Dressed for Success: How Do Specialized Plant Structures Increase the Probability of Successful Reproduction?

Before Strategy/Engage: 25 minutes

1. Students should create a T-chart on their paper, with the left side labeled "Similarities" and the right side labeled "Differences".

2. The teacher should show the following video clip: "Time-Lapse: Watch Flowers Bloom Before Your Eyes" from National Geographic. As students view the video clip, they should create a list of the similarities and differences among the flowers shown on the video on their T-chart.

3. After students view the video clip, the teacher should create a T-chart on the interactive whiteboard. The teacher can ask students to share similarities and differences among the flowers they viewed on the video clip and create a class T-chart.

4. Next, the teacher should give each student a copy of "Flowering Plants Card Sort". Students will cut out the 12 cards and sort the cards into groups based on the students' current knowledge of flowering plants. After sorting their cards, students will read the article “Flowering Plants” from ck12.org. The students may read the text on an internet-capable technology device, or the teacher can make copies of the article prior to teaching the lesson. After students read the informational text, they should re-sort their cards into categories and give each category a title.

Note: Card sort was adapted from  "The Beauty of a Flower-Structure and Function" from Better Lesson.

5. The teacher may allow students to share their categories and titles with the class and/or create a class list of categories using the interactive whiteboard.

During Strategy/Explore & Explain: 45 minutes

1. Students should be divided into collaborative groups of approximately four students each. The teacher should give each student a copy of the "Flower Dissection Lab Sheet" from "The Beauty of a Flower-Structure and Function" from Better Lesson. Each group of students will need the required materials to carry out the scientific investigation.

2. The students should perform the procedures on the lab sheet with their group members. This lab will require students to carefully dissect a flower and observe the various specialized structures. The students will collect specimens to view under the microscope. Students will create and label scientific sketches of the flower's specialized structures. 

After Strategy/Explain & Elaborate: 45 minutes

Note: Students can continue to work in collaborative groups for this portion of the lesson, or the teacher may wish for students to complete this strategy independently. 

1. The teacher should give each student a copy of the "Flower Seeking Pollinator Data Sheet" from California Academy of Sciences or allow students to view the data sheet using an internet-capable device. The students should observe the photographs and traits of the flowers shown on the data sheet. Students should examine the data table for patterns, such as:

• Which traits attract the most pollinators? 
• What type of pollinators are attracted to each flower's specialized structures?

2. The teacher should give each student a copy of the "Pollinator Profile" from California Academy of Science or allow students to view the profiles using an internet-capable device. The students should examine the pollinator profiles and determine which specialized structures would attract that particular pollinator to a plant.

3. Using information from the "Flower Seeking Pollinator Data Sheet" and the "Pollinator Profile" from California Academy of Science, students will design a sketch of a unique flower (one not shown on the Data Sheet) that has specialized structures that will positively affect the plant's probability of reproductive success. The students will label the structures of the flower learned in the during strategy. 

4. After designing a new flower, the teacher will give each student a copy of the "Claim Evidence Reasoning" Graphic Organizer. Before students begin their written response, the teacher should present the Claim-Evidence-Reasoning Grading Rubric to set expectations of the students' final assessment. The students should respond to the essential question listed at the top of the graphic organizer, "How will the specialized structures of your flower positively affect the plant's reproductive success?" The students will write a claim to respond to the question, provide evidence to support the claim, and use scientific reasoning to explain how the provided evidence supports the stated claim. Students should explain how the specialized structures of their created flower would positively affect the probability of successful reproduction of the plant using evidence from the informational text, lab activity, Data Sheet, and Pollinator Profile.