New! Pollinator Picnic

Arizona Science Standards

Strand 1: Inquiry Process

Concept 1: Observations, Questions, and Hypotheses

• PO1. Formulate relevant questions about the properties of objects, organisms, and events of the environment using observations and prior knowledge.
• PO2. Predict the results of an investigation based on observed patterns, not random guessing.

Concept 2: Scientific Testing (Investigating and Modeling)

• PO1. Demonstrate safe behavior and appropriate procedures (e.g., use of instruments, materials, organisms) in all science inquiry.

Concept 3: Analysis and Conclusions

• PO3. Compare results of the investigation to predictions made prior to the investigation.
• PO4. Generate questions for possible future investigations based on the conclusions of the investigation.

Concept 4: Communication

• PO2. Describe an investigation in ways that enable others to repeat it.
• PO3. Communicate with other groups to describe the results of an investigation. (See LS-El)

Strand 2: History and Nature of Science

Concept 2: Nature of Scientific Knowledge

• PO1. Describe how, in a system (e.g., terrarium, house) with many components, the components usually influence one another.
• PO2. Explain why a system may not work if a component is defective or missing.

Strand 3: Science in Personal and Social Perspectives

Concept 1: Changes in Environments

• PO2. Describe the beneficial and harmful impacts of natural events and human activities on the environment (e.g., forest fires, flooding, pesticides).

Strand 4: Life Science

Concept 1: Characteristics of Organisms

• PO2. Describe the function of the following plant structures: roots – absorb nutrients; stems – provide support; leaves – synthesize food; flowers – attract pollinators and produce seeds for reproduction.

Concept 2: Life Cycles

• PO1. Compare life cycles of various plants (e.g.,conifers, flowering plants, ferns).
• PO2. Explain how the growth, death, and decay are part of the plant life cycle.

Concept 3: Organisms and Environments

• PO3. Explain the interrelationships among plants and animals in different environments. Producers – plants; consumers – animals; decomposers – fungi, insects, bacteria.
• PO4. Describe how plants and animals cause change in their environment.
• PO5. Describe how environmental factors (e.g.,soil composition, range of temperature, quantity and quality of light or water)in the ecosystem may affect a member organism’s ability to grow, reproduce, and thrive.

Concept 4: Diversity, Adaptation, and Behavior

• PO1. Identify adaptations of plants and animals that allow them to live in specific environments.
• PO2. Describe ways that species adapt when introduced to new environments.

Arizona Science Standards

Strand 1: Inquiry Process

Concept 1: Observations, Questions, and Hypotheses

• PO3. Formulate predictions in the realm of science based on observed cause and effect relationships.

Concept 2: Scientific Testing (Investigating and Modeling)

• PO1. Demonstrate safe behavior and appropriate procedures (e.g., use of instruments, materials, organisms) in all science inquiry.
• PO2. Plan a simple investigation that identifies the variables to be controlled.

Concept 4: Communication

• PO1. Communicate verbally or in writing the results of an inquiry.
• PO3. Communicate with other groups or individuals to compare the results of a common investigation.

Strand 3: Science in Personal and Social Perspectives

Concept 1: Changes in Environments

• PO1. Describe how natural events and human activities have positive and negative impacts on environments (e.g., fire, floods, pollution, dams).
• PO2. Evaluate the consequences of environmental occurrences that happen either rapidly (e.g., fire, flood, tornado) or over a long period of time (e.g., drought, melting ice caps, the greenhouse effect, erosion).

Strand 4: Life Science

Concept 1: Characteristics of Organisms

• PO1. Compare structures in plants (e.g., roots, stems, leaves, flowers) and animals (e.g., muscles, bones, nerves) that serve different functions in growth and survival.
• PO2. Classify animals by identifiable group characteristics: vertebrates – mammals, birds, fish, reptiles, amphibians. Invertebrates – insects, arachnids.

Concept 4: Diversity, Adaptation, and Behavior

• PO1. Recognize that successful characteristics of populations are inherited traits that are favorable in a particular environment.

Arizona Science Standards

Strand 1: Inquiry Process

Concept 1: Observations, Questions, and Hypotheses

• PO1. Formulate a relevant question through observations that can be tested by an investigation.
• PO2. Formulate predictions in the realm of science based on observed cause and effect relationships.

Concept 2: Scientific Testing (Investigating and Modeling)

• PO1. Demonstrate safe behavior and appropriate procedures (e.g., use of instruments, materials, organisms) in all science inquiry.

Concept 3: Analysis and Conclusion

• PO1. Analyze date obtained in a scientific investigation to identify trends and form conclusions.
• PO5. Identify possible relationships between variables in simple investigations (e.g., time and distance, incline and a mass of an object).

Concept 4: Communication

• PO1. Communicate verbally or in writing the results of an inquiry.
• PO3. Communicate with other groups or individuals to compare the results of a common investigation.

