Photosynthesis Diagram Worksheet

Photosynthesis is the process green plants use to turn sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide into the sugar they need in order to grow, and it releases the oxygen that people and animals breathe. Fifth graders who can name what a plant takes in and what it gives off are ready for the standards questions that ask them to trace matter and energy through a living system. This photosynthesis diagram worksheet gives students a clear labeled picture to work from, so the whole process fits on one page instead of hiding in a long paragraph of notes.

This 5th grade plants worksheet opens with a diagram of a young plant growing in a cutaway mound of soil, with the sun overhead and four numbered arrows crossing the edge of the plant. Students read each arrow, decide whether it shows something going in or coming out, and write the matching word from the word box on the line beside its number. Part B then asks two written questions that push past labeling: why a plant kept in a dark closet stops making sugar, and how the oxygen a plant gives off helps people and animals. Use it as a guided lesson page, as independent review before a unit test, or as a quick reteaching tool for a small group.

What’s Included

• 1 print-ready PDF worksheet
• Answer key
• A labeled plant diagram with four numbered arrows and a four-word word box
• 2 written-response questions about how photosynthesis works

Three things make this photosynthesis diagram worksheet work in a fifth grade classroom. First, the picture carries the science: the direction of every arrow tells the student whether that thing is taken in or given off, so the page checks real understanding instead of memorized word order. Second, the word box keeps the spelling of terms like carbon dioxide out of the way, so students spend their effort on the reasoning. Third, the two written questions ask for an explanation in a complete sentence, which is exactly the kind of constructed response that state assessments use.

Teachers and parents can stretch the lesson well past the page. Set two seedlings of the same plant on a sunny window sill and in a dark closet, chart what happens over a week, then come back to the diagram and point at the arrow that went missing. Ask students to trace the arrows with a finger while they retell the process out loud to a partner. Confident writers can add a word equation underneath the diagram. A short walk outside to collect leaves of different shapes makes the point that every green leaf on the block is doing this same job all day long.

Related Resources

• Photosynthesis Reading Worksheet
• What Do Plants Make Worksheet
• Plants Life Science Reading Comprehension Worksheet
• Water Cycle Song (Have Fun Teaching)