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Lesson Plan Image

Powerful Pollinators

How do insects know which flowers to visit? Students will learn about pollinators and create an imaginative drawing.

Lesson Plan

Supplies Needed

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  • Paper

Steps

  • Step 1

    Flowers use a variety of strategies to inform pollinators about their pollen reserves, including color, smell, and even electrical changes. Pollination is the process of transferring a flower's gametes (reproductive cells) to another flower to create more flowers. Have students investigate the process and how flowers signal the right pollinators so as not to waste its pollen if a non-transmitting organism lands on it.

  • Step 2

    Ask students to look at images of one or two pollinators and the flowers they would be attracted to. Then ask them to create a drawing of them. For example, a hummingbird seeks out trumpet honeysuckle, cardinal flower, and other colorful flowers; butterflies look for calendula, salvia, and many others; honey bees are attracted to lavender, sunflowers, and many other flowers. There will be considerable overlap, since many flowers attract a variety of pollinators.

  • Step 3

    Display the students' artwork on a bulletin board that features colorful flowers and their pollinators.

Standards

SCI: Use observations to describe patterns of what plants and animals (including humans) need to survive.

SCI: Convey designs through sketches, detailed drawings, or physical models to communicate ideas and solutions.

Adaptations

Invite a horticulturist to speak to the class, either in person or via video, about cultivating plants and the importance of protecting pollinators.

Have students create a guide about how to protect and save pollinators. The list might include planting native species when growing a garden, avoiding pesticides, leaving clover patches on the lawn, etc.