Why do plants grow flowers?

“The best part was activity and videos that replayed steps over and over again so I could monitor around the room and help out kids without having to be in one spot! The students loved being the 'bees' and pollinating their flowers. Plus when we went on a field trip that week, the students observed butterflies and bees pollinating on a flower plant. They were completely absorbed. They couldn't believe they were seeing it in REAL life! :) Awesome connection and experience with the lesson and in-class experiment.”

· Sadie · Teacher

“My students loved this activity and are still buzzing about it! I love the step by step directions and the questions that get the students thinking about the topic. I can't wait to try more mysteries!”

· Suzi · Teacher

“My students loved creating their own bees and flowers. They all truly understand the bees purpose in the reproduction of flowers. It was also great for a display for our open house. The students loved telling their parents what they did and what the purpose was of their experiment. ”

· Elizabeth · Teacher

“The students loved it! I even had a child who said he wanted to go home and research more about pollination! I love that their is an interesting video with questions and then an interactive activity at the end. It definitely helps to keep the students interested and deepens their learning!”

· Rosemary · Teacher

“The videos were so engaging and thought provoking. I loved the discussion questions, and the activity was the perfect way to cement the concepts for my kinestetic learners!”

· Jamie · Teacher

“The story context engaged the students and they loved the activity. I thought it was brilliant how the activity slideshow was laid out step by step, with each how-to video on a loop. Students really need to see more than once how to do each step!”

· Kia · Teacher

“My daughter is fascinated by bees and pollination and all the explanations were so clear and easy to remember. Terrific!”

· Laura · Homeschooler

“Very simple for students to do and they really understood the content, too! ”

· Allison · Teacher

“Learning about connections, easy to see pollination with two types of pollin (e.g., cinnamon and cornmeal).”

· Kristine · Teacher

“Students interacted and loved the activity/questions after the videos!”

· Alexis · Admin

“Very engaging and I loved how it taught the lesson step by step!”

· Becky · Teacher

“The kids loved the bee tongue! But seriously the turn and talk sections were very good for this lesson”

· Amy · Teacher

“The activity was well executed i appreciate the step by step video it was flawless. I also love you videos they are spoken is such a kid friendly way!”

· Briana · Homeschooler

“Kids were engaged and really excited to learn about pollination. I saw kids thinking through how they would get their seeds to grow and it was amazing to hear their thinking out loud.”

· Sandra · Teacher

“The fact my kids got to make their own flowers and were able to fly their bees was the best. I love the hands-on approach!”

· Janet · Teacher

“Roughly 50 2nd grade students viewed the whole video in my room. It laid a perfect foundtion for regular and ELL students. Offered opportunities for students to speak and listen to one another. We can't wait to make pollinators to solidfy the connection between bees and pollination.”

· Lintz · Teacher

“My kids were talking about pollination all day long. Great lesson”

· Stephanie · Teacher

“I love how they can explain it with the videos. I think that it really helps then understand so much better than looking in a book.”

· Katie · Teacher

“Everything was laid out in such a logical way, with each new piece of information like a small block to build on what was already talked about. It was great!”

· Loni · Homeschooler

“The best part was that students could explain why bees are important to plants and the process of pollination. They really understood!”

· Kristina · Teacher

“wow this was so well done. and funny! my daughter loved it ”

· Rebecca · Homeschooler

“The kids LOVED it! They were super engaged and they still talk about what they learned from it a few weeks later. It has helped them remember all the parts of a plant in our unit too.”

· Deborah · Teacher

“The activity was great, kids loved it. I really love the step by step video and the fact that it continues to replay until you are ready to move on!”

· Patricia · Teacher

“I am very impressed with the pace of the videos and the attention to essential details. The videos are interesting, age appropriate and I am confident that they will keep my students engaged! The activities are well-developed and I believe that real learning can take place with or without the presence of a natural flower. I am absolutely thrilled that I found Mystery Science this summer while browsing the web, and I cannot wait to share it with my students and colleagues!!”

· Alicia · Teacher

“The students were actually paying attention. They knew the answer and loved to share with their classmates. The only thing we have completed so far is the video, but we are working on activity tomorrow. They can't wait!”

· Amber · Teacher

“Running outside to look at flowers on our land and watch the bees, overflies and beetles go from flower to flower. My children loved being able to find the "pollen dusters" and "sticky stigmas".”

· Nav · Homeschooler

“making the little bees for the flowers”

· Carol · Teacher

“Step by step, good videos, everything was right there, I didn't have to search and put it together myself.”

· Pam · Teacher

“Love the model and the step by step directions. Also the questioning within the exploration is higher order!”

· Suzanne · Teacher

“videos and meaningful activity and follow up questions. Well targeted to 2nd graders. We loved it!!!”

