Daffodil Dissection in the Elementary Classroom

Spring is here! And, what could be described as the longest winter ever experienced (figuratively), it is time for some color and life. I invite you to grab some daffodils and give you and your students a much needed hands-on experience that celebrates the spring, new life, and is content-driven too!

It seems like students have been learning about plants since they started school. But you can only grow bean plants or complete plant parts on a worksheet so many times. One year, I took the plunge and dissected real flowers! It was a simple and inexpensive way for the students to learn about the plant parts and their important roles.

I did this activity with my class working in pairs; so that cut down the amount of flowers I needed by half. Our school grounds are covered with perennial flowers that we were allowed to use for FREE! If you don’t have flowers at your disposal, then a local flower shop might provide flowers at a discount or as a donation. You could even plant some daffodil bulbs to be ready for next year!

We made a very simple chart that provided places for each of the dissected flower specimens and some notes. On each table I had a variety of tools for them to choose from. Their choices included tooth picks, tweezers, magnifying glasses, scissors, and clear tape.

Simple Note Sheet for Daffodil Dissection

This activity would be great as a teacher-led center but it ran smoothly working as a whole group too. We did this activity using an "I Do - You Do" format. This format gave students an opportunity to watch and listen before they attempted each step. The steps I used are outlined below.

Dissecting Daffodils

1. Discuss the Petals

    We discussed the role of the petals, counted and commented on the number of petals, and peeled off one of them. We carefully taped a petal to their dissection chart.

2. Discuss the Septal

    I asked studens to consider why the septal wasn't green. As I peeled off a piece I told them that this is the first part that forms. They then concluded why it was dried and I told them it helps the plant stay moist during its life. 

3. Examine the Stem

    Using the magnifying glass, I modeled where to examine the stem. I cut it at an angle and discussed the roles of the phloem and xylem.

4. Cut Around the Cup

    Once the first three parts were done and taped on the specimen chart, I had them cut around the cup (or corona) of the flower.

5. Remove the Stamen

    Now that the pistil and stamen were exposed, I had them take off the stamen specimens first. There was enough for each student to take a filament, an anther, and pollen grains for their chart.

6. Discuss the Role of Pollen

    We discussed the role of the pollen and the male parts of the plant. They noticed that the pollen is deep down into the flower parts.

7. Remove the Pistil

    The pistil was now ready to be taken off. Since there was only one, the student pairs split the style in half in order to have a portion for their chart. 

8. Cut the Ovary

    After the pistil was gone, they were very curious about what was inside the bump at the top of the stem. I had students cut the ovary in half so they could share and see the ovules inside. Many described it as looking inside a green pepper.

Once all of the specimens were taped, I had the student toss the rest of the flowers that remained. As we started taking notes on the important roles of each section of the plant, the students discussed what they noticed and still wondered. 

The students loved this hands-on learning! It made a huge impact on them but not on my wallet. In the days that followed we continued the daffodil fun with a directed drawing of our new favorite flower.

We followed the steps as described here: How to Draw a Daffodil

Instead of using just markers, crayons, or colored pencils to add color, the students had the option to go a step further and use watercolors. 

The results were beyond my expectations. I couldn't wait to get them up on the bulletin board for the whole building to enjoy. The students' work brought color and life to our hallway for quite some time. I eagerly await the opportunity to repeat this fun and hands-on classroom experience again!

Easy Lesson Plans

I've written thousands upon thousands of lesson plans during my career. I've been at this game so long that when I started teaching we didn't list actual standards within our plans; we simply stated the goals and objectives. Alphanumeric standards weren't required or included. That all changed with the implementation of the Common Core and teacher evaluation systems.

Lesson plans today have taken on a life of their own. Along with standards, teachers are sometimes expected to incorporate other detailed components for every lesson: minute-to-minute time stamps, dialog, specialized questioning, accommondations/modifications, etc... Some lesson plan templates introduced to teacher candidates are 10 pages long! No one working in the trenches has the time to write (or read) a 10 page lesson plan. 

To balance out the simplistic lesson planning I used once upon a time with the overly-rigorous plans being introduced today, I suggest using the 4Ts. If you focus on the four Ts, you will have planned for all the major components of what makes a great lesson.

The 4 Ts are:

• Target

• Text

• Task

• Talk

Target

What is the standard? What is the ultimate goal for this lesson? That is your target. 

Granted, lessons can be crafted that work toward more than one standard. However, keep your eye on the one standard that is most important. It will help you zero in on the most critical aspects of your lesson.

Keep in mind that mastery of all standards is expected at the end of the school year. Thus, if your students are unable to perform at the proficient level at the beginning of the year - that is expected. My expectations for R4.1 in September are vastly different than in June.

If your district has designated "priority" or "focus" standards, incorporate them into your plans often. Create lesson plans that move the focus standards in and out of the spotlight of the lesson. They may not always be the main component of your lesson, but are always being worked toward.

Text

What are the students going to read/watch/examine? What is going to be the vehicle for the learning? That is the "text". 

Most of the time we use fiction and nonfiction passages to guide student learning. But, we know that there is a vast array of choices now. Perhaps you will be watching a BrainPop video or moving students through a NearPod. 

Delivering content is no longer reduced to turning to page 73 in a text book.

Are you dissecting owl pellets? Examining slides under a microscope? Designing and building STEM roller coasters? Whatever you use to deliver the content, think of that as the "text". 

Task

What is the expected outcome of your lesson? What are students expected to produce? What will you be looking at in order to determine the next lesson? That is the task.

Just as standards can move in and out of the "top spot" in lesson planning, so too can tasks. Realistically, there are several tasks we expect students to perfrom for any given lesson. Many expectations fall within executive function skills sets and oftentimes are not thought of at all. Organizational skills or computer savvy are sometimes taken for granted. 

However, if students do not have the organizational or computer skills required to fulfill the task, you may be setting up a scenario that leads to frustration for you and your students.

Build up the skill sets required for the ultimate task. Make certain you have explicitly taught your students how to move through a Nearpod before you expect them to navigate and respond to one independently. Ask yourself if your students know how to open and edit a Google Doc or Slide before you assign a task connected to using the technology.

Make a concerted effort to eliminate confusion about how to complete tasks before you expect independence with a task. We cannot expect students to demonstrate command of a standard if they are unable to navigate the tech to do so. A little planning and explicit teaching at the beginning will foster smoother and easier task completion later on.

Talk

Who will be doing the talking during your lesson? Who is sharing information? How will thoughts and ideas be communicated? What will the conversation look like? That is the talk. 

If the bulk of your plan involves only your voice, consider adding to the plan. As teachers we sometimes fall into the trap of being the only voice in a classroom. But, we know that students need time to speak to each other. Some of the best learning comes from their peers and the ability to flesh out their ideas as they learn new material and find ways to anchor their learning in their brains.

Aside from the usual speaking skills that educators typically think of when writing their plans, how else can your students "talk" with one another? In a digital world that might mean using Jamboards, polls, or shared Slides/Docs. Any vehicle that encourages students to share ideas with one another is a means for them to "talk"; the more vehicles for communicating, the better.

Make time in your lesson for students to communicate with each other. Move beyond the minimal "turn and talk" scenarios and truly consider how you can allocate a good chunk of the lesson to students digesting and discussing the material amongst themselves.

The Other Stuff

Within a 4T lesson plan are things such as the date, subject, materials, exit, etc... Those pieces are important too. However, if the bulk of your brain power is concentrated on the 4Ts you will have a carefully crafted lesson that will engage your learners and lead to mastery of the most challenging standards out there.

If you would like a free 4T lesson plan template click HERE.