Tip #226 from 365 Teacher Secrets for Parents (McKinley, Trombly)

Today's tip for parents from two talented teachers comes from 365 Teacher Secrets for Parents by Cindy McKinley Alder and Patti Trombly.

#226

Plant Parts

A weed is no more than a flower in disguise.
~James Lowell

Children can easily recognize plants. Your child can probably identify a variety of them, but can she identify all of the basic parts? Here are ten fun activities to try with your child (and whole family!) that will help make a plant’s structure understandable in hands-on ways:

1. Discuss the function of each part. The best way to do this is by observing a plant your child is familiar with either in or around your home. Don’t forget that trees are plants, too, just on a larger scale. Begin by asking your child what she thinks each part would do by observing it. Here’s a guide:

a. Leaf: makes food with help from the sun.

b. Stem and trunk: like a big straw, they carry water and minerals from the roots to all parts of the plant and hold it upright

c. Roots: like smaller straws, they hold the plant in the soil and send water from soil to stem.

d. Flower: grows fruit and seeds for new plants.

e. Seeds: allow new plants to be grown.

f. Fruit: holds the seeds.

2. Eat the different plant parts. You can either do this as you encounter them (“Hey, these carrots are roots!”) or purposely set out to gather a few from each category. Here are those six main parts usually discussed in school and some options you could try:

a. Leaf: lettuce, cabbage, spinach

b. Stem: celery, rhubarb, chives

c. Root: carrot, radish, onion, beet

d. Flower: broccoli, cauliflower

e. Seed: pea, peanut, sunflower seed, pumpkin seed

f. Fruit: apple, tomato, peach, banana

3. After your family samples a variety of the parts, have your child ask everyone what her favorite part is to eat. Make a tally chart. Who else could she ask? Make a graph of her results, and decorate it with real and drawn plants. (See Chapter 7 for graph and tally chart info.)

4. Experiment! Carefully split the stem of a white carnation about 6 inches up from the end. Place one-half of the stem in a glass of water with red food coloring and the other half in a cup of water with blue coloring. Have your child draw a picture of what she predicts will happen to the white carnation up above. Watch it for a few days. In just a few days you’ll all be amazed!

5. Dissect a plant part such as a fruit, seed or flower. Use a magnifying lens to observe what’s inside.

6. Plant a seed. Tape a seed to the inside of a clear cup. Fill with dirt. Water it a little each day, and watch as the roots sprout, the stem shoots out. Keeping it on the side of the cup like this allows you to see what you would miss if the seed were buried in the middle of the dirt.

7. What is your state flower? Research it.

8. At dinner tonight, begin a discussion of the different ways we use each plant part. (For instance, we eat them; we use the stems of trees for lumber and paper.)

9. Make up some Plant Part Riddles. “I take nutrients and water from the roots to the leaves. What am I?” Now have your child make up some for you.

10. Have your child record some of these experiments and her discoveries in her science journal. Don’t forget to include illustrations.

Cindy McKinley Alder Patti Trombly

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