Lesson 1
Plant life stages
Learning intention
We are learning about the life stages of plants.
Success criteria
We can name and record the different life stages of a plant.
Activity 1 - What are the life stages of plants?
Most plants start as a seed and grow in to a flowering plant.
The tomato plant starts as a seed. It grows into a seedling. It will grow into an adult plant that has flowers. The flowers will change into fruit which contain seeds.
Tasks
- Go outside and take photos of plants in different life stages. Can you find a flower, fruit, seedling or seed?
Life stages of the tomato plant.
Activity 2 - How does the hairpin banksia grow and change?
The hairpin banksia is an Australian plant.
Insects, birds and possums eat nectar and pollen made by the yellow flowers. The flowers make seeds which fall to the ground. The seeds grow into a new plant.
Tasks
- View the The life stages of the hairpin banksia video.
- Can you name the different life stages of the hairpin banksia?
The life stages of the hairpin banksia | Field of Mars EEC (0:49 min) | YouTube
Activity 3 - How can we observe a plant's growth?
Tasks
How to set up your seed experiment
Step 1: Place paper towel or cotton wool on a plate.
Step 2: Put water on paper towels or cotton wool so they are moist.
Step 3: Place seeds on top of the paper towels or cotton wool.
Step 4: Record in a journal any changes you see. Include drawings of the seed to help show the changes in growth over time.
Step 5: Optional. You could use an iPad to record a time lapse video over a few days. Use the time lapse mode in the camera app or stop motion studio set to auto time. The iPad will need to be on charge.
Equipment
- Paper towels or cotton wool
- Water
- Seeds (alfalfa seeds grow quickly)
- Plate
- Optional - iPad
Here we have one of our native Australian plants, the hairpin banksia.
It grows from a single seed and once it's mature it grows beautiful candlestick shaped flowers.
These flowers attract many pollinators like bees, butterflies, birds and even possums.
Once the flower is fertilised by pollen they'll develop seeds.
Here we have a mature flower that has actually created some seeds ready to fall back into the bush and grow into new trees.
End of transcript.