The Plant Kingdom: Reproduction of Plants

Age
6-9.

Preparation
The study of flowers, seeds and fruit Observation: real flowers, seeds, fruits Nomenclature of Flower, seeds and fruit.

Presentation
Experiment 19

PLANTS GROW FROM ROOTS, STEMS, AND LEAVES

MATERIAL: several low glass containers of different shapes, strawberry or violet runners, various kinds of tubers, carrot roots, bulbs, shoots of various plants.


 * 1) Prepare the different containers by filling them with water first and then as much of the above described material as you have been able to obtain.
 * 2) Whether it is a bulb or shoot, make certain that only the lower part is immersed in the water of the glass container.
 * 3) You may also put this material in soil instead of water.
 * 4) Observe what happens and write your observations every day.

Chart 15

ALTERNATION OF GENERATIONS


 * 1) This chart pictures the underside of the fern leaf, and the sporangium which opens and releases spores.
 * 2) The spores fall to the ground and germinate.
 * 3) The heart-shaped leaf, the prothallium, forms. In this little leaf, the male and female organs are formed.
 * 4) The female organs each produce one egg.
 * 5) The male organs produce spermatozoa.
 * 6) The spermatozoa join with the egg to form a new little plant.

Chart 16

LOVE IN PLANTS


 * 1) Flowers are dressed in beautiful colors and give off a sweet perfume, which attract insects.
 * 2) This perfume draws the insect inside the flower where it sucks the sweet nectar.
 * 3) Pollen adheres to the insect's hair is carried by the insect to another flower.
 * 4) When the pollen is deposited on the flower, it develops a tail which grows down and fertilizes the egg.
 * 5) The egg is then transformed into a seed.

Chart 17

GO MY CHILD


 * 1) This chart depicts a mother plant saying farewell to her child, a seed.
 * 2) The mother has provided the child with food to sustain his life until he is able to make his own.
 * 3) Sometimes the seed is covered with a fruit, which is a protection to the little seed, as well as a means to transport it far from the mother plant.
 * 4) The fruit represents the ovary enlarged.
 * 5) It is not useful to germination of a seed.
 * 6) Its purpose is to attract animals who will take the fruit as food, and the seeds will be carried far from the mother plant.
 * 7) Experiment: The seed and its parts:Take a bean seed, soak it over night or let it sprout. Using the nomenclature for the seed, take it apart and look at the seed and its parts.

Experiment 20

HOW PLANTS GROWN FROM SEEDS DEVELOP AND ARE NOURISHED

MATERIAL: several small plates, various kinds of seeds, cotton wadding, several glasses and water.


 * 1) Select different kinds of seeds and put them in water in the different glasses for 24 hours.
 * 2) Cover the plates with the cotton and then sprinkle the soaked seeds on the different plates.
 * 3) Keep all the plates well watered.
 * 4) Make a note of when they germinate and of how much they have gown each day.
 * 5) At a certain point, what happens? Why? Write you deductions.

Experiment 21

MONOCOTYLEDON AND DICOTYLEDON PLANTS

MATERIALS: a terrarium with soil, different seeds: bean, wheat, corn; a watering can with sprinkler and water, several glasses.


 * 1) Soak each variety of seed in a separate glass of water for 24 hours.
 * 2) Then remove them and sow in straight rows in the terrarium., identifying the different seeds by takes with labels.
 * 3) Water them immediately and always keep them moist, remembering that if seeds aren't kept moist they will die and not germinate.
 * 4) Observe what happens and make regular notations.
 * 5) The important thing for this experiment is to observe how the plant is formed when it sprouts.