What is a flower?

Explore the parts of a plant and look closely at a flower. Learn that the purpose of a flower is to produce fruit and seeds.

What is a flower?
What is a flower?
Learning objectives:
  • Name the parts of a plant including the flower
  • Identify the different stages of flowers
  • Understand the flower’s purpose is to produce fruits and seeds
Curriculum links:
  • Science: Learn about the structure of flowers, their parts, and their purpose in producing seeds and fruits
  • Art & Design Technology (DT): Draw and model flowers using various materials
  • Maths: Measure and record flower parts for comparison

Key vocabulary

Petal | Stem | Pollen |

Pollination | Seed | Reproduce | Bud | Blossom

Preparation and equipment

Preparation

Gather suitable flowering plants from school garden or from a shop or garden centre.

Equipment

  • Examples of flowering plants. Try to pick plants with flower buds, some open flowers and some with older flowers showing fruits forming
  • Magnifying glasses
  • Paper, pencils and pens
  • Modelling clay or salt dough

Step by step

  1. Look closely at the flowering plant
  2. Ask the group if they can name the different parts of the plant
  3. Look closely at the flowers on the plant. Point out flowers at different stages of the flower’s growth, from buds, to open flowers, to flowers that have withered to leave a fruit visible
  4. Draw the parts of a plant including the different stages of a flower
  5. Make a model of a flower using modelling clay or salt dough
  6. Discuss why people like flowers. Why are they important?

Hints and tips

  • The flower is a fascinating and important part of a plant. Flowers come in all different colours and shapes and sizes. Flowers grow from a bud. These open, are pollinated and then wither leaving a ‘fruit’. Inside the ‘fruit’ are the seeds for a next generation of flowers
  • Use our flower structure diagram to support this activity

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