Summary

Watch the DINOSAUR TRAIN video clip from "Flowers for Mom" and encourage students to look at the variety of flowers that exist with attention to details such as the number of petals, the shape of the petals, and any insects they see. Using their observations, students then draw pictures of flowers and create a card for their family.

Materials

• Backyard, park, or forest with variety of flowers
• Crayons, colored markers, or colored pencils
• Construction paper or cardstock
• Clipboard
• Gluestick
• Thick cardstock, cut and folded into greeting cards
• Camera (optional)
• Field guide to local flowers. (optional) This can come from a library, or web sites that specialize in flower identification. An example website is http://www.realtimerendering.com/flowers/flowers.html.

Related Video Clip

Dinosaur Train: Flowers for Mom (1 minute 26 seconds)

Procedures

1. Ask the students to think of any kinds of flowers they know. Some common flowers they might be familiar with are roses, daisies, sunflowers, and dandelions. Ask: Why do bees like to visit flowers? Encourage them to make guesses, not worrying yet if their explanations are scientifically accurate. The goal is to spark their curiosity about the relationship between insects and flowers.
2. Watch the DINOSAUR TRAIN video clip from "Flowers for Mom" above.
3. Help the students summarize the big points if the video:
   • The world hasn’t always had flowers. During the time of the dinosaurs, there weren’t big colorful flowers during the first two time periods (Triassic and Jurassic) – but the third time period (Cretaceous) had many colorful flowers.
   • Bees visit flowers to get sweet food (called nectar) and when these bugs visit the flowers, they unintentionally pick up sticky powder called pollen on their legs, and bring this powder to other flowers. Then, other flowers use this sticky powder to help make more flowers.
4. Take the students on a walk in a local backyard, park or forest. Ask them to try to find three flowers that look very different from each other, and draw pictures of them on paper. Encourage them to pay attention to details such as the number of petals, the shape of the petals, and any insects they see flying near the flowers.
5. Have each student select one flower (or group of flowers) that he or she finds especially exciting. Have them use crayons, markers or colored pencils to sketch a small picture of this flower. Back in the classroom, have children gluestick the flowers onto a piece of greeting card-size cardstock that has been folded in half. If you wish, use a field guide or the Internet to identify the types of flowers they found.
6. Help the student write a short note to a friend or family member, telling them about your nature walk, and if they can, name the type of flower they found on their walk.

Extensions

1. During the nature hike with the students, let them use a camera to take pictures of the flowers they especially enjoy. You can later help them print out these photos and attach them to a piece of cardstock to make a card.
2. You can help your students research your state’s flower, and find out why this flower was selected.