Strand 3: Science in Personal and Social Perspectives

Concept 1: Changes in Environments

• PO1. Explain the impacts of natural hazards on habitats (e.g., global warming, floods, asteroid or meteor impacts).
• PO2. Propose a solution, resource, or product that addresses a specific human, animal, or habitat need.
• PO3. Evaluate the possible strengths and weaknesses of a proposed solution to a specific problem relevant to human, animal, or habitat needs.

Strand 4: Life Science

Concept 1: Characteristics of Organisms

• PO1. Compare structures in plants (e.g., roots, stems, leaves, flowers) and animals (e.g., muscles, bones, nerves) that serve different functions in growth and survival.
• PO2. Classify animals by identifiable group characteristics: vertebrates – mammals, birds, fish, reptiles, amphibians. Invertebrates – insects, arachnids.

Concept 4: Diversity, Adaptation, and Behavior

• PO1. Recognize that successful characteristics of populations are inherited traits that are favorable in a particular environment.

POLLINATOR PICNIC

Background

Pollinator Picnic introduces students to the concept of pollination and to specific pollinators for five of the plants in Sabino Canyon. Students will explore the influence pollinators have on people, as well as the influence people have on pollinators.

The students are introduced to the concept of a pollinator by learning about the partnership between bees and many of the plants we eat. Students envision a picnic with food items that are the result of pollination by bees or wind. When bees are removed due to various potential environmental hazards, the picnic is seriously limited without the presence of bees in the environment.

The students are encouraged to answer why plants are important for our survival and the survival of other animals. We review how plants are more than just food for us. Plants create oxygen for us to breathe and provide materials for our shelter, medicines, and clothing; they enrich soil, and they enhance the beauty of our planet.

We ask the students to identify the basic structure of the plant (root, stem, leaf, and flower) and the function of each structure (absorb water, support the plant, make food for the plant, and attract pollinators, respectively). The parts of the flower (pistil and stamen) are identified, and their role in pollination is described. Two model flowers aid in the demonstration of self-pollination and cross-pollination, the need for a pollinator since the plant can’t move itself, and the production of fruit and seeds.

The color, odor, shape, and presence of nectar are illustrated for five plants from Sabino Canyon (saguaro, ocotillo, brittle bush, sacred datura, and a wildflower). Each of the students is given one of five pollinator puppets from Sabino Canyon (bat, sphinx moth, hummingbird, bee, and butterfly) and are asked to identify to which of the plants they are most likely to be attracted, given their innate abilities. A game is played in which the children use the puppets to engage in cross-pollination with the plant to which they are best adapted. The game also illustrates some of the hazards (natural and human-induced) that can take place to prevent pollination from occurring.

Vocabulary

Pollination: The transfer of pollen from the stamen to the pistil.

Pollinator: Something that transfers the pollen from the stamen to the pistil. For example, bees, birds, bats, butterflies, moths and wind.

Carbon dioxide (CO2): A gas in the air that is absorbed by plants.

Oxygen (O2): A gas in the air that is produced by plants and used by animals to breathe.

Root: The part of the plant that anchors it in the ground and absorbs water and nutrients from the soil.

Stem: The part of the plant that supports the plant above the ground and carries water from the roots to the other parts of the plant.

Leaf: The part of the plant where the plant absorbs sunlight and carbon dioxide and uses water absorbed from the roots to create food for itself through the process of photosynthesis. It also makes oxygen which allows us to breathe.

Producer: A living thing that produces its own food using sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide in a process called photosynthesis.

Consumer: Animals that obtain food by eating plants or other animals.

Photosynthesis: The process by which a green plant uses energy from the sun to transform water and carbon dioxide into food and oxygen.

Flower: The part of the plant that produces the fruit and seeds and is usually surrounded by brightly colored petals.

Petal: The part of the flower that attracts pollinators with its shape, color, and smell.

Blossom: A flower on a tree or bush.

Stamen: The part of the flower that contains the pollen.

Pollen: A sticky powder on the stamen of a plant that is transferred to a pistil to produce a fruit with seeds.

Pistil: The part of the flower that receives the pollen and where the fruit will grow containing the seeds.

Nectar: A sugary fluid that attracts pollinators to plants.

Nectar robber: An animal that robs nectar from a flower without pollinating it.

Fruit: The part of the plant that contains the seeds.

Seed: The part of a plant that grows into a new plant.

Reproduce: To make a new plant.

Cross-pollination: The transfer of pollen from one plant to the pistil of another plant of the same or similar species.

Self-pollination: The transfer of pollen from a stamen to a pistil on the same plant.

Predator: An animal that eats other animals.

Pesticide: A substance used to destroy insects or other animals.

Herbicide: A substance that is used to destroy plants.

• Flower Parts Worksheet
• Pollination Crossword - grades 3 & 4
• Pollination Crossword grades 5 & 6
• Pollination Word Search grades 3 & 4
• Pollination Word Search grades 5 & 6