This article contains several photographs showing how different plants disperse their seeds.
Adapting the resource
This article could be used to strengthen students’ understandings of the many ways the natural world can be represented. On page 4 there are photographs of peaches and on page 5 a photograph of apples. Encourage the students to look really carefully at the photos of the peaches and compare these with the photograph of the apples.
| What is the same?
| What is different?
|
| Both have seeds in the middle of the fruit.
| Peaches have one big seed and apples have more than one little seeds.
|
| Both sorts of seeds have pointed ends.
| Peach seeds are big and rough. Apple seeds are small and smooth.
|
| Both fruit are shaped like balls.
| The peach’s skin looks furry and the apples’ skin looks shiny.
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| Both fruit have got reddish skins.
| The peach is yellow inside. The apple is white.
|
Encourage students to use clear objective language, e.g., “The peach is round and yellow”, rather than “It looks yummy”.
From the photographs, what can we find out about peaches that we can’t find out about apples? [The photographs show us what peach leaves look like and that peaches grow on branches.]
Pages 2 & 3 also provide opportunities for developing understanding of how photographs can be selected to show particular things. The close up photographs of sycamore seeds on page 2 show a lot of detail about the seeds but do not tell anything about what sort of plant a sycamore is. The text on page 3 is supported by a photograph of dandelion seeds. There is also a photograph on that page of a dandelion flower. Draw students attention to the flower and ask why they think the photograph is there. [The photograph shows the flowering part of the dandelion plant.]
Gather & Interpret data
Use evidence
Critique evidence
Interpret representations
Engage with science
Understanding about science
Investigating in science
Communicating in science
Participating and contributing
Living world
Material world
Physical world
Planet Earth and beyond