Plants


 * Sites we have used in class:**
 * http://plantsinmotion.bio.indiana.edu/plantmotion/starthere.html - Videos of plants (speeded up)
 * http://www.ngfl-cymru.org.uk/vtc/factors_plant_growth/eng/Introduction/default.htm
 * http://www.ngfl-cymru.org.uk/vtc/plant_repro/eng/Introduction/default.htm
 * http://www.ngfl-cymru.org.uk/vtc/plant_life_cycles/eng/Introduct/default.htm


 * Sites for you to use at home:**
 * http://www.bgfl.org/bgfl/custom/resources_ftp/client_ftp/ks2/science/plants/index.htm **-** Revise seed growth, parts of a plant and seed dispersal.
 * http://www.cchs.co.uk/subjects/quizzes/ks3biology/labelflower/labelflower.htm - Label parts of a flower
 * http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/scienceclips/ages/9_10/life_cycles.shtml - Take apart a flower to show different parts
 * http://www.crickweb.co.uk/assets/resources/flash.php?&file=lcycles5b - Another site to revise life cycles, parts of plants and seed dispersal
 * http://www.schooltrain.info/science/plants/trsciplant.htm - See close up photos of parts of flowers
 * http://www.catie.org.uk/images/Plant_Life_Rev01_04.swf - See how plants get food and water
 * http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/revision/Science/plant.htm - Interactive quiz
 * http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/revision/Science/plantparts.html - Facts about parts of a plant and a quiz
 * http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/revision/Science/livesamp.html - Examples of SATs questions about plants
 * http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/revision/Science/plants.html - Another quiz


 * Activities / experiments for you to try at home:**
 * __Grow cress:__ Put some cotton wool into three empty eggshells or small containers (e.g. yoghurt pots). Sprinkle a few cress seeds over the cotton wool. Leave the eggshells on a windowsill in the sunlight. Every day, pour a few drops of water on top. After a week, you should have a crop of cress. Now stop watering one eggshell. Put another eggshell in the fridge for a few days. What happens?


 * __Broad beans:__ Soak a broad-bean seed in water overnight. Plant the seed in some potting compost. Cover it with a plastic bag, and leave it in a warm place, watering it regularly. After a few days, a shoot should grow. Record the shoot's height each day for two weeks. Draw a graph of the shoot's growth.


 * __Making food:__ Ask an adult to help you dig up several weeds or other plans with roots. Replant the weeds in separate flowerpots. Place on pot in sunlight, one in a dark cupboard and one in sunlight with its leaves covered in silver foil. Water them all. What differences can you see in them after a week?


 * __Using water:__ Take two stalks of celery with a small amount of root. Remove the leaves from one stalk. Put the stalks in coloured water (use food colouring), and leave them for two days. Ask an adult to help you slice through one of the stalks about 3 cm from the bottom. Draw a picture of the pattern that you see. How far has the coloured water travelled up each stalk? Is there a difference? Why?


 * __Plant structure:__ Gather some flowers from a garden or buy some from a shop. Take them apart carefully. Display the parts of each flower by sticking the bits on a piece of white card. Label the parts.


 * __Seed dispersal:__ Collect some sycamore seeds or ash keys. These seeds are particularly well suited to wind dispersal. Compare how long each takes to fall to the ground. Does the length of the wings on the seeds make a difference?


 * __Germinating seeds:__ Do seeds from different plants take different amounts of times to germinate? Set up an experiment to find out. You can try germinating a variety of seeds on damp cotton wool.