Download Monocots and Dicots Lesson to Grow

Lesson to Grow
Monocots and Dicots
Description
Grade Level: 3-8
Essential Skills: 1, 4, 5, 9
State Science Standards:
Scientific Inquiry: 3.2-3.5
through 8.2-8.5
Time: 30 minutes to set
up experiment with daily
observations for about two
weeks.
Materials:
Each pair of students will
need grass, wheat and bean
seeds; a snack-sized zip lock
bag; 3 cotton balls; water;
observation worksheet.
Order seeds and download
worksheets from AITC.
Additional AITC Resources:
Books: Straight Forward
Science: Plant Life (3-8)
Seed, Soil, Sun (1-4)
Ecology Field Card Sets:
Douglas-fir Forests;
Oak Woodlands;
Riparian Bottomland Forests
In this lesson students set up a side-by-side germination
experiment of monocot and dicot seeds. They will observe
differences and similarities of these two types of flowering
plants at the germination level, specifically the number of
cotyledons. Students can record their findings daily. This is a
great way to begin a flowering plant unit.
Background:
Flowering plants or angiosperms are divided into two
groups, monocotyledon and dicotyledon (also called
monocot and dicot). A cotyledon is the leaf-like structure
that the plant first produces when it germinates, sometimes
called first leaves. The very basic distinction between
monocots and dicots is the number of cotyledons it
produces upon germination: one cotyledon makes a plant a
monocot, and two cotyledons makes a plant a dicot. There
are four other differences between these two plant types.
Attached is a worksheet template.
Did You Know?
Monocots comprise a quarter of all flowering plant species.
This include lilies, orchids, agaves and grasses. Monocots range from tiny duckweeds to large
palms and climbing vines. Economically, monocots are perhaps the most important plants
grown. Corn, rice, wheat and barley all come from monocots. Bamboo and palms are a primary
source of building materials and fibers in many tropical countries. Sugar cane, pineapples, dates,
bananas and many familiar tropical fruits come from monocots.
Directions:
1) Begin the lesson by providing students with a brief discussion on the two types of flowering
plants - monocots and dicots - and how at their most basic, the difference is the number of
cotloydens they have. Use the student fact and observation sheet attached to help explain a
cotyledon.
2) Break students into pairs and provide each group with a bag, seeds and three cotton balls.
3) Students moisten the cotton balls with water until they are wet, but not dripping.
4) Students then put the seeds on a cotton ball and place it in the bag. Note: Each type of seeds
are on a separate cotton ball. Don’t mix them. When they are all done, students seal the bag so
moisture won’t escape. Using a sharpie marker they write the first letter of each seed type on the
bag to help them track their observations.
5) Students record the seeds’ germination process and try and determine which of the seeds are
monocots and dicots, and how they can tell the difference.
6/13
http://AITC.oregonstate.edu . Oregon Agriculture in the Classroom Foundation . 541-737-1318
Monocots and Dicots Observation Sheet
Directions: Record the germination process of the seeds you are using in words and drawings. Using the
monocot and dicot fact sheet, which seeds do you think are monocots and which are dicots? How can you
tell the difference?
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Conclusion: Which seeds are monocots and which are dicots? Support your conclusion.
6 Ways to Identify Monocots and Dicots
Angiosperms is the scientific name for flowering plants. Flower plants are divided into two groups called
monocotyledon and dicotyledon. They are also called monocots and dicots. There are six ways to identify if
a plant is a monocot or a dicot.
Monocots
Dicots
1) Cotyledon: Also called a seed leaf, it is the leaf of the embryo of a seed plant. When it germinates it either
remains in the seed or emerges, enlarges and becomes green.
Monocotyledons , or
monocots, have just one of
these first leaves.
mono = one
cotyledons = seed leaf
Dicotyledons, or dicots, have
two first leaves.
di = two
cotyledons = seed leaf
2) Number of Petals:
Monocots have petals in multiples of
three (3,6,9).
Dicots have petals in multiples of four or
five (4,8,12 or 5,10).
3) Leaves: The veins in leaves are usually visible either on the top of a leaf or on the bottom or both. They
look like lines that are a bit darker or lighter than the rest of the leaf.
Monocots have straight or parallel veins
in their leaves.
Dicots have branching veins in their
leaves. Lots of times they make the
shape of a V.
4) Stems: Plants get food and water up and down their stems through a vascular system (like tubes) called
xylem (ZAYH-luhm) and phloem (FLOH-em).
In monocots the xylem and phloem are
randomly arranged.
For dicots the xylem and phloem are
spaced evenly in a circle around the
center of the stem.
5) Root Systems:
In monocots the roots are fibrous with
no main root.
For dicots there is a main root or taproot
(e.g. a carrot).
6) Secondary Growth: This refers to branches coming off of the main stem or trunk of a plant.
Monocots are like palm trees. They basically have
one main stem or trunk and they might have just a
couple of leaves coming off that.
Dicots have lots of branches coming off of the main
stem or trunk. An example would be oak trees.