NGSS K-LS1-1
Use observations to describe patterns of what plants and animals (including humans) need to survive.
At a Glance
THIS STANDARD FOCUSES ON
Observing that plants need water to survive and discovering capillary action — the physical mechanism by which plants absorb and transport water from roots to leaves. The Walking Water experiment makes this invisible plant process visible and tangible.
KEY SKILLS ADDRESSED
Observation over time, pattern recognition, connecting physical and living systems, recording time-interval data, drawing scientific illustrations
CORE CONCEPTS
Capillary action, cohesion, adhesion, absorption, xylem, plant water transport, living needs
HOW BRAINIAC BUNCHSUPPORTS THIS
Episode 8's Walking Water experiment uses paper towels to model capillary action — the same force that pulls water from tree roots to leaves 100+ feet above. A direct, observable model of what plants do every day.
Official Standard Language
Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), 2013
Standard Code:
NGSS K-LS1-1
Grade Level:
Kindergarten
Performance Expectation:
Use observations to describe patterns of what plants and animals (including humans) need to survive.
Disciplinary Core Idea:
LS1.C: Organization for Matter and Energy Flow in Organisms — All animals need food in order to live and grow. Plants need water and light to live and grow.
How Our Content Aligns
Mapping Brainiac Bunch resources to this standard
Little Lab Challenges supports NGSS K-LS1-1 through Episode 8: Walking Water Colors, which demonstrates capillary action — the physical mechanism plants use to transport water from roots to leaves. The cross-disciplinary connection between physical science (capillary action in paper towels) and life science (plant water transport) makes the abstract 'plants need water' standard concretely observable.
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Episodes:
Episode 8 demonstrates capillary action visually — colored water walks uphill through paper towel bridges into empty cups, modeling exactly how plants pull water upward against gravity through xylem vessels
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Activities:
Walking Water Rainbow Bridge — a multi-cup capillary action observation requiring 30–60 minutes of time-interval checking, plus the celery extension that shows the same process inside a real plant
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Printables:
Color Mixing Map + Observation Stopwatch Checklist (free — 6 time-interval table + 7-cup setup diagram + color mixing results) and Plant Water Transport Poster (member bonus — side-by-side comparison of the paper towel experiment and a real tree's xylem vessels)
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Topics:
Botany (Life Science) and Matter & Its Properties (Physical Science) — capillary action bridges both domains
Aligned Episodes
1 Episode
supporting this standard
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Walking Water Colors
Little Lab Challenges • 8 minutes • Ages 5–10
Using This Standard Across Ages
For Younger Learners (Ages 5-6)
Focus on the visual result — colored water arriving in empty cups. The most powerful moment is the check-in at 10 minutes: 'Wait — the empty cup has color! How did it get there? Did anyone touch it?' Let children wonder before explaining. Add a simple leaf observation: hold a leaf up to the light and look for the veins — those are the xylem vessels. Connect: 'Water travels through those little tubes!'
For Grade-Level Learners (Ages 7-8)
Use the full Observation Stopwatch Checklist — complete all 6 time-interval rows, recording which cups changed and what colors appeared. After the final check-in, do the celery extension and slice it to see stained xylem. Ask: 'The paper towel and the celery both moved water up — what do they have in common?' (Both have tiny fiber tubes — capillary action in both.)
For Advanced Learners (Ages 9-10)
Extend to quantitative capillary rate: measure how far water traveled in the paper towel in 10 minutes. Compare rates in different types of paper (paper towel vs printer paper vs coffee filter vs fabric). Which fiber type moves water fastest? Why might that matter for plants? Connect to the fact that trees can pull water 300+ feet upward — what properties would xylem vessels need to achieve that?
Evidence of Learning
Observable outcomes and assessment support
Students demonstrate mastery when they can:
✓ Observe and record the water level change in at least 3 time-interval checks.
✓ Identify that water moved from full cups to empty cups through the paper towel without being physically moved.
✓ Explain that plants use a similar process to drink water from the soil.
✓ Connect the experiment to the pattern that living things need water to survive.
Assessment Note:
Color Mixing Map checklist (time-interval data formative), nature walk observation: find 3 plants and describe how they are getting water, exit question: 'How does the water get from the roots to the leaves at the very top of a tall tree?'