You already know that plants have roots, but roots do more than just sit in the dirt. They have two very important jobs. First, they act like an anchor, holding the plant firmly in the ground so it doesn't blow away in the wind or get washed away by rain. They spread out deep and wide, creating a strong base.

Second, roots act like straws. They soak up water and tiny bits of food, called nutrients, from the soil. Tiny root hairs, which are too small to see without a microscope, help with this job by reaching into tiny spaces in the soil to find every last drop of water.

Once the roots have collected water, how does it get to the rest of the plant? That's the stem's job. The stem is like a busy highway, with special tubes that carry water and nutrients up from the roots to the leaves. It also carries the sugary food made in the leaves down to the roots and other parts of the plant.

This amazing delivery network is called the vascular system and it works all day and night to keep the plant fed and watered. It's also strong and flexible, holding the leaves up to the sunlight where they can do their work.

Leaves are the plant's food factories. They perform a special process called photosynthesis to create sugary food. To do this, they need three ingredients: water from the roots, a gas from the air called carbon dioxide, and energy from sunlight. A green pigment called chlorophyll helps capture the sunlight.

But how does a leaf breathe in the air it needs? On the underside of leaves, there are tiny little openings called stomata. You can think of them like tiny mouths that open and close. They open to let carbon dioxide in and let out another gas called oxygen, which is what we breathe. They also release extra water vapor, which helps pull more water up from the roots.

Let's review what we've learned about how these parts help a plant survive.

Each part of a plant has a special job that helps the whole plant live and grow.