CU 4.02Parts of the Plant (and Root)
The child names the root, stem, leaf, and flower of a real plant and then of the botany puzzle and nomenclature cards.
Presentation
- 1
Show the real plant on a tray. Touch the root: 'This is the root. It holds the plant in the soil and drinks water.'
- 2
Touch the stem, then a leaf, then the flower, naming each and saying one thing it does.
- 3
Give a three-period lesson on the four parts using the real plant.
- 4
Bring the plant puzzle. Remove each piece by its knob, trace it, and name it.
- 5
Replace the pieces and invite the child to do the same.
- 6
On later days, match the picture cards and then the label cards, and check with the control cards.
- 7
Show the carrot (taproot) and the grass (fibrous roots) side by side and name the root types.
Extensions, easiest to hardest
- Trace the puzzle pieces and label them to make a plant booklet
- Match the root nomenclature cards
- Put a celery stalk in colored water and watch the color travel up the stem
- Sort vegetables we eat by plant part (root, stem, leaf, flower, seed)
- Read definition cards and match them
Control of error
The puzzle pieces fit only in their own space; control cards show each picture with its label.
Ready to move on when the child…
- Names root, stem, leaf, and flower on a real plant
- Completes the plant puzzle independently
- Matches three-part cards with the control