Field Investigation: Parts of a Plant

Students will explore the outdoor classroom to find a plant with a flower to draw, label its parts, and answer questions about how its internal and external structures help the plant survive, grow, and reproduce.    

 
Click on the orange links to access free educational materials:
Lesson Plans  |   ALSDE Standards Taught
 
Activity Page #1: Parts of a Plant (or as Word Doc)
 
Activity Page #2: Parts of a Passionflower Vine (or as Word Doc) with Answer Page #2
 
Outdoor Activity Materials:  activity pages, clipboards, pencils








  






 
Step 1: Engage through Discussion
     
Engage the students and capture their interests with an Interactive Q&A (or as PDF) that allows you to click through the questions one at a time.  You can gauge your students' understanding of the topic as they answer the questions. Print and use the Q&A Info Sheet (or as Word Doc) to anticipate the next question in the Interactive Q&A and to guide the conversation with the students.  (Note:  For the PowerPoint (PPT), click "Slide Show" & "From Beginning" to display the questions and answers separately.)
 
Use these tools to continue the discussion:
 
 
 
Step 2: Explore with Literature
   
As you read these books, you can further explore the topic and discuss your students' experiences and knowledge around the topic:

From Seed to Plant by Gail Gibbons ISBN: 978-0823410255   

Amazing Plant Powers: How Plants Fly, Fight, Hide, Hunt and Change by Loreen Leedy ISBN: 978-o823422562  
Front Cover
 
 
 
Step 3: Explain with an Educational Video
   
Use this educational video to help explain the topic in more detail:

PBS’s Think Garden: Plant Structure (2:52 min.) @ https://www.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/5dea21b4-6c92-46ff-982c-8650f9429c01/think-garden-plant-structure/#.Wp2GmOjwY2w
 
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Step 4: Elaborate with a Field Investigation in the Outdoor Classroom
 
Students apply what they have learned as they investigate the topic in your outdoor classroom and record their real-world observations on their activity page:
   
Version #1:
Parts of a Plant		 Version #2:
Parts of a Passionflower Vine
   
Activity Tip:  
Version #1 - Parts of a Plant: General Plant
Activity Page: PDF (as is)  /  Word Doc (as is)

Procedure
Indoor Discussion:
  1. Have the students pick one of the plants listed on the activity page and use the AWF's Dig into Plants to research the identification characteristics of the plant (black-eyed susan, cardinal flower, purple coneflower, or bee balm).
  2. Have the students answer the questions about the parts of a flower, parts of a plant, and process of photosynthesis on their activity page.
Outdoor Discovery:
  1. Then have the students explore their outdoor classroom to look for a flowering plant - black-eyed susan, cardinal flower, purple coneflower, or bee balm.
  2. Have them draw the plant and label its parts on the activity page.
  3. Next, have them draw the flower, label the structures of the flower, and describe the characteristics of the flower and its function.
  4. Finally have the students pull up a weed.
  5. Have them use a magnifying glass to observe the roots and draw their observations on the activity page.
  6. Have them answer the questions about the structure and function of the roots on their activity page.
Indoor Discussion:
  1. Discuss the similarities and differences between the structures of the plants that the students observed in the outdoor classroom as well as the functions of the structures that were observed.
  2. Discuss how the external structures of plants function to support survival, growth, and reproduction.
 
Version #2 - Parts of a Passionflower Vine
Activity Page: PDF (as is)  /  Word Doc (editable)

Activity Tip 
  • If your outdoor classroom is home to a flowering passionflower vine, take the students outside to see the plant and flower in person. They can complete the first page of the activity sheet in the outdoor classroom while looking at the plant. The second page of the activity can be done indoors or outside. 

Procedure
Indoor Discussion:
  1. Have the students use the AWF's Dig Into Plants: Passionflower Vine webpage to view the pictures of the plant and its flower. 
  2. Have the students answer the questions about the parts of a flower, parts of a plant, and process of photosynthesis on their activity page.
Outdoor Discovery:
  1. Then have the students explore their outdoor classroom to look for a flowering passionflower vine.
  2. Have them draw the plant and label its parts on the activity page.
  3. Next, have them draw the flower, label the structures of the flower, and describe the characteristics of the flower and its function.
  4. Finally have the students pull up a weed.
  5. Have them use a magnifying glass to observe the roots and draw their observations on the activity page.
  6. Have them answer the questions about the structure and function of the roots on their activity page.
Indoor Discussion:
  1. Discuss the characteristics of the passionflower vine and the functions of each physical structure.
  2. Discuss how the external structures of plants function to support survival, growth, and reproduction.
 
 
Step 5: Evaluate with an Assessment Activity
   
Review and assess the students’ observations and answers on their observation pages:
Evaluate the students' understanding of the topic with the following assessment tool:
Select a plant species you would like the students to use for this general activity sheet. Select from the list of plants on AWF's Dig Into Plants page. Use that species' webpage to check the answers on your students' activity sheets. 
 
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Questions? Contact us at oc@alabamawildlife.org. 
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