Learning about the Life Cycle of Flowers

Introduction
 Lesson Topic: Plant life cycle
 Length of Lesson: 45 min.
 VA Standards of Learning:
o 2.4: The student will investigate and understand that plants and animals
undergo a series of orderly changes as they mature and grow. Key
concepts include:
b) plant life cycles.

Objectives
Students will:
1) Describe changes in the life cycle of a flower;
2) Observe the characteristics of a flower in the various stages of the life cycle;
3) Identify a flower or plant’s current stage in the life cycle; and
3) Construct and interpret diagrams of the plant life cycle.

Materials
 Laptop computer and projector
 “Observing the Life Cycle of Flowers” worksheets
 “Reviewing the Life Cycle of Flowers” worksheets

Advanced Preparation
 Set up laptop computer and projector.
 Copy “Observing the Life Cycle of Flowers” worksheets, front and back (Part 1 is
the front, and Part 2 is the back).
 Copy “Reviewing the Life Cycle of Flowers” homework sheets.

Teaching and Learning Sequence

Introduction / Anticipatory Set
 Ask the students if they have ever visited Washington, D.C. during springtime.
 Explain to the students that at the end of March and the beginning of April, the
National Cherry Blossom Festival is held in Washington, D.C.
 Show Video 1 (footage of the National Cherry Blossom Festival).
 After showing video, explain to students the significance of the cherry blossom
trees in Washington, D.C. (that Japan gave more than 3,000 cherry blossom trees
to the United States as a symbol of their growing friendship).
 Explain to students that a cherry blossom has a short life cycle.

Lesson Development
 Tell students that we will start learning about life cycles in plants. Notify them
that they will learn the basic stages of the life cycle of a flower during this lesson.
 Show students PowerPoint slides of four basic stages of a flower’s life cycle
(seed, sprout, flower, death / wilting). For each stage / slide, ask students what
 they think will happen next to a flower. Flip to the next slide to see if students
have guessed correctly.
 Ask students what they think is needed for flowers to grow.
 After showing the slides that illustrate the life cycle, present students with slides
containing pictures of various flowers commonly seen in the U.S. (Slide 7).
 Ask students if they have seen the flowers presented on PowerPoint slides.
 After PowerPoint presentation, ask students if they have questions about the
information.
 Explain to students that we will go outside and observe some flowers.
 Ask students to stand up, take a pencil and notebook, push their chairs into their
desks, and line up at the door.
 Take “Observing the Life Cycle of Flowers” worksheets.
 Lead students outside and to an area where flowers are blooming (on the ground
or in trees).
 Ask students to describe their surroundings.
 Direct students’ attention to a flower. Ask them which stage they think the flower
is in.
 Pass out worksheets.
 Explain to students that on the side titled “Observing the Life Cycle of Flowers,”
they are to observe two other plants—either with blooming flowers or with buds
—and draw pictures of what they see.
 Alert students that they should write on the worksheets their observations as well
as the stage they think the plants are in.
 When all students have finished, ask some students what they observed and
recorded.
 Tell students that we will line up to return to the classroom.
 Once back at the classroom, ask students to sit at their desks.

Closure
 Explain to students that on the back of their worksheets, they should draw the four
basic stages of the life cycle of a flower (seed, sprout, flower, death/wilting)
inside the circle.
 Review the life cycle of a flower by asking students questions related to the life
cycle.
 Ask students if they have questions about the day’s activities.
 Ask students to pass worksheets to the front of the class when all students have
finished.
 Pass out homework sheets.
 For the homework sheets, explain to students that they should observe and draw a
plant—either inside their house or outside. They should record their observations.
 Explain to students that on the bottom of the homework sheets they should
observe the pictures of the three plants, and then write down the similarities and
differences between the three plants.
Homework
 Observe a flower around the neighborhood. Write down observations on the
“Reviewing the Life Cycle of a Flower” worksheet provided, including the
flower’s current stage in the plant life cycle. Draw the flower.
 Observe the three plants featured on the worksheet. Write down how the three are
alike. Write down how the three are different. This will be the introduction to the
next lesson.

Assessment
Formative
 Ask students what they think happens to the flower during each stage of the life
cycle.
 Ask students to identify the stages of the flowers they observe.
 Ask students what they think flowers need to grow and survive.
 Ask students if they have questions about the flower cycle to clear any
misunderstanding.
 Walk around classroom to make sure students are on task and understand the
assignment and material.

Summative
 Review with students by asking questions related to the material to assess their
understanding.
 Check “Observing the Life Cycle of Flowers” worksheets to see if students
understand the basic stages of the life cycle of a flower.
 Check students’ homework to see if they understand material.

References
 Virginia Department of Education. (2010). Science Standards of Learning
Curriculum Framework

 Virginia Department of Education. (2010). Science Standards of Learning for

Virginia Public Schools
Name ____________________________ Date __________________

Observing the Life Cycle of Flowers

Part 1

Directions: Find two flowers to observe. Draw the flowers in the box. Write your
observations for each flower in the lines.

Flower 1

Observations

_______________________________

_______________________________

_______________________________

_______________________________

_______________________________
Draw picture here

Flower 2

Observations

_______________________________

_______________________________

_______________________________

_______________________________

_______________________________
Draw picture here
 Observing the Life Cycle of Flowers
Part 2

Directions: Draw each stage of the flower life cycle in the boxes.

Seed

Death/Wilting Sprout

Flower
 Name ____________________________ Date __________________

Reviewing the Life Cycle of Flowers

Directions: Find a flower in your house or yard to observe. Draw the flower in the
box. Write your observations for each flower in the lines.

Observations

_______________________________

_______________________________

_______________________________

_______________________________

_______________________________
Draw picture here

Directions: Observe the three plants below. How do you think they are similar?
How are they different?

Fern Rose Pear tree

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________