Seeds and Flower Families Lesson Plan

Author:
Shannon
Updated:
Oct 13, 2023

Middle School Biology Lesson on Seeds and Flower Families (Botany)

This is the 4th lesson in a series of 32 hands-on lessons covering middle school biology. This lesson covers the seeds and flower families. I used this plan while teaching a 55 minute middle school biology class. Each lesson plan includes homework assignments and a variety of hands-on activities to make each lesson engaging & memorable. Use these fun lessons with your classroom, homeschool, after-school program, or co-op!

These lessons are written for a class that meets once a week. If your class meets 5 days a week, simply do this lesson one day a week and use the homework assignments (at the bottom of the page) for the work for the other days of the week.

Homework Review

1. Ask students to take out their specimens from their botany scavenger hunt homework if they brought them to class. (Some students took photos & messaged them to me.)

Tally up the 1st, 2nd, & 3rd place winners who earned the most points from the hunt and allow them to select a prize.
Give everyone who participated in the botany scavenger hunt a small prize.
Have everyone select one item they thought was interesting, hold it up, & say what it is.

You will need:

at least 3 large prizes (such as a potted herb or flowering plant and a candy bar)
a smaller prize for each other student (such as seed packets and a smaller piece of candy)

2. Go over the homework questions from the book. (I give out tickets for students who volunteer to answer the questions.)

Dissecting Monocot & Dicot Seeds

3. Have children dissect, observe, & draw seeds.

Pass out to each student magnifying glass, dried popcorn kernel, soaked popcorn kernel, dried bean, & soaked bean. Also have some kitchen knives or pocket knives available.
Have children draw the seeds and compare the dried vs. the soaked seeds.
Have them cut open the soaked popcorn kernel using a knife and then draw what is inside.
Have them use their fingernails to split open the soaked bean seed and then draw what is inside.
How are they the same? How are they different?
Make sure students can identify the parts of their seeds including the hilum (the "belly button" of the seed where it had been attached to the mother plant)

You will need per student or pair of students:

magnifying glass
paper towel, napkin, or plate
dried popcorn kernel & soaked popcorn kernel (soaked in water for 1 day) (or other monocot seed)
dried bean seed & soaked bean seed (soaked in water for at least 1 day*) (or other dicot seed) *After it swells, store it in the refrigerator to avoid bad smells.
knives (can be shared by groups of children)

Germination

5. Quickly discuss the process of germination and the parts. Show an example of a germinating seed if you have one.

Seed Coat/Testa = coat surrounds it
Endosperm = stored food for energy
Radicle = root system
Plumule = tiny shoot = stem & “leaves” but not true leaves = means feather in Latin (Just like babies aren’t born with teeth, plants aren't "born" with true leaves.)
Cotyledons = food absorption & storage (becomes first leaves)

You will need:

germinating seeds (optional)

Dramatize Germination

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6. Have a volunteer dramatize germination. (The promise of candy can help to motivate a student to volunteer.

Hand the student candy. This is the endosperm (stored food for energy) that the seed will need to grow before it can begin photosynthesis. It really is sugar.
Hand the student 2 leaves. These will be the cotyledons (first leaves).
Have the student completely crawl into a sleeping bag. This is the testa/seed coat.
The student is a dormant seed. Once it gets water [pretend to pour a bottle of water over the sleeping bag] & the right conditions, it starts to grow, or germinate.
First the testa (seed coat) splits and the radicle (embryonic root) emerges. (Have the student stick their legs out of the sleeping bag to be the radicle.)
In some sorts of seeds, the seed gets its nutrients from the endosperm (stored food). The stored food is mainly sugar. (Have the student eat their piece of candy.)
The hypocotyl (embryonic stem) and epicotyl go straight up through the dirt. (Have the student stand up. Their legs are the radicle/root, their body is the hypocotyl/stem, and their hands are the epicotyls, which are holding the cotyledons/seed leaves.)
The cotyledons (seed leaves) emerge. (Have the student stick out the 2 leaves from out of the sleeping bag.)
The testa/seed coat falls off and the plant grows as the taproot shoots down and the epicotyl straightens. (Have the student stand up all the way and allow the sleeping bag to fall off from the tops of their head.)
Give the volunteer another piece of "endosperm" (candy) for helping with the dramatization.

You will need:

sleeping bag
candy
2 leaves

Angiosperms vs. gymnosperms & Monocots vs. dicots

7. Quickly discuss the difference between angiosperms and gymnosperms and then the difference between monocots and dicots.

Flower Families

8. If I showed you a picture of a cat, dog, bear, & weasel, would you be able to tell me which one was which? How would you know the difference? Botanists have classified flowering plants by their character traits too. Even though most of us can distinguish between families of animals, most of us probably can't distinguish between many plant families. Let's learn something new!

