Plant Reproduction
Lesson Plan on Important Plant Parts That Aid in Plant Reproduction
By: Craig O’Connell
A. State Standards Addressed
a. Standard 6-1: The student will demonstrate an understanding of
technological design and scientific inquiry, including process skills,
mathematical thinking, controlled investigative design and analysis, and
problem solving.
i. Indicator 6-1.2: Differentiate between observation and inference
during the analysis and interpretation of data.
ii. Indicator 6-1.4: Use a technological design process to plan and
produce a solution to a problem or a product (including identifying
a problem, designing a solution or a product, implementing a
design, and evaluating the solution or the product).
iii. Indicator 6-1.5.
Use appropriate safety procedures when
conducting investigations
b. Standard 6-2:
Standard 6.2: The student will demonstrate an
understanding of structures, processes, and responses of plants that allow
them to survive and reproduce.
i. Indicator 6-2.1: Summarize the characteristics that all organisms
share (including the obtainment and use of resources for energy,
the response to stimuli, the ability to reproduce, and process of
physical growth and development)
ii. Indicator 6-2.5: Summarize each process in the life cycle of
flowering plants (including germination, plant development,
fertilization, and seed production).
B. Objectives
a. Students will learn about male parts of plants.
b. Students will learn about female parts of plants.
c. Students will draw flower in lab manual and label every part of the plant.
d. Students will learn how to use a compound microscope and will look at
stages of pollination and development using microscope
e. Students will be required to list and draw each stage of development in lab
manual
C. Lesson Plan
a. Engage. The lesson will begin with a brief PowerPoint presentation.
Students will learn basics about plants and everything they learn will be
related to the plants they have been growing in class (Wisconsin fast
plants). Students will be asked to develop explanations as to how a plant
goes from seed to seed (Growth-Pollination-Fertilization).
b. Explore. I) After the previous inquiry-based exercise where students tried
to determine how plants develop, the instructor makes drawings of both
the male parts and female parts using Smart Board. Instructor will first
draw the entire male part of the plant and have students come up and label
each part (anther, filament, pollen grains, and Stamen). Instructor will
then give students clues of how to remember the male part:
Clues:
1) Male = Stamen
2) Men play golf and the male part of the flower looks
like a golf club
Following this, the instructor will draw the female part on the board and
have students come up to the board and label each part (stigma, style,
ovary, ovule, pollen tube, and Pistil). Students will be taught the phrase
“Sticky Stigma” which will help them understand that this is the location
where the pollen sticks to.
II)
A picture of an entire flower will be drawn on board, with both
male and female parts together and once again students must be able to
label each part of the plant. Students will copy this down into their
laboratory manual.
III) Instructor will lead an inquiry-based activity having students work
together to determine the stages of pollination and fertilization. Students
will report their answers and instructor will go through and explain the
process using diagrams created on Smart Board. Students will then take
their Wisconsin fast plants (grown 4 weeks prior to lab exercise) and
pollinate them using a dead bee on a stick. This will help the students
visualize how pollination truly works.
c. Explain and Elaborate. After pollinating their plants, the instructor will
give the students an in depth explanation as to what happens after
pollination. Diagrams will be created and will then be reinforced with a
laboratory exercise.
Lab Exercise Materials:
1) 4 Compound Microscopes
2) Bees that have pollinated flowers (contain pollen on body surface)
3) Flower without flower petals exposing male and female parts
4) Flower without flower petals that has been fertilized
5) Seed pod
Lab Exercise:
1) Develop 4 different stations for the students to view flowers
i.
Station 1: Flower exposing male and female parts
without flower petals. Students will examine parts of
flower and be asked to name each part that they see. A
key point to this slide will be for students to see the
pollen grains and the “sticky stigma”.
ii.
Station 2: Bee containing pollen grains all over surface.
Students will be asked to explain what the purpose of
the bee is in plant reproduction.
iii.
Station 3: Flower containing male and female parts
after fertilization takes place. The pistil will be
dissected with a dissecting knife exposing the
developing seed pods. Students will be asked to locate
the pistol and the seeds within it. Each student must be
able to understand what process of plant reproduction
they are observing (Fertilization).
iv.
Station 4: Dissected seed pod. One side of a seed pod
will be removed, exposing the seeds. Student will be
asked what they are looking at and what part of plant
reproduction this represents.
After observing each stage of plant reproduction (note, is not
exactly the same for every plant), students will be required to
explain and draw what they saw within their laboratory
manuals.
d. Evaluate. This lab will be graded by both a journal assessment and a
worksheet. To be included in their journal entry:
i. Labeled drawing of flower (male and female parts must be labeled)
ii. Explanation of each stage of development
iii. Drawings demonstrating each stage of development
iv. Worksheet will be handed out which contains a flower diagram.
Students will be required to label each part of the plant without
using their laboratory manual to determine how effective the
lesson plan was.
Post Lesson Notes from Teacher:
1. This lesson plan was clearly an eye opener. Students seemed a bit shaky with the
material when it was drawn on the board, so using their plant specimens under a
microscope really drove the point home.
2. After using the microscope, almost EVERY student understood the process of plant
reproduction and were able to identify each part of the flower.
3. This was also the first time most students ever saw a microscope, so the excitement of
learning what a microscope does really aided in this laboratory exercise.