· Sharon · Teacher

“I've shown them/discussed the process of pollination many times, but this lesson brought it home to them more than any way I've explained in the past.The fact that Doug presents it in a light hearted, fun way makes all the difference for my children - they love him! MS is their favourite part of home ed. Only critiscism is that the mystery download (which is a great feature) didn't work this time (got stuck at 79%).”

· Debbie · Homeschooler

“The kids LOVED making their bees and pollinating the flowers! Great hands on activity!”

· Barbara · Teacher

“the students really caught on to the concept of pollination with this activity. I love the hands on work!”

· Erica · Teacher

“The students loved making the bees and "pollinating" the flowers.”

· April · Teacher

“Delightful, informative, and fun!”

· Stacy · Teacher

“super engaging, well scaffolded and the students could really grasp the core idea”

· Jennifer · Teacher

“When the students completed the lesson they truly understood pollination and why plants grow flowers.”

· · Teacher

“My students loved the activity. It really brought the lesson to life. The discussion these lessons lend to is amazing!”

· Debbie · Teacher

“The kids really understood how pollen gets from one plant to the next! They cheered when they saw we were doing another Mystery Science lesson!”

· · Teacher

“The students were engaged and took the lesson out to recess, teaching other students what they learned. Great leasson!”

· Lisa · Teacher

“First time teaching it, and my students and I LOVED all of it! Thanks for putting this together! Can't wait to try out more Mysteries, and to see what new ones are added, too! ”

· Meghan · Teacher

“This lesson was so much fun, best yet!”

· Debbie · Teacher

“It was excellent! The videos of the bees were fantastic because they showed all of the pollen. Very close up pictures. Loved the video showing the steps in making the flower. Loved that is constantly repeated the steps over and over for students to use as a guide.”

· Christine · Teacher

“We had a blast trying to solve the mystery of why the vanilla plant didn't make seeds by itself! We also loved the pollination activity!”

· Christina · Homeschooler

“The videos were spot on! The step-by-step directions with looping video for the activity were perfect for my third graders.”

· · Teacher

“It was very interesting to ear their answers to why bees are important for pollination. They actually had no idea, most thought it was just to make honey. The activity to make model flowers and how the flower needs pollen from another plant helped the children understand very well. After the lesson I took the class out to see the cherry blossoms and a variety of flowers. They were so excited to see the pollen inside of the flowers and tried themselves to pollinate the flowers!”

· Joanne · Teacher

“The best part was when we went to the Mother's Day Plant sale and the children were trying to locate the "sticky stigma" and "pollen" in their real plants. This showed me that they really "got" the lesson. Fantastic!”

· Linda · Teacher

“This was such a fun lesson! A support teacher kept raving about how wonderful this lesson was as I was teaching it - she couldn't believe how hands on and entertaining it was! The best part is now my students are interested in finding out more about how monkeys are pollinators!”

· Stephanie · Teacher

“Phenomenal! Our students loved the activity and were so excited. It is always great when the teacher learns something too.”

· Cindy · Teacher

“The directions were easy to follow and it really illustrated pollination concretely to the kids. The students can really follow along with the narrative to solve how flowers make seeds.”

· Dawn · Admin

“What a great way to help students understand how and why bees pollinate! The activity was very effective. Students are really listening and learning during the videos.”

· Marianne · Teacher

“The lesson is really engaging and requires very little prep time. The kids loved it. Making the flower models was also awesome-the step by step video instructions are mega-being able to put the visual on a loop while the teacher circulates to help kids complete it is very effective. The kids loved making their insects and cross pollinating their flowers. The students really made a connection to the lesson and want to inspect every flower they see now for the pollen dusters and sticky stigma.”

· Britt · Teacher

“I love the graphics. They make it so clear to my students what is happening. I also appreciate the anticipation of questions students might ask. The information is there for them to see and hear. ”

· Maryam · Teacher

“How clearly it made the point that pollen needs to come from another flower.”

· Kierin · Teacher

“We did a collaboration with a kindergarten class and tied in their standards of flower parts. They had a blast! ”

· Anastasia · Teacher

“Creating the flower and bee, it allowed students to actually witness what was taking place.I loved this lesson.”

· Amanda · Teacher

“My students were fascinated by the video of the bee drinking nectar from the flower. They were very excited to make and pollinate their own flower. Thank you for the great lesson!”

· Maria · Teacher

“The students were so engaged during this lesson. They had such a great time trying to figure out how to make the flowers grow.”

· Alysia · Teacher

“the students loved "being the bees" and it really helped them understand the ordering of a plant's life cycle”

· Ali · Teacher

“I loved the step by step activity instructions, the students were able to follow along easily and it was actually excellent practice with following directions which my students really struggle with. Loved it!”