9. Pass out a sticky note to each student or pair of students.

They will need to look up their assigned flower family. On their sticky note, they will write out 1-2 distinguishing traits about that flower family and 2 types of flowers from that family. They will use their textbooks to find this information.
After giving them a couple minutes to find the information, go through each family, writing the information the student/pair gives and then verbally adding additional information of interest and showing specimens. (This information is below.) The students should follow along and look at the photos in the book as you go through each family.

You will need:

a sticky note for each student or pair of students - on each note I wrote a different flower family: composite, pea, rose, buttercup, mint, honeysuckle, parsley, milkweed, lily, amaryllis, & grass

Asteraceae/Composite/Daisy Family

Examining a Spanish needle composite flower and trying chamomile tea, which is made from a composite flower

10. Have the first student/pair share what they found about composite flowers.

Traits: many small flowers together in a head – disk flowers form center & ray flowers form “petals”
Examples: aster, sunflower, daisies
Have students look at a composite flower using their magnifying glasses. We studied Spanish needle since the flowers are plentiful right now. Spanish Needles: (Bidens bipinnata) are important for hosting for the sulphur butterfly and is a good source of nectar for butterflies & bees, which use it for honey production. Its young leaves (which taste like kale) and flowers are edible. The leaves are high in fiber, proteins, carotenes, folate, and magnesium. Older leaves (once they've flowered) won't taste as good because of saponins, so pick them when they're still young if you're hoping to make a Spanish Needle Salad.
Quickly speak through some misconceptions: 1) White asters aren’t daisies. A daisy has 1 flower on a stem & asters have many flowers on the stem. 2) Tickseed/Coreopsis (Florida's state wildflower) isn't a black-eyed Susan. 3) Goldenrod blooms the same time as ragweed, so people blame goldenrod for their allergies. Ragweed is what is to blame.
At one time, Thomas Edison dreamed of driving America’s roads on goldenrod tires. The leaves of these plants contain some latex, and Edison experimented with them as a rubber source. Henry Ford even gave Edison a Model T with goldenrod-rubber tires. Unfortunately, the quality of the rubber wasn’t good enough for it to be commercially extracted
After the Boston Tea Party took place, the colonists searched for local plants that could be used as tea substitutes. Goldenrod became an important part of many so-called “liberty tea” concoctions, along with red clover, chamomile, and other plants.
Some flowers are medicinal such as chamomile. Allow students to try chamomile tea.
If desired, briefly explain about Fibonacci. Write 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89,... on the board and have students figure out the pattern. Fibonacci, sometimes called "the fingerprint of God", can be seen in many places in nature. Daisies have 21, 34, 55 and 89 petals. Fibonacci numbers can be found because many things in nature (petals, leaves, etc.) are created in spirals, which allows for the maximum exposure to the sun.

You will need:

composite flowers (such as Spanish needle or asters)
magnifying glasses
chamomile tea (sweetened with honey and/or sugar) & cups
goldenrod (optional)

Fabaceae/Pea/Legume Family

Examining clover, part of the pea family

11. Have the first student/pair share what they found about the pea family.

Traits: compound leaves & the production of fruits known as legumes. Their flowers typically have a large "banner petal," two "wing petals," and a "keel."
Examples: sweet peas, wisteria, alfalfa, & clover
They are important because they help restore nitrogen to soil, so farmers will plant them in their fields just to add back in the nitrogen. Generally, legume plants are good at making food from the sun. A certain type of bacteria isn't good at making food from the sun but is good at making nitrogen. The legume plant make a type of "house" (a nodule) for the bacteria. The legume plant provides the food for that bacteria, and in return, the bacteria draws nitrogen to the soil.
Let students examine clover. They can eat it too, if they wish.
If desired, give a brief overview of George Washington Carver and his work. I flipped through the illustrations in The Secret Garden of George Washington Carver while summarizing his life. (It's not the best book for information but it does have captivating illustrations.)
Pass out George Washington Carver's peanut butter cookies for the students to eat. (Check for peanut allergies first.)

You will need:

clover including its roots or other plant from pea family
(optional) crotalaria (common in our area at this time)
(optional) peanut butter cookies

Eating George Washington Carver's Peanut Butter Cookies while learning about the Fabaceae/Pea/Legume Family

Rosaceae/Rose Family

Apple plants are part of the rose family

12. Have the first student/pair share what they found about the rose family.

traits: woody stem, fleshy fruit, flowers in multiples of 5
examples: garden roses, apples, cherries, peaches, apricots, blackberries, raspberries, almonds
Most people think of only garden roses, but most of the fruits you eat and even almonds are in this family. Their blossoms do look like wild roses.
Garden roses have been developed by people to have 10, 15, 20, or more petals.
Cut an apples each way and point out the parts (shown above). Have a pair for each group of 4 students to examine.

