Objective:
The students will label the parts of a plant and/or flower.

Materials

• Flower seeds (one per student)

• Brown Yarn

• Green Pipe Cleaners

• Green Construction paper

• Different colors of construction paper or markers

• A book or a web site which contains information on the parts of a plant and/or flower.  The Great Plant Escape has information on the parts of plants, and The Science Nook for Kids and Enchanted Learning have information on the specific parts of flowers.

Procedure

1. Read the book or share information from the chosen web site.  For younger students concentrate on the general parts of plants - roots, stem, leaves, etc.  Older children may be introduced to the specific parts of flowers, such as the pistil and the stamen. 

2. Pass out the materials and have the students complete a plant diagram.  They should begin by gluing the seed about 3/4 of the way down their paper.  They may then glue the brown yarn branching out below the seed for the roots.  The green pipe cleaner will be glued above the seed for the stem.  The green construction paper will be cut in the shape of leaves and glued on to the "stem".  The colored construction paper or markers can be used to create the flower.  

3. The students should then label the parts of their plant/flower.  Older students may use various materials or markers to create the stamen, pistil, and other specific flower parts.

Other Lesson Ideas

1. Have a lesson on the different ways seeds travel and flowers pollinate.  The Scholastic web site has a good lesson plan for experimenting with traveling seeds.  Plants and our Environment has a section on pollination.

2. Plant flower seeds and watch them grow.  Have the children keep journals about how they care for their plants and what they observe.

3. Bring in a variety of flower seeds and bulbs.  Have the students study the seeds under magnifying glasses, measure them,  write descriptions, and draw observations.  Reveal to the students pictures of what types of flowers the seeds will grow into.