud outside the plant's stems. When a breeze pushes water across the basin, the rooted plants stay in place. Broad leaves receive sunlight, which plants use to make food. On a cutaway stem model, arrows trace water from the roots through narrow tubes inside the stem toward the leaves. Developing seeds sit surrounded by a firm seedpod. A photograph taken later shows seeds released from an older pod. Other photographs follow a lotus seed as a root and then a small shoot appear.

Dragonflies dart above the basin and catch small insects. Slow-motion video shows their outside wings changing position as they turn. A cutaway model shows muscles inside the chest attached to the wings. As these muscles shorten and relax, the wings move. Another model shows digestive organs inside the body. These organs break down food so the body can use it for growth and other activities. The volunteer points out ovaries inside a female dragonfly's abdomen, where eggs develop.

Visitors also see a female dragonfly bend her abdomen toward the water and release eggs. Close-up photographs show young dragonflies hatching from eggs and living underwater. The volunteer reminds visitors that a part's location matters when calling it internal or external. Internal means within the organism's body, not simply hidden from a visitor's view. Mud or water can hide a structure that is outside the rest of the body. Visitors leave plants, insects, and eggs undisturbed while making their observations.

Suppose the water-carrying tubes inside a lotus stem become blocked. Which result is most likely?

A. The roots would hold the plant more firmly in mud.
B. Less water would reach the leaves through the stem.
C. The seedpod would release more developing seeds.
D. More sunlight would reach the broad leaf surfaces.

Theo says, "Lotus roots are internal structures because they are hidden in mud." Which reply best uses the passage?

A. Roots are internal because water surrounds them in the basin.
B. Roots are external because they move water toward the leaves.
C. Roots are internal because they connect to tubes in the stem.
D. Roots are external because they extend outside the plant's stems.

Select the two observations that most directly show reproduction: the production of new living things.

A root and a shoot appear from a lotus seed.A rooted lotus stays in place as water moves.Young dragonflies hatch from eggs.A dragonfly turns while flying above the basin.

Sort the structures by their location in the organism. Do not sort by whether a visitor can see them.

Water-carrying tubes within a lotus stemA dragonfly's wingsMuscles within a dragonfly's chestLotus roots extending into mudOvaries within a female dragonfly's abdomenA lotus leaf's outer surface

Internal: within the body	External: on or extending from the outside

A model dragonfly has wings, but its flight muscles do not shorten or relax. What important action would this model fail to show?

A. Internal muscles moving external wings during flight
B. External wings breaking down food during growth
C. Internal ovaries moving external wings during turns
D. External wings developing eggs during reproduction

A lotus becomes detached from its roots. Moving water begins carrying it across the basin. Which argument best explains the change?

A. The roots had been surrounding the developing seeds.
B. The roots had been collecting sunlight above the water.
C. The roots had been anchoring the plant in the mud.
D. The roots had been moving the plant toward insects.

Match each problem to the structure most directly involved, based on the passage.

A lotus has trouble moving water through its stem.
A dragonfly has trouble breaking down the insects it eats.
A female dragonfly has trouble developing eggs inside her body.

A. Ovaries
B. Water-carrying tubes
C. Digestive organs

Build and Check Arguments

Use evidence from the passage. For written answers, connect each structure to the job it helps the organism do.

A park display shows lotus roots and leaves beside dragonfly wings. Which addition would best help visitors compare internal structures in both organisms?

A. A larger lotus leaf beside a larger dragonfly wing
B. A lotus root photograph beside a dragonfly flight video
C. A whole lotus plant beside a whole adult dragonfly
D. A lotus stem cutaway beside a dragonfly chest cutaway

Select the two claims supported by the observations and models. Leave claims that would need more evidence unmarked.

Lotuses with more leaves produce more seeds than lotuses with fewer leaves.Lotus roots help the plants remain in place when water moves.Dragonflies use internal muscles and external wings together when chasing food.Dragonflies with longer wings produce larger eggs than dragonflies with shorter wings.

10.

A visitor claims that the firm lotus seedpod helps protect developing seeds. Which new observation would be the strongest evidence for that claim?

A. Leaves beside the pods receive more sunlight than leaves below them.
B. After pods are bumped by floating twigs, the enclosed seeds remain undamaged.
C. Dragonflies land near the pods more often in the morning than at noon.
D. Roots beneath the pods remain in mud while water moves past them.

11.

A dragonfly can still move its wings, but its digestive organs are not working well. Which prediction best follows from the passage?

A. It may have difficulty using the food it catches for growth.
B. It may begin moving its wings with its ovaries instead.
C. It may develop roots to take in water from the basin.
D. It may use its wings to break down the insects it catches.

12.

A visitor says, "A dragonfly's outside parts explain how it catches food. We do not need to consider its inside parts." Argue against this claim using one internal structure, one external structure, and evidence from the passage.

13.

Argue that lotus structures help the plant do more than stay in one place. Use one internal structure as evidence about growth and a different structure as evidence about reproduction. Explain how each piece of evidence supports your claim.