Flower Power Background Knowledge Most Plants Produce Seeds That Grow Into New Plants

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✩ Flower power Background knowledge Most plants produce seeds that grow into new plants. All seeds contain a baby plant, stored food, and a protective covering. The seeds of conifer trees grow into woody cones. The seeds of other plants grow inside flowers. Ferns and mosses have neither cones nor flowers. Instead, they have special parts that produce spores. The spore cases appear as small specks on the underside of the plant’s leaves. Each spore can grow into a new plant.

Science activity Some of the plants in the pictures below are flowering plants. Circle the flowers. Color the plant that procudes spores green, and the plant that produces cones brown.

Vetch Carnation

Fern

Moss Science investigation

Collect pictures of both flowering and non-flowering plants. Make a scrapbook of the plants. What are their names and where do they grow? Websites 20-1, 20-2, and 20-3 will help you. Complete Cypress the Venn diagram on 20-4.

18 ✩ Know your roots! 19 Name that leaf ✩ Background knowledge Background knowledge Plants use their roots to hold themselves in the soil. The other main job of a Leaves are usually green because they have a green chemical inside of them root is to take in water and minerals from the soil. The plant uses the water called chlorophyll, which catches sunlight. They also have tiny holes on their to make its food. Some roots go down a long way into soil to find water. surface to let air and water vapor in and out. Leaves use sunlight, air, and Other roots spread out widely to use the water around them. The roots of water to make food. some plants become very thick because the plants store food in the root. When you eat carrots, you are eating one of many tasty and healthy roots. Science activity Use this branching diagram to find out which tree each leaf comes from. Science activity Shawna likes helping her mother in the garden. One of her favorite jobs is pulling weeds. Here are some weeds that she found.

Groundsel Dandelion A ...... Beech B ...... Horse C ...... Oak D ...... Ash E ...... Pine ...... chestnut ......

Clover Start here Ivy Is the leaf just one leaf? Grass Yes No

Is the edge of the Do the little leaves join Yes leaf jagged? together at one point?

Yes No Are the leaves long No and thin? It is a It is an It is an beech leaf. oak leaf. Yes No ash leaf.

Why is dandelion the hardest to pull up?It ...... has a very long, fat root. It is a It is a horse Why is ivy the easiest to pull up? ...... It has very short roots. pine needle. chestnut leaf.

Science investigation Science investigation

Generally, the longer a plant’s roots, the harder it is to Leaves come in all sorts of different sizes and shapes. pull out of the ground. Carrots and turnips have large They are designed to capture as much light as possible fleshy roots called taproots. Roots grow down toward and conserve water loss. This activity will develop the gravity, regardless of how they are placed. Stems grow child’s skill in sorting and identifying leaves.

020-021_SME_SD216.qxdaway from 1/3/06 gravity. 2:472:49 PM Page These 20 (Cyan(Black responses plate)plate) are called tropisms.

20 ✩ FlowerFlower powerpower 21 Seed detectives ✩ Background knowledge Background knowledge Most plants produce seedsseeds thatthat growgrow intointo newnew plants.plants. AllAll seedsseeds containcontain aa babybaby Seeds germinate (sprout) to grow into new plants. Many seeds are formed plant, stored food, and aa protectiveprotective covering.covering. TheThe seedsseeds ofof coniferconifer treestrees growgrow inside of flowers. Fruits then form around some seeds to protect them. There into woody cones.cones. TheThe seedsseeds ofof otherother plantsplants growgrow insideinside flowers.flowers. FernsFerns andand are many different kinds of fruits, some of which we eat. We eat nuts as well, mosses have neither conescones nornor flowers.flowers. Instead,Instead, theythey havehave specialspecial partsparts thatthat which are seeds with a hard, woody shell. Some children are allergic to nuts. produce spores.. TheThe sporespore casescases appearappear asas smallsmall specksspecks onon thethe undersideunderside of the If they eat nuts they get very sick. Always ask an adult before you eat nuts. plant’sof the plant’sleaves. leaves. Each spore Each can spore grow can into grow a newinto plant.a new plant. Science activity Science activity Be a seed detective! Which seed comes from which fruit? Draw a line from Some of the plants inin thethe picturespictures belowbelow areare floweringflowering plants.plants. CircleCircle thethe each fruit to its seed. flowers. Color thethe plantplant thatthat procudesprocudes sporesspores (Ferngreen,) green,and the and plant the thatplant produces cones brown. that produces cones (Cypress) brown. A B C D E

Carnation Vetch Carnation

FernFern

Grapes Orange Apple

Cucumber

MossMoss Science investigation ScienceScience investigationinvestigation

TheCollect main pictures plant groupsof both are flowering flowering plants, cone-bearingand non-flowering conifers, plants. and spore Avocado producingMake a scrapbook horsetails, of ferns, the mosses,plants. Whatand club are mosses. their names Fungiand where produce do sporesthey grow? but they areWebsites not plants. 20-1 Collected, 20-2, and plants should20-3 will be driedhelp you.between Complete a book’s Cypress pagesthe Venn before diagram being mounted. on 20-4.

20 The main plant groups are flowering plants, Have the child decide on criteria to sort the seeds, cone-bearing conifers,© Dorling Kindersleyand spore Limited producing[2010] horsetails, such as color and size. Encourage the child to plant ferns, mosses, and club mosses. Fungi produce spores some of the seeds. Children should not eat the seeds in but they are not plants. Collected plants should be the bag. All seeds have a seed coat, stored food, and a dried between a book’s pages before being mounted. baby plant (embryo).