Lesson 2 Edible from Root to Flower to Fruit Parts of a Plant CCaliforniaalifornia ScienceScience SStandardtandard 2nd2nd GradeGrade – IInvestigationnvestigation aandnd EExperimentationxperimentation 44.c..c. CCompareompare aandnd ssortort ccommonommon objectsobjects aaccordingccording ttoo ttwowo oorr mmoreore pphysicalhysical aattributesttributes ((e.g.e.g. ccolor,olor, sshape,hape, ttexture,exture, ssize,ize, wweight).eight).

CCaliforniaalifornia ScienceScience SStandardtandard 5th5th GradeGrade – InvestigationInvestigation aandnd EExperimentationxperimentation 66.a..a. CClassifylassify oobjectsbjects ((e.g.e.g. rrocks,ocks, pplants,lants, lleaves)eaves) iinn aaccordanceccordance wwithith aappropriateppropriate ccriteria.riteria.

CCaliforniaalifornia ScienceScience SStandardtandard 3rd3rd GradeGrade - LifeLife SSciencesciences 33.a..a. SStudentstudents kknownow pplantslants aandnd aanimalsnimals hhaveave sstructurestructures tthathat sserveerve ddifferentifferent ffunctionsunctions iinn ggrowth,rowth, survival,survival, aandnd rreproduction.eproduction.

NNationalational SSciencecience SStandardstandards LLifeife SSciencecience CContentontent SStandardtandard C KK-4-4 EEachach pplantlant oorr aanimalnimal hhasas ddifferentifferent sstructurestructures tthathat sserveerve ddifferentifferent ffunctionsunctions iinn ggrowthrowth survival,survival, aandnd rreproduction.eproduction.

LLessonesson PPlan:lan: PPartsarts ooff a PPlantlant

OObjectivebjective Students will be able to identify the five main components of most plants.

KKeyey VVocabulary:ocabulary: characteristic, classify, categorize, rationale, justify, traits, observe, taxonomy, leaf, stem, root, flower, fruit, bulb (modified stems), tuber ((modifiedmodified rroot)oot) vegetable, seed

MMaterials:aterials: SStandardtandard 8 ½ x 1111 bblanklank wwhitehite ppaperaper ((forfor eeachach sstudent)tudent) ImagesImages ofof fruits,fruits, vvegetables,egetables, lleaves,eaves, sstemstems aandnd fflowerslowers PossiblePossible vvegetableegetable iitemstems fforor a ddisplayisplay

RootsRoots ---- carrot,carrot, rradish,adish, bbeet,eet, ppotato,otato, pparsnip,arsnip, ggingeringer StemsStems – celery,celery, aasparagus,sparagus, rrhubard,hubard, llemonemon ggrassrass LeavesLeaves – llettuce,ettuce, ccabbage,abbage, sspinach,pinach, pparsleyarsley FlowersFlowers ---- broccoli,broccoli, ccauliflower,auliflower, aartichokertichoke FruitsFruits – aapple,pple, oorange,range, sstrawberrytrawberry

AAnticipatorynticipatory SSetet HHaveave a ssetet ofof vvariousarious vvegetablesegetables oonn ddisplay.isplay. RRealeal onesones wouldwould bebe moremore engagingengaging thanthan pictures.pictures. TTellell tthehe sstudentstudents tthathat ttheyhey wwillill bbee llearningearning tthehe ffourour mmainain ccomponentsomponents ooff mmostost pplantslants aandnd wwillill bbeginegin ttoo rrecognizeecognize a nnumberumber ooff ffoodsoods wwee eeatat tthathat ccomeome ffromrom oonene ooff tthesehese ffourour mmainain ssectionsections ooff pplants.lants. AAsksk tthehe cclasslass ttoo iidentifydentify tthehe vvegetablesegetables oonn ddisplay.isplay. OOncence tthey’vehey’ve ccorrectlyorrectly iidentifieddentified tthehe vvariousarious plants,plants, sseparateeparate tthehe pplantslants iintonto fourfour groupsgroups basedbased onon whichwhich partpart ofof a pplantlant ttheyhey ccameame ffrom.rom. DDon’ton’t ttellell tthehe sstudentstudents wwhyhy yyouou ddividedivided tthemhem tthishis wwayay bbutut iinstead,nstead, aasksk tthehe sstu-tu- ddentsents iiff ttheyhey ccanan ddetermineetermine wwhathat yyourour rrationaleationale wwasas fforor cclassifyinglassifying tthem.hem. LLessonesson • Students will be guided in creating a flip book to serve as a handy reference sheet focusing on the main parts of plants.

• Display an example of what their project will ultimately look like.

• Distribute an 8 ½ x 11 inch blank sheet to each student.

• Have them fold it in half lengthwise. You might want to have them fold the flap from the left to the right so that it will open like a book.

• Ask the students to mark off 5.6 cm (2.2 in) intervals down each side of the paper and then fold the paper horizontally connecting the marks on either side.

• The students may now begin drawing a very simple illustration on the back of the paper of a plant that has the five main components of roots, stems, leaves, flowers, and fruits. A tomato plant or an apple tree might be good choices. Having real examples available would help students in depicting them.

• On the inside of the flip book there will be two sections in which the students can enter information. In one section have the students write a definition for that part of the plant. In the adjacent section, have the students write examples of foods we eat from that part of the plant. Example

Fruits Foods The mature ovary (female organ) that apple, orange, strawberry protects the developing seeds.

Flowers The reproductive parts of a flowering broccoli, cauliflower, plant. artichoke

Leaves The main plant part where photosynthesis lettuce, cabbage, spinach, takes place. parsley

Stems The part of a plant that provides structure, asparagus, celery, rhubarb, support and a way to carry water to the cinnamon leaves and flowers. Roots The underground portion of the plant that carrot, radish, beet, ginger, anchors the plant in the ground and onion absorbs water and nutrients.

AAssessmentssessment • There are numerous ways to assess if students have grasped the concept that various plant parts can be a food source. • Use a weekly advertisement from the local supermarket to have students cut out, organize and glue images of food based on which plant part(s) they came from. • Ask students to bring food items from home and have a table display where they can physically divide up the items depending on which of the five categories they belong to. (root, stem, leaf or flower) • Have students imagine their own fantastical plant. They can “bio-engineer” a plant with various parts having various flavors. Perhaps an orange tree with cinnamon bark or a mint plant which also grows cocoa pods. They can draw a diagram and write a short paragraph describing its various attributes.