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Topic: 5B Life cycles
An international seed bank has reached its target of collecting 10% of the world's wild plants, with seeds of a pink banana among its latest entries. The wild banana, Musa itinerans, is a favourite of wild Asian elephants. Seeds from the plant, which is under threat from agriculture, join 1.7 billion already stored by Kew's Millennium Seed Bank partnership.
In this activity the children will investigate plants and seeds in their locality. They will construct a bar chart from their results and use it to decide which seeds they would choose to save.
You will need Acrobat
Reader installed to open the activity sheets.
You will also need the latest version of the flash player to be able to play swf files.
· to recognise that flowering plants produce seeds from their flowers which grow into new plants
Children will demonstrate this by completing the task on page 2 successfully.
· to use images to identify plants and seeds
Children will demonstrate this by completing the task on page 3 successfully.
· to use bar charts or pictograms to present measurements
Children will demonstrate this by completing the task on page 4 successfully.
· to say what the evidence shows and whether it supports the prediction
Children will demonstrate this by completing the task on page 4 successfully.
Science:
QCA Unit 5B: Life Cycles
· that flowering plants reproduce
· to make careful observations of fruits and seeds, to compare them and use results to draw conclusions
· that many fruits and seeds provide food for animals including humans
Scientific enquiry
· turning ideas into a form that can be tested, making a prediction
· making observations
· use scientific knowledge and understanding to explain conclusions
· deciding whether evidence is sufficient to support conclusions
Numeracy
· interpret charts
· represent and interpret discrete data using graphs and diagrams, including pictograms, bar charts
Introducing the activity
· Display Page 1 through a projector or as an OHT. Discuss the images with the children. Talk about plants as well as animals becoming extinct.
- Why are plants important to animals?
- Why do we depend upon them?
- Which plants do you think we should preserve? Why?
- Why do plants make seeds?
- How are seeds spread from the plant?
- How could we help?
Leading the main activity
· Display Page 2 through a data projector or on an OHT. This is an information page about The Millennium Seed Bank. Discuss why the banana was chosen because it is common, endangered and used for food and everyone loves a banana!
- Ask the children which plants would they like to preserve?
- Why?
- Which type of plants do they feel are the most important to protect?
· Display Page 3 and print off copies as appropriate. Discuss the types of flowers and seeds featured.
Organise the children into groups and explore the local environment either within the school grounds or local parks making sure that school's health and safety guidelines are followed. Ask the children to collect leaves, fruits and seeds from as many different plants as they can. These could be collected prior to the lesson if required. When back at school identify the fruits, leaves and seeds using the identification sheets.
· Display page 4 and provide children with copies. When the ‘treasure' has been sorted and identified, draw bar graphs to show relative numbers found.
- Are some plants more common than others in our locality?
- Why is this?
- Which plants should we preserve in the Seed Bank? Why?
- Look at ways seeds are dispersed
BBC News
News story on which the activity is based
Nature Detectives
An excellent website with loads of really good activities and downloads
Activity Village
A selection of art/craft activities for younger aged children
The Seed Site
The Junior Seed site - hints and tips on seeds and gardening
Kew Gardens
Some information but is not very suitable for primary aged children
BBC News
Includes a short video about the work of the Seed Bank and is worth watching
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