Class 1: Know Your Flowers

Explore flower morphology, native flowers and importance of pollination.

Quick Snapshot:

Age Group: Middle Schoolers	Total Duration: 60 mins	Instructor Setup Time: 20 mins
Setting: Indoors	Activity Type: Science learning + Art + Reflection	Theme: Native Flowers and Pollination

Why does this lesson matter

Native flowers play a vital role in supporting healthy ecosystems, pollinators and wildlife. By learning to identify native flowers, the kids begin to notice ecological changes in their own community. It also encourages curiosity, and care for nature, while helping them develop a deeper connection to the place they live.

Lesson overview

The objective of this class is for the students to identify key flowers in the local environment and articulate their importance for pollination. Topics covered include flower anatomy, pollination, tips to identify and differentiate between native flowers that grow in our climate and those grown commercially for ornamental purposes.

Lesson outcomes

At the end of this lesson, the students will

1. Know the difference between native and ornamental flowers
2. Learn basic flower parts and their functions
3. Articulate importance of pollination
4. Recognize a few local flowers and when they bloom
5. Start a reflection journal for the program

Lesson flow

Introduction and icebreaker	10 mins
Science lesson	20 mins
Pre-program survey	5 mins
Art activity	20 mins
Reflection and wrap up	5 mins

Class summary:

This class session began with students and instructors going around the room and introducing themselves, then answering the following icebreaker questions:

• What is your favorite flower you’ve seen growing out of the ground?
• What is your favorite flower you’ve seen in a vase?

Then, the instructors gave an engaging, 15 minute lecture to the students that can be found in the slideshow below. Following the lecture, students had 25 minutes to complete an art activity. In this session, they made journal covers by collaging with real flowers! Finally, students were asked to use their newly decorated journals to reflect on the lesson, reviewing content and giving feedback for future classes. 

Introductions and Icebreakers:

To create a welcoming learning environment, instructors along with the students introduced themselves, and discussed their experience with flowers using the following prompts

What is your favorite flower you’ve seen in a vase?

We explored what it means to be a native flower vs. an ornamental flower, flower morphology, pollination and its importance.And kids were also introduced to some common local flowers and ways to identify them. The lecture slides are available in the download section below

7c. Pre-program survey – Students were asked to fill out a pre-program survey to assess their baseline plant science concepts, which helped us design the future classes.

7d. Student Art activity

In this session, students decorated their reflection journal cover with dried pressed flowers. Flower and plant pressing is a technique often used in botanical research. It is a helpful way to create a record of the floral diversity in a certain geographic area or time period. It is also a beautiful way to preserve plant life to look back on later! 

Students artworks can be found in the section below 

7d. Reflections and wrap-up

As the students were finishing their journal decorations,they used their newly decorated journals to reflect on the day’s lesson, and give feedback on the class.

If you have time, did you enjoy the lesson today? What would you like to do more of, and what do you wish was different?

What do you think are good reasons to plant native flowers in your garden instead of ornamental flowers from another place?

Did this lesson make you think differently about flowers? Why or why not?

1. Instructor notes

We learnt that trying to cover too many concepts in a single class reduced student engagement. Students were particularly interested in art activity, which provided a valuable entry point for discussing science concepts and promoting classroom engagement. Thus, future instructors may adjust the balance between science and art depending on the interests and needs of their students. 

2. Materials needed
   1. Blank Journals (30)
      • 1 per student
   2. Dried Flowers
      • Divide packs across 5 tables, students get 20 flowers each
   3. Sponge Brushes (30)
      • 1 per student
   4. Colored Cardstock
      • Divide colors across 5 tables
   5. Washi Tape
      • Divide colors across 5 tables
   6. Mod Podge (2)
   7. Paper Cups
      • Divide mod podge across 5 tables 
   8. Markers, scissors, colored pencils, crayons, etc. 
3. NGS Standard alignment

11a. NGS: 

• MS-LS2-5 Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics

11b. ASPB: 

• Ecosystems > Impact of Biodiversity > Plants are key to maintaining complex natural systems. High biodiversity ensures greater ecological resilience in the face of ecological changes. Human activities can impact biodiversity which can further impact ecosystem health and associated ecosystem services.
• Evolutions > Environmental Response > Plants live in and have adapted to a wide variety of environments. Many plants have also co-evolved with microbes and animals.

Lecture Slides: