Get a free trial until June 30, 2026!
New members get full access to our science units, hands-on activities, mini-lessons, & more!

New members get a full, free trial through June 2026!
Back > Share
Why are there so many different kinds of flowers?
Circle of Life Unit | Lesson 5 of 5
Back > Share

Why are there so many different kinds of flowers?

Circle of Life Unit | Lesson 5 of 5
Lesson narration:
English Spanish
Scroll for prep
Video trouble?
DISCUSS: What happens to these two plants as time goes by?
What’s different about how they grow? What’s the same?
Video trouble?
Video trouble?
Slide Image
DISCUSS:
Imagine you see these three restaurant signs for PIZZA.
Which restaurant would you go to? Why?
Video trouble?
DISCUSS: Can you think of any reason why bees visiting flowers might be GOOD for the plant?
Video trouble?
Video trouble?
Slide Image
DISCUSS:
How many ways can you think of to move pollen from one flower to another?
Video trouble?
Slide Image
DISCUSS: If you were planting a garden with different kinds of flowers, what would your garden need for those flowers to be pollinated?
Video trouble?
Step
01/18
You’ll work with a partner.
Decide who will be Gardener A and who will be Gardener B.
Video trouble?
Step
02/18
Get your supplies.
Video trouble?
Step
03/18
Gardener A: Cut along the thick, black line. Place the Card Station in
the center of the table. Both: Cut out all the Plant Cards.
You should have a total of 24 Plant Cards.
Video trouble?
Step
04/18
Gardener A: Turn all 24 Plant Cards so they’re facedown on the table.
Gardener B: Shuffle all the Plant Cards and make one stack.
Place the shuffled Plant Cards facedown on the Card Station.
Video trouble?
Step
05/18
Gardener A: Cut out the Scorecards and the Bee Cards.
Gardener B: Shuffle the Bee Cards & place on the Card Station.
Video trouble?
Step
06/18
Both: Make sure all your game pieces are set up correctly.
Video trouble?
Step
07/18
Gardener A: Take a Plant Card & put it in your Plant Zone.
Gardener B: Take a Plant Card & put it in your Plant Zone.
Video trouble?
Step
08/18
Gardener A & Gardener B: Take another Plant Card.
Both: If the Plant Cards match, add them to your garden.
If they don’t match, keep them in the Plant Zone.
Video trouble?
Step
09/18
When you have plants in your garden, choose either a Plant Card or a
Bee Card. If the Bee Card pollinates plants in your garden, add the
Plant Cards to your basket. Keep the Bee Card in the Bee Zone.
Video trouble?
Step
10/18
Play the game. Look at the Rules sheet.
The game ends when you run out of Plant Cards and Bee Cards.
IMPORTANT: Don’t move any cards when the game ends!
Video trouble?
Step
11/18
During the winter every year when it gets very cold, all the adult
plants in your garden will die. The only way to grow plants next year
(Year 2) is if you have seeds. Look at your Tiny Garden. Discuss:
Video trouble?
Step
12/18
Set up for Year 2. Remove any Plant Cards that are NOT in your Fruit
& Seed Basket. Those cards will not be used in Year 2 of the game.
Video trouble?
Step
13/18
You get one point for each Plant Card in your Fruit & Seed Basket.
Write down your points on the Scorecard to see who wins for Year 1!
Video trouble?
Step
14/18
Gardener A: Shuffle ONLY the Plant Cards that were in the Fruit &
Seed Baskets. Gardener B: Shuffle all the Bee Cards. Place these on
the Card Station.
Video trouble?
Step
15/18
Play the game again! On your turn, choose a Plant Card or Bee Card.
Then, add plants to the garden, check your Bee Cards, pollinate Plant
Cards, & move them to your basket. Look at the Rules sheet.
Video trouble?
Step
16/18
You get one point for each Plant Card in your Fruit & Seed Basket.
Write down your points on the Scorecard to see who wins for Year 2!
Video trouble?
Step
17/18
Discuss.
Video trouble?
Step
18/18
If you removed all the Bee Cards from the game, you wouldn’t score
any points. But what about a REAL garden? Discuss. Answer question
#1 on your Scorecard.
Video trouble?
Video trouble?
Slide Image
DISCUSS: How could smelling like garbage help the Corpse Flower?
Hint: can you think of any creature that actually LIKES trash or rotting meat?
Video trouble?
Slide Image
Slide Image

flower


1 of 15

the reproductive part of some plants that can make seeds
Slide Image

fruit


2 of 15

the part of a plant that contains seeds inside a covering, like tomatoes
Slide Image

seed


3 of 15

a part of a plant that can grow into a baby plant
Slide Image

seedling


4 of 15

a young plant that grows from a seed
Slide Image

pollen


5 of 15

a powder plants make that is involved in plant reproduction
Slide Image

pollination


6 of 15

the process of moving pollen from one part of a flower (the stamen) to another part of a flower (the stigma)
Slide Image

pollinator


7 of 15

a living thing that moves pollen from one part of a flower (the stamen) to another part of a flower (the stigma)
Slide Image

nectar


8 of 15

a sugary liquid that plants make
Slide Image

attract


9 of 15

to pull toward
Slide Image

reproduction


10 of 15

a stage in the life cycle of living things when they have offspring
Slide Image

offspring


11 of 15

babies
Slide Image

cycle


12 of 15

a set of events that repeats in the same order over and over
Slide Image

life cycle


13 of 15

the stages of life, including birth, growth, reproduction, and death

life stage


14 of 15

one of the steps of the life cycle
Video trouble?
Slide Image

pattern


15 of 15

something that happens again and again and again in a way that can be predicted
🎉 That’s it for this lesson! How did it go?
Sign up now for more great lessons!
Sign up
Lesson narration:
English Spanish

Grade 3

Life Cycles

Plant Life Cycles

3-LS1-1

Activity Prep

Print Prep
In this lesson, students discover that while there is great diversity among flowering plants, they all share similar life cycles. They all start from seeds, grow, and eventually reproduce through the process of pollination. In the activity, Future Flowers, students observe and predict how changes to the pollinators affect plant reproduction, which affects the life cycles of those plants.
Preview activity

I have a Mystery Pack

Future Flowers Rules Sheet printout Print 15 copies
My Tiny Garden printout Print 30 copies
Plant Cards & Card Station printout Print 15 copies
Score Sheets & Bee Cards printout Print 15 copies
Scissors
30
Prep Instructions

We suggest students work in pairs. Homeschool students will need a partner to play the game.

Teacher Background

All the plants in the activity game are annuals, which means they die every winter and must be replanted every year from seed. We do not discuss annual versus perennial plant life cycles in this particular lesson.

Extend This Activity

In the extensions, we have another set of Plant Cards with different annual garden plants. Check out the Extensions for further instructions.

Exploration

17 mins

Hands-On Activity

35 mins

Wrap-Up

8 mins

Grade 3

Life Cycles

Plant Life Cycles

3-LS1-1

Slow internet or video problems?
Credits