The Role of a Flower

OBJECTIVE

By acting out and dissecting flowers, students will understand the importance of flowers in plant reproduction and seed production.

ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS

Where do seeds come from?

MATERIALS

Perfect flowers (with both male and female parts) to dissect
Flower role play cards
White paper
Glue sticks
Magnifying glasses

PROCEDURE

Introduction: What are flowers? What do plants need them for? Do you think plants
interact with other living things? We are going to examine the parts of the flower to
understand their jobs.

Activity 1: Flower role play

Start from the center. Where should we start?
Pistil holds stigma. Stamens hold up anthers.
Circle of petals.
Circle of sepals.
Close up flower. Pistil squats down. Stamens squat down. Petals form bud.
Sepals protect petals
Flex back. Petals – what’s your job?
Anthers up with pollen in them. release!
Bees look for nectar. What are you bumping into?
Petals float away.
Stamens shrivel. Sepals shrink to base. But this pistil is still here.
Pollen bores holes to get down into the ovary -> Fertilizes them to make fruit
-> Each ovule needs a speck of pollen to become a seed. -> The fruit (ovary)
will swell -> then what happens?
Activity 2: Give each student a flower and have them make as detailed a drawing as
possible. How many parts do they see? Have them use the hand lens to magnify
parts.
Have students look for depressions at base of petals filled with sugary
solution called nectar.
Ask students to dissect flowers: As they carefully take apart their flower, they
can glue each piece onto their picture.
Did you find anything resembling seeds or eggs?
Show the students a drawing of the flower. Go over the names for the parts
and have students label their drawings.
Wrap up: What do flowers do for the plant? What is pollination? What plant
parts are involved in pollination? If a bee helps pollinate a plant, does it help the
bee or the flower? Do all plants have flowers?
o Explore weirdo flowers

Extensions: Seed saving