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Perusing
Pollination Partners
In the classroom, learners can explore blooms up close, draw what they see, identify similarities and differences, and then choose a few to dissect. What flower characteristics do they notice that they think might appeal to certain pollinators? What predictions can they make, based on flower characteristics, about the characteristics of the pollinators of each plant? Again, they can test their questions and hypotheses by gathering evidence through systematic observation. Who
Made My Meal?
Let students know, if they don't discover it through their own research, that some plants in which we eat parts other than fruit or seeds, such as celery and onions, also rely on pollinators. Ask, What surprised your about your discoveries? How might your meal options change if there were no pollinators? They might want to create a display depicting what a particular meal might look like with and without the benefit of pollinators. Take pizza, for instance. Tomatoes, onions, and peppers are all dependent on pollinators. When you factor in the pollinated crops (such as soybeans) eaten by the animals that provide cheese and meat for toppings, you're left with a rather tasteless meal! Petal
Attraction You could follow up by asking students to work in small groups to "invent" models of fictitious flowers using drawing paper and supplies and classroom and natural materials (e.g., tissue paper, sticks, pipe cleaners, molding clay). Each group's model should 1) consist of unique, labeled petals, pollen, pistils, and stamens, 2) be a minimum of 8 to 12 inches in diameter, and 3) function as specified in an assignment you specify. For instance, Invent a flower that . . .
As an extra challenge, students can create models of invented pollinators adapted to their unique flowers. Have groups decide how to present their inventions to the class. They might choose a spokesperson or make a creative group presentation. Encourage the class to guess the purpose of the different structures on each invented flower. Consider having
groups of students systematically gather and record data on the
abundance and types of pollinators, other animals, and plants they
find in several different types of outdoor contexts: a managed environment
such as a lawn, a wildflower meadow, school garden, and/or woodland,
for instance. Assign each group to choose a one-meter-square area
to observe (or a size appropriate to your time frame, goals, and
students' abilities). Next, they'll record the numbers of different
organisms they find and figure out the relative abundance of each
group (for instance, flowers, grasses, bees, butterflies, toads).
As they compare data, ask them to look for patterns and make generalizations.
Which types of environments supports the greatest diversity of organisms?
Of pollinators? You may want to share that the biodiversity (different
types of living things in an ecosystem) is considered a good indicator
of the health and stability of an ecosystem. Pollinators thrive
when their habitat needs are met, which include sunlight, open spaces,
and different types of flowering plants. (Although students may
find lots of species in a woodland area, it will not likely offer
the sunlight required by many flowering plants and, thus, pollinators.)
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Pg. 1: Pollinator Garden Pollinator
Flower Preferences
Petal
Attraction Learning
Tools for
Young
Scientists Schoolyard
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It
can be challenging to help students grasp the concept that every aspect
of flowers is vital to their mission: to spread pollen and produce
seeds. As they observe and set up investigations, consider infusing
the following types of questions, when appropriate. What flower
characteristics do you think would be attractive to a pollinator with
a short tongue? with no sense of smell? In a given flower, where are
male parts in relation to female parts? What might be the advantages
of these arrangements? Why might some stigmas be sticky? What do you
observe happening to flowers over time (e.g., petals wither, scent
disappears)? How might this help the plant (doesn't have to expend
energy to attract pollinators once eggs are fertilized)? What might
these changes signal to pollinators? 
