pring Pollination Curriculum links cience Unit 2B Plants and animals in the local environment Unit 5B Life cycles Unit 6A Interdependence and adaptation Geography Unit 8 Improving the environment Art and Design Unit 2B Mother ature, designer Literacy Unit 6 Dramatic conventions Citizenship Unit 1 Taking part developing skills of communication and participation Learning objective To understand the importance of pollination in the wider environment. Introduction The pack is suitable for use with around 30 participants divided into up to 5 groups. In the pack there are: Instructions showing how to use the activities. Materials and equipment for 5 groups and their leaders. A risk assessment for the site and the activities in the pack. A checklist of contents. Activities for Key tage 1: Can you see the first signs of pring? Identify the parts of a plant Attracting pollinators Activities for Key tage 2: Can you see the first signs of pring? Identify the parts of a flower Pollination game To use the activities in this pack it is essential that K1 participants have a prior understanding of labelling the parts of a plant and that K2 participants have prior understanding of labelling parts of a flower. ee pre-visit activities for materials on these areas.
Using the site Please begin your visit with a talk about using the site. ildlife sites are home to many animals, plants and insects and you ll meet some of them on your visit, please treat them with respect. Human visitors who come to enjoy the wildlife too, so please keep the site looking good. hen you have completed an activity, please try to put everything back as you found it, e.g. turn any dead wood you have looked underneath back over or scatter the leaves you picked discretely. If there site has a pond and wet areas, make sure you know where these areas are and if you are using any of them, that participants are supervised. Checklist Please ensure that everything is there before you return the pack and report any losses. Folder A - igns of pring Folder B - Parts of a plant Clip boards Pencils Plain paper Folder C - hat have you spotted? Folder D - Describing plants guide 6 Pairs of socks Ping pong balls 15 Petals 4 ets of bee head gear Drinking straws 4 Plastic beakers ater containers 3 oolly hats
K 1 Pollination Key here Resources quipment Instructions igns of pring Take a walk around the site igns of pring worksheet in Folder A Clip boards, pencils ee how many signs of spring you can find. Parts of a plant Any of the publically accessible areas of the site where you can find flowering plants would be appropriate. Parts of a plant sheet in Folder B Plain paper, pencils, clipboards Having completed the pre-visit activity participants now need to find a flowering plant to draw from observation. Find a plant that you can see clearly from a comfortable standing or sitting position as you need to draw it without picking it. Try to remember the names for the parts and label them. Check the parts of a plant sheet to see if you have your labelled your plant correctly.
Attracting pollinators Any of the publically accessible areas of the site where you can find flowering plants would be appropriate. Look at the flowers that you have found, they are all designed to spread pollen to other flowers so that those other flowers can make seeds. Can you see the pollen on the flowers you have found? The pollen from many trees (conifers, hazels, willows, birches) is spread by the wind, and this makes the flowers look quite different, they are often smaller and don t have brightly coloured petals. Pollen from other flowers is spread by insects visiting the flowers to collect a sweet liquid called nectar to drink, this kind of flower has pollen that is quite sticky and is carried to other flowers on the insect. Can you see any insects collecting nectar? Flowers use different ways of attracting insects to them, colour, smell and pattern. Bees tend to like flowers that are blue or purple and butterflys like yellow, orange and red flowers. Can you find flowers that: are brightly coloured to attract insects are patterned to show insects where to land are scented to attract insects puff out pollen into the wind
K 2 Pollination Key here Resources quipment Instructions hat have you spotted? Take a walk around the site hat have you spotted? worksheet in Folder C Clip boards, pencils ee how many spring sights you can spot (There are some that you won t find in this site). Parts of a Flower Any of the publically accessible areas of the site where you can find flowering plants would be appropriate. Folder D - Describing Flowers fold out guide Plain paper, pencils, clipboards Having completed the pre-visit activity you now need to find a flower to draw from observation. Find a flower that you can see clearly from a comfortable standing or sitting position as you need to draw as much of the flower as you can. Try to remember the names for the parts and label them. Use the Describing plants fold out guide to see if you have your labelled your flower correctly.
Pollination game Any reasonably large area which is free from trip hazards ooly hats - for the stigmas ocks - for the stamens Ping pong balls - for the pollen (stick to the socks) Petals Bee head gear traws Plastic beakers ater containers There should be enough equipment for three flowers and four bees (up to 28 participants) How to play ach flower is made up of 8 participants: five make up the petals, two the stamens and one the stigma.the petals are held up in a circle, with the stamens and stigma in the centre. The stigma wears a wooly hat and the stamens have a sock covered in pollen grains on each hand. The bees wear a pair of bee boppers and carry a straw to sip nectar. Plastic beakers of water should be put by the feet of the petals, where the visiting bee might like to come and sip nectar. Four participants representing bees wear bee head gear, and use a straw to represent their proboscis. The participants act out the process of pollination by playing the role of various flower parts, or by being the bee. A bee flies between two flowers, removing pollen from the stamens of one and placing it on the stigma of the other. The bee may then transport pollen of the second plant back to the stigma of the first plant, etc. As there are three flowers, the bees can choose which to visit, based on how pretty the petals are. The petals can call out encouragement, then discuss how plants attract the attention of pollinators without being able to shout (e.g. bright colours, sweet scents, and flowers that dance in a breeze). ncourage the participants to discuss what they have just acted out. A possible modification, to emphasise that some parts of the flower are male and some female is to have male stamens and female stigmas. Originated by AP (cience and Plants for chools) and adapted from the ildife Zone Teachers Pack. Trustees of Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Kew ildlife Zone: nvironmental Games 4.02