· Becky · Teacher

“Students truly understood how the pollination process worked to create a seed.”

· Chandrae · Teacher

“The vocabulary and explanations were really appropriate for 2nd and 3rd grade students. Video and activity explained the concept much better than I ever could.”

· Lauren · Teacher

“My kids loved creating the flower and having their "bee" transfer the pollen.. They are always asking for Mystery Science!!”

· Shauna · Teacher

“They loved making the "bees" as well as buzzing into each other's pollen filled flowers. ”

· Sue · Teacher

“The pollination activity really helped the kids understand the process.”

· Debbie · Teacher

“I have a bulletin board of lovely (smelly/spicy) flowers! The students were amazed.”

· Renae · Teacher

“My kids now understand what pollination means. This was such a wonderfully organized lesson. Thank you for the idea!”

· Michelle · Teacher

“Loved it all! Questions were high rigor and kids loved how the instructional video for the activity kept looping (and so did I!). Can't wait to use more of your lessons.”

· Rita · Teacher

“The step by step instructions were fantastic!”

· Susan · Teacher

“The lesson was expertly done it provided an excellent lesson with discussion time.”

· Margaret · Teacher

“My kids really understood pollination.”

· Angela · Teacher

“Loved the engagement! Great questions to promote group discussions and getting students to think aloud.”

· Ibrahim · Teacher

“I haven't finished yet, but they were struggling with plant reproduction before the lesson and now have it all straightened out!”

· Joanne · Teacher

“The kids absolutely LOVED the activity, and our discussions were excellent. It really got them thinking critically about nature. EXCELLENT lesson.”

· Brandon · Teacher

“The pollination activity had my students engaged in the pollination process. They were eager to pollinate their partner's flower and carefully made sure they were rubbing pollen onto the stigma. The students even made buzzing noises as they pollinated the flowers. ”

· Jessica · Teacher

“The lesson was very informative. I love that every lesson starts with a question to get the students intrigued then goes above and beyond to answer it. The activity was great. The students loved it and got a much better understanding of pollination. ”

· Maggie · Teacher

“The real world application of it and higher order questioning was GREAT!”

· Molly · Teacher

“My students LOVED this lesson! They had a misconception about bees with pollination so this lesson really helped out! ”

· Laney · Teacher

“Loved it! The kids understand the concepts so much better than using a foss kit. The NGSS standards and practices are wonderfully packaged. Thank you”

· Gail · Teacher

“One of the best lessons of the year.”

· Philip · Teacher

“The kids liked pretending with their bees. ”

· Kelsey · Teacher

“We loved making the flowers and insects to really cement the process of pollination. ”

· Melissa · Homeschooler

“They loved watching how bees pollinate and drink nectar.”

· Gail · Teacher

“The kids loved acting out the pollination. I loved how the lesson set them up to solve the mystery.”

· Rachel · Teacher

Make a Flower printout	Print 30 copies
Glue Sticks	30 glue sticks
Markers Three different colors for each student and one of them should be green. Crayons or colored pencils also work.	Details 90 markers
Scissors	30 pairs
Dixie Cups (3 oz)	16 cups
File Folder Labels (Stickers) We prefer stickers because they are easier to distribute in a classroom. Tape also works.	Details 30 labels
Pipe Cleaners	90 pipe cleaners
Pollen Variety 1 (Ex. Cinnamon) Cornmeal will also work.	Details 4 ounces
Pollen Variety 2 (Ex. Ground Coffee) Ground sage or ground dill will also work.	Details 4 ounces

Open-and-go lessons that inspire kids to love science.

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Why do plants grow flowers?

flower

nectar

pollen

stamen

stigma

pollination

model

seed

reproduction

offspring

Vocabulary

Unit Readings

Assessments

Image & Video Credits

31 mins

30 mins

Share this lesson

Student link

Google Classroom

Email parents

Extend this lesson

Vocabulary

Unit Readings

Assessments

Mini-lessons

Activity Extension

Activities

Transcripts

Open-and-go lessons that inspire kids to love science.

Sign up now for tons of free lessons like this one!

Why do plants grow flowers?

flower

nectar

pollen

stamen

stigma

pollination

model

seed

reproduction

offspring

Vocabulary

Unit Readings

Assessments

Image & Video Credits

Featured Reviews

Activity Prep

Prepare “Pollen” Cups

Classroom Management Tip

31 mins

30 mins

Share this lesson

Student link

Google Classroom

Email parents

Extend this lesson

Vocabulary

Unit Readings

Assessments

Mini-lessons

Activity Extension

Activities

Transcripts

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