Learn about flower structures and their functions then create original pencil drawings that burst with blooming colors!
30 to 60 minutes
Students study pictures and specimens of flowers. Students will label their four basic parts (sepals, petals, carpels/pistils, stamens). Students compare the shape, size, and location of these parts with their classmates' flowers. Students research how each part contributes to the plant's life.
Create Bursting Blooms with Crayola® Colored Pencils or Color Sticks. Students learn how to show flower petals that have several values of one color. Press hard with colored pencils to darken a flower part. Press lightly for the illusion of a tint. Use the points and sides of the colored pencil for different line effects. Overlap layers to make new colors. Use short or long strokes to create texture.
Students draw other flower parts, such as stems and leaves. Fill in the background of the drawing with color. Students discuss how color makes an impact, especially when there is a background of another vibrant color.
LA: Read with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support comprehension.
LA: Integrate information from several texts on the same topic in order to write or speak about the subject knowledgeably.
LA: Report on a topic or text or present an opinion, sequencing ideas logically and using appropriate facts or relevant, descriptive details to support main ideas or themes; speak clearly at an understandable pace.
SCI: Ask questions about the natural and human-built worlds.
SCI: Construct drawings or diagrams as representations of events or systems.
VA: Use different media, techniques, and processes to communicate ideas, experiences, and stories.
VA: Use visual structures of art to communicate ideas.
Offer students the possibility of growing flowers in the classroom. Have students research what on-going steps must be taken to be successful. Class members can determine a schedule for care of seeds/flowers. Students use Crayola Colored Pencils to sketch and label the stages of the flower.
Provide small groups of students with the opportunity to dissect a flower. Each group may dissect a different type of flower. As a whole class, have students compare and contrast the flowers.
After students have researched the parts of a flower, have them attempt to simulate pollination. Provide each small group of students with two types of flowers and a clean paint brush. Using the brush, students gently remove a small amount of pollen from one flower and transfer it to the second flower. What is the purpose of this exercise? Have students post to a class blog what they experienced in this activity.