Year 3 discover the important functions of petals and roots

This week in Science, Year 3 started their new ‘Plants’ topic. They acquired some new vocabulary such as ‘style’ and ‘sepal’. The children also discovered the important functions that each of these parts play. “The petals attract bees because they are bright and colourful” (Vihaan). “The roots suck up the water and nutrients from the soil.” (Harvey). “I have learnt that plants have male and female parts. The female parts are the stigma, ovary and ovules. The male part is the stamen which is made up of the anther and filament.” (Darcey)

The children then dissected tulips and identified the various parts, using the flowers to create informative flower diagrams. Many children noted that there is a large variety of flowers in the world and each different type may look slightly different inside as well as outside. They have been encouraged to look out for all the many different types of flowers around them. You might like to go on a nature trail around some local woods or gardens. Can your child identify the various parts of the plants that they spot?

Over the next few weeks, the children will learn about the life cycle of a plant, including pollination and germination and will design and carry out their own investigations to discover exactly what plants need to grow. We will also endeavour to answer some of the questions posed by the children, such as: “How many different species of plants are there in the world?” (Ella.) “Why do we need plants?” (Kimaya.) “If plants are alive, can they hear us?” (Orla.) “Can plants survive on water alone?” (Liam).