How to Teach Children About the Functions of the Parts of a Flower

Present a diagram with flower parts to students. Enlarge a print diagram of a flower to poster size to use as a visual aid in your lesson, or create a transparency of this diagram so you can project it for all students to see. Select a diagram that is adequately complex for the children without being overly challenging. For example, if teaching a group of kindergartners you would likely not want a diagram that is as complex as you would use to educate a middle school science class.

Divide students into groups, assigning each group a flower part to explore in greater depth. Randomly assign students into these groups, or place them deliberately, creating groups that contain a mixture of high and low-performing students.

Give the groups access to resource material containing detailed information about the functions of each flower part. This material can be print or digital in nature. Select material that is at the children's reading level to ensure they can effectively gather information from the provided material.

Allow each group to present their findings to the class. Encourage groups to create visual aids to make their presentations more engaging and allow their peers to better understand the presented information.

Create a flower part matching activity for the children. Replace the flower part names on a diagram with numbers. Type up definitions of each flower part, placing these definitions in a column next to the numbered diagram. Ask students to pair the definitions with the flower part number to test their understanding of this newly acquired knowledge.

Quiz students on flower parts. Remove the names from a flower part diagram, replacing them with blanks. Present this to students as a quiz. Either simply ask the students to pair the part with the appropriate name or, for a better picture of student understanding, also ask them to write a sentence describing the function of each part below the blank.

Review any parts that student quiz scores indicate that they struggle with. Discuss these challenging parts in more depth, returning to the original resource material and using it to clarify student understanding. Re-quiz if desired to ensure understanding.

Engage students in a flower dissection. Give each pupil or group of pupils a flower with easily identifiable parts, such as a tulip, along with a sheet of white paper and tape. Ask students to tear the flower apart, taping the pieces down onto the paper and labeling them with the appropriate part name as well as a brief description of the function of that part.