TITLE:  Plants and Seeds

AUTHOR:  Carolyn Sheppard, Sequoyah Elem., OK

GRADE LEVEL/SUBJECT:  1-3, science

OVERVIEW:  For many students science has no real meaning if
material is covered by the read and discuss method.  A hands
on approach is a wonderful way to teach a concept.

PURPOSE:  Flowering plants produce seeds encased in fruit.
Three kinds of fruits are berries, drupes, and pomes.
Oranges, grapes, and tomatoes are berries.  Their seeds are
embedded in the flesh of the fruit.  Peaches and plums are
drupes.  Drupes have one seed enclosed in a hard case
surrounded by flesh.  Apples and pears are pomes.  Pomes
have several seeds enclosed in a core surrounded by flesh.

OBJECTIVES:  Different kinds of plants form different
amounts of seeds.  Some plants form only a few seeds, while
others form many seeds.  The fruit is the part of a
flowering plant that contains seeds.

RESOURCES/MATERIALS:  oranges, tomatoes, peaches, plums,
pears, apples, sturdy plastic knives, pieces of plastic

ACTIVITIES AND PROCEDURES:
1.   Demonstration -
     show your students a one-half piece of each of the
     fruits.  Help them observe and identify the placement
     of the seeds in each piece of fruit.  Then have
     students group the fruits according to how the seeds
     are enclosed.  You may wish to introduce the words
     berry, drupe, and pome to your students.  If so,
     explain that many fruits commonly called berries are
     not berries according to the scientific definition.
2.   Exploration -
     Give each group three pieces of fruit (one berry, one
     drupe, and one pome), a plastic knife, and a piece of
     plastic.  It may be helpful to precut the fruit for
     your students.  Have students cut their fruit apart on
     the plastic, count the number of seeds in each piece,
     and record their observations on a worksheet.