Lesson
2: Flower Power
Objectives
Students will:
- Many garden activities can be adapted for audiences with different
needs and abilities.
- Plastic cups:
choose smaller cups if you have a small number of flowers to work
with; if
some students have impaired motor skills
or challenges with control over their hands, choose larger cups
- Wet floral
foam (make sure the package reads "wet floral foam" -- there are
other kinds)
- Anchor tape
and duct tape (optional)
- Assorted flowers
and foliage
- Scissors
In-Class
Activity
Making a flower
arrangement is an enjoyable, creative activity with flexibility
to accommodate different skill and ability levels. Throughout the
instructions, you will find suggestions on how to adapt each step
for success with
different audiences.
Activity
Steps |
Example |
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1.
Collect your materials.
If
you have them in your garden, harvest flowers and
foliage there. It's best to cut them early in the
morning and immediately place in a bucket of water to prevent
wilting. Choose plants with sturdy stems, such as zinnias
(a great choice: they come in a wide array of
colors, are
easy to grow), daisies, and ferns. If you feel
comfortable with the skill level of your students, they can
harvest the flowers for the activity.
You
can also find flowers at local grocery stores and florists.
Ask if they have discounts or donations available.
Check with high
school horticulture programs -- the teacher may be able to
order flowers for you at a wholesale rate for educational
purposes.
Daisies, mums,
carnations (regular or mini), statice, and leatherleaf are the
best options for purchased
flowers because they are durable and have sturdy stems. Fresher
flowers are more tolerant of rough handling if your students
possess excessive
energy.
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2.
Tell students that today you are going to make a floral arrangement.
Ask them if they can think of
places they have seen floral arrangements (their answers
may include holiday gatherings, weddings, at church, funerals,
birthday
parties, etc.). Explain that arranging flowers is an
art that has been practiced for thousands of years; in
our society we often
use flowers
as gifts to celebrate special occasions. Giving someone
flowers is a way to express feelings such as love, appreciation,
and sympathy, and it makes people feel special.
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3.
Place the floral foam in a tub of water until it's fully
saturated. Cut foam into pieces that fit into the plastic
cups. About
a half inch of the foam should stick out above the cup. If
cut to a close
fit, the foam should be secure and not require taping.
Explain
to students that it's important not to press
the foam
because it crushes the air pockets in the foam so that
they can't fill with water, and the flowers will not last
as long.
For groups of younger students and students with special
needs, this
step can be completed before the activity by volunteers.
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4.
If your students have control issues and you are afraid the
cups may end up on the floor, you can secure the foam
with anchor tape. Use two pieces that intersect
off center.
The
wet foam will make the cups heavy enough to stay in place
for most students; however, for students who may have
difficulty controlling their hands, secure the cups to the
work
surface with a loop of duct tape on the bottom.
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5.
Next make an example arrangement for the class.
Start
with some foliage. Before placing
the stems
in the foam, re-cut each stem and remove the leaves
on the bottom inch or two so that you have a smooth stem
to
insert
into the foam. Choose where to stick the stem: Once
in the foam it will stay in place -- as
long
as
you
only
stick
it
in once!
If you stick and re-stick stems, the foam won't hold them as tightly.
Tell
students to think of the arrangement like half of
a basketball and that you want to cover all sides. | |
6.
After you have a light
covering of foliage, begin inserting the flowers. As with
the foliage, re-cut the stems, remove bottom leaves,
choose where to stick them, and insert them into the
foam -- just once.
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7. If you are working with older students (middle school or high school),
provide them with more detailed instructions on flower placement. After
they insert the foliage, instruct them
to construct the arrangement by creating
a design skeleton: Place one flower directly in the middle and
four more spaced
evenly around the arrangement, and oriented horizontally -- like
the four directions on a compass.
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8.
Once the skeleton is in place, fill in the space between
the skeleton flowers with the other flowers.
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9.Once
you've completed an example, distribute the remaining
flowers to students. If you have a limited number of flowers,
tell students how many of each flower they can use.
Students can then trim the stems and place them
into their arrangements.
If
students are not able to use scissors, have volunteers
pre-cut the stems to the approximate length needed
and then place them in a second
cup of water for each student. When it's time to arrange the flowers,
each student will receive a cup supply. | |
10.
Once they're finished, create a name label to attach
to each cup using tape and a marker. Give the flowers
to people at the school (such as secretaries or cafeteria
staff) as a way for the kids to say "thank
you," or ask the students to take the arrangements home
and give
them to someone special.
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Extensions
English: Instruct
each student to write a poem inspired by the
flowers or the arranging acitivity. Choose a style of poem based
on the curriculum standards for
your grade
level.
English: Explore
the ‘Language of Flowers.’ Flowers
have been used to express meaning and send messages throughout
history. Visit the
FTD
website to discover the
meanings associated with some common flowers.
Develop a class list of flowers and meanings; then have students use pictures
of flowers (e.g., from old seed catalogs) to create
an
encoded
message for a friend or family member.
Science: White
carnations provide a simple, dramatic way for students to witness
how water moves up through the vascular tissue of flower petals.
Obtain two vases of white carnations
(one or more
flower
in each vase). Take the flowers out of the vases; add drops of blue food
coloring dye to one vase and drops of red food coloring dye to another. Re-cut
the stems
and place the flowers back into the vases. Ask students to observe
flowers over the next few days and record their observations. Discuss
the
observations as a group and ask students to make conclusions about their findings.
(As stems draw water
upwards, flowers will take on the color of the dye.)
Science: Learn
about the different parts of a flower and their purpose. For background
information and ideas, check out “Seeds
the Promise of Life!”,
and "Flower
Courtship."
Copyright© 2005
National Gardening Association
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