For teachers and parents

Using Sprout & Fin in class

Free lessons on how plants grow without soil. No sign-ups, no ads, and nothing collected about your students.

In class

How a lesson fits a class period

2 minHookRead the first screen aloud and take a few guesses.
5–8 minLessonStudents work alone or in pairs, one screen at a time.
5 minTalkUse the discussion question from the lesson guide.
10 minWorksheetPrint it in black and white on one page.

Lessons work on phones, tablets, and school laptops. Students can start any lesson from its link; nothing is locked. Progress saves only on that device.

Lessons

Track 1: How plants really grow

Lesson	Grades	Minutes	Students will	Links
1. What a plant actually needs	3–8	6	Name the five things a plant needs: light, water, air, nutrients, and the right warmth. Explain that a plant makes its own sugar in its leaves. Explain that soil is not on the list, because roots can find water and nutrients elsewhere.	Guide Worksheet
2. What soil does, and what it does not do	3–8	7	List the jobs soil does: it holds the plant up and stores water, air, and nutrients. Explain that plants do not eat soil. Explain that roots take in nutrients dissolved in water, so a plant can grow without soil.	Guide Worksheet
3. Roots: drinking, eating, breathing	3–8	7	Name three parts of a root: root hairs, root tip, and main root. Explain that roots take in water and dissolved nutrients through root hairs. Explain that roots need air, and why soggy soil can harm a plant.	Guide Worksheet
4. Plant food: the nutrients and what each one is for	3–8	6	Explain that nutrients are building blocks a plant takes in through its roots. Name nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, and give one job for each. Explain that a plant needs some nutrients in big amounts and others in tiny amounts.	Guide Worksheet
5. Light and why it matters	3–8	6	Explain that a plant makes its own sugar from light, water, and air. Name what goes into photosynthesis and what comes out. Describe what happens to a plant that gets too little light.	Guide Worksheet
6. Water as a delivery system	3–8	6	Describe the path water takes from the roots to the leaves. Explain that water carries nutrients through the plant. Explain that water leaving the leaves pulls more water up the stem.	Guide Worksheet

Track 2: Hydroponics

Lesson	Grades	Minutes	Students will	Links
7. Growing without soil	3–8	6	Explain hydroponics as growing plants in water with plant food mixed in, and no soil. Name what does each of soil's jobs in a hydroponic tub: holding the plant, bringing water and food, bringing air. Explain why roots in water still need air.	Guide Worksheet
8. Six ways to do it	3–8	7	Name six common hydroponic systems. Describe how each system brings water, food, and air to the roots. Tell which systems use a pump and which do not.	Guide Worksheet
9. The nutrient solution	3–8	6	Explain that a nutrient solution is water with plant food mixed all through it. Put the steps for mixing a nutrient solution in order. Explain why an adult handles concentrated plant food.	Guide Worksheet
10. pH: the nutrient lock	3–8	6	Explain that nutrients can be in the water but out of reach. Name the pH range most hydroponic plants like. Describe one sign that pH is too high.	Guide Worksheet
11. Nutrient strength: the soup test	3–8	6	Explain that plant food in water can be too weak or too strong. Describe one sign of food that is too weak and one of food that is too strong. Say what an EC meter measures and how to raise or lower the reading.	Guide Worksheet
12. Oxygen at the roots	3–8	6	Explain that roots need oxygen, even when they sit in water. Name the parts that bring air to the roots in a deep water tub. Describe what roots look like when they run out of air.	Guide Worksheet
13. What plants stand in: growing media	3–8	6	Explain what a growing medium does for a plant in hydroponics. Sort common growing media into ones that hold water and ones that drain fast. Explain why roots need a balance of water and air.	Guide Worksheet
14. When things go wrong: reading a sick plant	3–8	7	Name the four clues a grower checks: pH, food strength, air, and light. Match a common symptom to its most likely cause. Explain why a grower changes one thing at a time.	Guide Worksheet
15. Project: grow lettuce in a jar	3–8	7	Explain how a Kratky jar gives roots both water and air without a pump. Put the steps for building a lettuce jar in order. Describe what to expect as the water level drops over the weeks.	Guide Worksheet

Track 3: Aquaponics

About live animals: no lesson needs fish. Lesson 23 is a design on paper. If your class keeps fish, follow your school's animal policy and check local rules, and an adult is in charge of their care. Never release fish or plants outdoors.

Lesson	Grades	Minutes	Students will	Links
16. Fish and plants as partners	3–8	6	Explain that in aquaponics, fish waste becomes plant food. Name the main parts of an aquaponics system: fish tank, pump, pipe, grow bed, and the way back. Describe what the plants give back to the fish.	Guide Worksheet
17. The bacteria you cannot see	3–8	6	Explain that bacteria are living things too small to see. Name the wet surfaces where bacteria live in an aquaponics system. Explain why growers avoid scrubbing gravel clean and keep chlorine out of the system.	Guide Worksheet
18. The nitrogen cycle, step by step	4–8	7	Name the steps from fish waste to plant food: ammonia, nitrite, nitrate. Explain which job each kind of bacteria does. Explain why nitrate is safer for fish than ammonia or nitrite.	Guide Worksheet
19. Starting a system: why you wait before adding fish	4–8	7	Explain why fish added to a brand-new system can become stressed. Describe cycling: feeding the bacteria first, with no fish in the tank. Read a cycling chart: ammonia peaks first, then nitrite, then nitrate rises as both fall. Say how growers know a system is ready for fish.	Guide Worksheet
20. Choosing fish and plants that get along	3–8	6	Explain why fish and plants in one system need to like the same water temperature. Name plants that suit a new, small system and plants that suit a bigger, older one. Explain what invasive means and why fish and plants are never released outdoors.	Guide Worksheet
21. Keeping the balance: feeding, pH, temperature	4–8	7	Explain how the amount of fish food sets how much plant food a system makes. Explain why leftover fish food is a problem. Explain why aquaponics growers aim for a pH near 7, a middle point for fish, plants, and bacteria. Describe why growers change one thing at a time.	Guide Worksheet
22. When things go wrong: fish, plants, or bacteria?	4–8	7	Name the four things growers test in an aquaponics system: ammonia, nitrite, pH, and temperature. Explain what a high ammonia or a high nitrite reading can mean. Explain why growers change one thing at a time and then watch.	Guide Worksheet
23. Project: design a small aquaponics system on paper	3–8	8	Name the parts of a small aquaponics system and what each one does. Explain why the grow bed's gravel matters for the bacteria. Plan a system on paper that matches fish and plants and includes the wait for the crew.	Guide Worksheet

Track 4: Feeding the future

Lesson	Grades	Minutes	Students will	Links
24. Water, land, and why growing methods matter	4–8	6	Explain that every way of farming spends water, land, and energy in different amounts. Describe why a system that reuses its water often uses less water and land, but more electricity. Explain what runoff is and why it matters for rivers.	Guide Worksheet
25. Farms in cities, deserts, and space	3–8	6	Explain why some city farms grow plants on stacked shelves under lights. Describe how a desert farm saves water and keeps plants cool. Name one way that growing plants in space is different from growing them on Earth.	Guide Worksheet
26. Jobs in growing: who works in this field	3–8	6	Name five jobs on a modern farm and what each one does. Explain what a sensor does on a farm. Name school subjects that lead to jobs in growing.	Guide Worksheet

Hands-on project: lettuce in a jar

The simplest system there is: no pump, no power. Lesson 15 walks through it, and the printable sheet lists what you need.

Open the project sheet