Learning and Teaching Activities

(Cognition)

1. Become familiar with distinguishing features of wind and insect pollinated flowers.

2. Understand the process of pollination. Pollination takes place when pollen is taken from one plant to another.

3. Learn that pollen can be carried from one flower to another by insects.

4. Understand that pollen can be carried from one flower to another by the wind. Grasses and some trees are pollinated by wind.

Children will be able to:

1. Memorise key vocabulary.

2. Memorise and use key phrases.

3. Recognise pollination.

1. Introduction. Recap main structures of flowering plants. Focus on the pollen and the eggs. Elicit that these special parts (cells) must join together to make a seed. Think and share possible methods for pollen and eggs joining.

2. Since pollen or eggs can't fly or move by themselves, they need to be transferred by another agent. Explain and demonstrate with model/real flowers that insects visit flowers for food and become covered in pollen. The food source (nectar) is advertised by the scent and the sight of petals. This pollen rubs off as they fly from flower to flower. The pollen carried in the body hairs of insects, sticks to the flat, sticky surface of the stigma and is thus transferred from the male to female parts.

3. Ask pupils the following question: Why is nectar found in the bottom of the plant? so that insects brush the anthers increasing their chances of collectin pollen.

4. Activities

- Demonstrate the action of the bees visiting the flowers by watching a PowerPoint presentation.

- If possible show video sequence of pollination.

- View pollen under the microscope. Make a rawing of the slide. Set up microscope. Tap a tiny amount of pollen onto a clean slide and record observations at x40, x100 and if possible at x400. Compare vorious pollen grains samples.

- Visit the school garden and observe bees visiting flowers. Ask pupils the following questions: How long do they stay in the flower? How many flowers do they visit in 5 mins? Do they visit the same type of flower every time? Why do you think they visit this flower?

5. Tell pupils that they are going to learn more about pollination. Display photographs of grasses. Explain that grasses produce seeds too. Brainstorm the ways in which a grass is different from a flower. (very small, no scent, no nectar, large anthers and stigmas that hang outside the flower.) Anthers dangle outside the plant exposing pollen to the wind. Feathery stigmas hang outside to catch the pollen as it's blown. No need for scent or large , brightly coloured flowers.

6. Children complete worksheet 12 in which they do different activities related to pollination.

- ICT pollination. View plant activities and video clips of pollination: W1 , W2, W3, W4

Worksheet Key

Language of learning

1. Key words needed: pollination, wind, insects, pollen

2. Key phrases needed:

- Pollination takes place when pollen is taken from one plant to another.

- Pollen can be carried by insects.

- Pollen can be carried from one flower to another by the wind

Language for learning

- How to describe the process of pollination.

- Understanding instructions.

- How to deal with not understanding.

- The language to ask and answer questions.

Language through learning

- Language to carry out worksheet tasks.

Understand differences/similarities between different plants.