ALEX Resources

   View Standards     Standard(s): [SC2015] (2) 6 :

6 ) Design and construct models to simulate how animals disperse seeds or pollinate plants (e.g., animals brushing fur against seed pods and seeds falling off in other areas, birds and bees extracting nectar from flowers and transferring pollen from one plant to another).*

How can a tree grow in the middle of a field if no one planted it there?  In this lesson, students will work to find out the answer to this question by learning how seeds are dispersed.  Students will observe different types of seeds and see how they sometimes "hitch a ride" in or on animals to travel great distances.  Finally, they will use the engineering design process to make models of animals that help disperse seeds.  

This lesson results from a collaboration between the Alabama State Department of Education and ASTA.

   View Standards     Standard(s): [SC2015] (2) 6 :

6 ) Design and construct models to simulate how animals disperse seeds or pollinate plants (e.g., animals brushing fur against seed pods and seeds falling off in other areas, birds and bees extracting nectar from flowers and transferring pollen from one plant to another).*

[MA2019] (2) 16 :

16. Create a picture graph and bar graph to represent data with up to four categories.

a. Using information presented in a bar graph, solve simple "put-together," "take-apart," and "compare" problems.

b. Using Venn diagrams, pictographs, and "yes-no" charts, analyze data to predict an outcome.

Students will review collecting data and bar graphs by watching a BrainPOP video. After a digital read-aloud of the book Insect Pollinators digital book, students will choose which insect that he/she thinks would make the best pollinator. Students will represent the data collected by creating and drawing a bar graph.

This activity was created as a result of the ALEX Resource Development Summit.

   View Standards     Standard(s): [SC2015] (2) 6 :

6 ) Design and construct models to simulate how animals disperse seeds or pollinate plants (e.g., animals brushing fur against seed pods and seeds falling off in other areas, birds and bees extracting nectar from flowers and transferring pollen from one plant to another).*

Catch that fluff! Players explore the different ways that seeds are dispersed (as burrs in fur, consumed by birds or transported by mammals, floating on the wind or water, or spinning through the air), in this interactive game from PLUM LANDING™. Along the way, players learn about the plants in a mountain ecosystem, how their seeds travel, and how animals rely on them.

   View Standards     Standard(s): [SC2015] (2) 6 :

6 ) Design and construct models to simulate how animals disperse seeds or pollinate plants (e.g., animals brushing fur against seed pods and seeds falling off in other areas, birds and bees extracting nectar from flowers and transferring pollen from one plant to another).*

[SC2015] (4) 9 :

9 ) Examine evidence to support an argument that the internal and external structures of plants (e.g., thorns, leaves, stems, roots, colored petals, xylem, phloem) and animals (e.g., heart, stomach, lung, brain, skin) function to support survival, growth, behavior, and reproduction.

In this lesson, students will examine the various parts of flowers through the use of dissection. At the end of the lesson, students will play a quick game of pollinator tag to help students understand how pollination works.

   View Standards     Standard(s): [ELA2015] (2) 10 :

10 ) Ask and answer such questions as who, what, where, when, why, and how to demonstrate understanding of key details in a text. [RI.2.1]

[SC2015] (2) 6 :

6 ) Design and construct models to simulate how animals disperse seeds or pollinate plants (e.g., animals brushing fur against seed pods and seeds falling off in other areas, birds and bees extracting nectar from flowers and transferring pollen from one plant to another).*

The teacher will present an informational text from the website, ReadWorks. The students and teacher can interact with this non-fiction text by annotating the text digitally. The students will answer the questions associated with the article as an assessment. This learning activity will introduce students to ways animals can pollinate plants. This could be used as a precursor before students design and create their own models.

   View Standards     Standard(s): [ELA2015] (2) 10 :

10 ) Ask and answer such questions as who, what, where, when, why, and how to demonstrate understanding of key details in a text. [RI.2.1]

[SC2015] (2) 6 :

6 ) Design and construct models to simulate how animals disperse seeds or pollinate plants (e.g., animals brushing fur against seed pods and seeds falling off in other areas, birds and bees extracting nectar from flowers and transferring pollen from one plant to another).*

The teacher will present an informational text from the website, ReadWorks. The students and teacher can interact with this non-fiction text by annotating the text digitally. The students will answer the questions associated with the article as an assessment. This learning activity will introduce students to how animals can disperse seeds or pollinate plants. This could be used as a precursor before students design and create their own models. This learning activity includes a StepRead: StepReads are less complex versions of the original article. StepRead1 (SR1) is less complex than the original article, and StepRead2 (SR2) is less complex than SR1. This will allow the teacher to use this learning activity with students of varying ability levels.