You will need:

an apple half cut across the middle and cut lengthwise for each group of 4 students
(optional) roses

Ranunculaceae/Buttercup/Crow's Foot Family

13. Have the first student/pair share what they found about the buttercup family.

traits: 5 rounded petals (or petal-like sepals) in cup-shaped blossoms, numerous pistils & stamens = bushy cluster or button in center, dry fruits & leaves that divide into 3 main sections
examples: buttercup, peony, larkspur (poisonous to animals & humans)

You will need:

optional: flowers from this family (which we didn't have as they typically bloom in the spring)

Lamiaceae/Mint Family

Rolling mint between fingers to smell the mint oil

14. Have the first student/pair share what they found about the mint family.

Traits: stems square & stout & flower clusters form spikes. The flower has an upper lip and lower lip.
Examples: mint, basil, sage, marjoram, thyme, catnip (even lions & tigers attracted to it), & some stinging nettle (if square stem)
A pleasant odor caused by oil in leaves & stem (mint) - released when roll between your fingers. Rub herbs (such as mint) on fingers and then smell your fingers.
(Optional) Allow students to sample mint tea.

You will need:

mint sprigs or other mint family herb
(optional) mint tea & cups

Caprifoliaceae/Honeysuckle Family

Coral Honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens)

15. Have the first student/pair share what they found about the honeysuckle family.

Traits: trumpet-shaped flowers replaced by berries, leaves grow opposite each other
Examples: various varieties of honeysuckle
Many varieties have a fragrant with a drop of nectar on the stigma. This is what hummingbirds are after. If you remove the flower, you can suck the sweet drop out from the bottom. I was going to let the students do this. I brought some trumpet honeysuckle to our class, but they had withered up by the time class began.

You will need:

optional: honeysuckle such as coral honeysuckle (possibly put in water in a refrigerator to keep it from withering)

Apiaceae/Parsley Family

16. Have the first student/pair share what they found about the parsley family.

Traits: clusters of small flowers arranged in compound umbels (Latin = umbella = umbrella-shaped)
Examples: Queen Anne’s Lace, carrots, dill
Includes some of the vegetables & herbs we eat: stem of celery, root of parsnips & carrots, & seeds of caraway; dill, coriander, fennel
Hemlock & water hemlock are poisonous & can kill a person. It looks similar to Queen Anne’s Lace (which has an impressive 2,000+ individual flowers). A way to tell the difference is that Queen Anne's Lace has darker flowers in the middle.
If you have a plant from this family, pass it around. We have wild fennel in our yard, so I passed out branches of it & let the children eat it.

You will need:

plant from this family (such as wild fennel)

Asclepias/Milkweed Family

17. Have the first student/pair share what they found about the milkweed family.

Trait: stem & leaves leak latex, a milky sap -- which is toxic in some plants
Examples: various types of milkweed
It's important for many insects, including the monarch butterfly caterpillars.
Optional: If you have a milkweed plant, break off a stem to show the milky sap, but do not pass it around as some sap is toxic.

You will need:

optional: flowers and/or stems from this family (which we didn't bring -- though I later realized we do have butterfly weed in our yard that I could have brought)

18. We will go over the monocot families in the next class period.

Homework

Page numbers refer to the pages in A Beka's Science: Order & Design.

Friday: Mini-report: Research your bizarre plant*, describe it, & include a picture of it (either drawn or printed).
- Include: the common name, scientific name, location (where it grows), what it looks like, what it smells like (if it smells), and 1-5 interesting facts about it (including why it’s unusual).
- You can make a chart, write a paragraph about it, make a small poster with the information, create a lapbook, or use some other creative way to share the information.
Monday: Photosynthesis & Respiration: Read pp. 64-65 & Creation Clip on p. 68 (skipping Science Investigation on pp.66-68) & answer 4 questions of your choice on p. 69.
Tuesday: Find a live flower outside. Draw a detailed picture of it. Include the leaf arrangement & margins. Identify it.
Wednesday: Transport System: Read pp. 69-71 & answer 4 questions of your choice on p. 71.

*Bizarre plants were randomly drawn by students before the end of class. They include: Rafflesia Arnoldii, Venus Flytrap, Corpse Flower/Titan Arum, Cape Sundew, Tropical Pitcher Plants, Baneberry, Welwitschia, Hydnora, Dragon Arum, Lithops, Victoria Amazonica, Bladderwort, Snow flower, Skunk Cabbage, Silver Torch Cactus, & Mimosa Pudica