We suggest students work in pairs. Homeschool students can work on their own, but will need to make two flower models and may need a partner to help with a few steps of the activity.

Prepare “Pollen” Cups

So they can observe that pollen is transferred from one flower to another, you will need to provide students with two different kinds of pollen. In half the cups, spoon about a tablespoon of one of the “pollen” types (e.g. cinnamon). In the other half of the cups, spoon about a tablespoon of the other “pollen” type (e.g. ground coffee). Groups of four students will be sharing two cups of “pollen."

Classroom Management Tip

To avoid distractions, we suggest waiting to distribute the “pollen” cups to students until Step 9 of the activity.

Slice Fruits and Vegetables Before Class

We suggest slicing foods before class. We used the foods listed above, but you can use other foods in place of these. Just be sure to include a mix of vegetables that have seeds, such as tomatoes and cucumbers (science fruits), and ones that don’t, such as celery, potatoes, and radishes (science vegetables). If you want to challenge your students, use less familiar produce, such as pineapples, eggplants, and kiwis (science fruits), as well as brussels sprouts (science vegetables).

Place one slice of each type of fruit or vegetable onto a paper plate for each student so that each student will have the opportunity to examine all the produce.

Before students examine the sliced fruit and vegetables and look for seeds, you will show them one whole fruit or vegetable so that they can first make a prediction. So be sure to reserve one of each grocery item to show students.

You need 4 different varieties of apples that have different colors, textures, and flavors. We recommend Granny Smith, Red Delicious, Golden Delicious, and Honeycrisp. But you can also use other varieties such as Gala, Fuji, or Jazz. Each student needs a small piece of each apple. This means that for a class of 30, you’ll probably need two apples of each variety, but it will depend on the particular size of the apples available.

Prepare Apples for Tasting

Before class begins (or during the video), use your paring knife and cutting board to slice each apple and remove the core. Cut each apple into small pieces so that each student can have a taste. Place all pieces for each apple variety on a plastic plate. We recommend placing the sticker from the apple variety on the rim of each plate to help you remember which apple is which.

Graph the Apple Taste Test (Optional)

For an optional math extension, you can use sticky notes to make a bar graph of your students’ apple preferences. Instructions can be found in our Extensions on Graphing the Apple Taste Test.