Introduction

Many people claim that we live in an Information Age, where trying to learn amidst the explosion of facts and opinions is like sipping water from a fire hose. And the Internet seems to be the world's biggest fire hydrant. Still, just as we need water to survive, scholars need information to learn. Your task in this activity is to answer some key questions on the topic. Welcome to the world of plants. The Web offers interesting facts and opinions that may not be available anywhere else, but to find the truth you may have to read between the lines. If you want an idea of how your learning will be evaluated, read this evaluation rubric. Finally, remember, this activity is about thinking and learning, not copying and pasting. 

Questions

1. Think about most of the plants in your garden at home. Would you classify them as annual, perennial or biennial?
2. Roots, stems, leaves, flowers, fruits and seeds - how are they interdependent?
3. What is the role of soil in plant life?
4. Which of the foods shown does not grow underground?
5. Why is the embryo, inside a seed, never hungry?
6. Can you find five reasons why a seed may not germinate?
7. Rainbow coloured roses! Which flower would you most like to change colour? From what to what?
8. Why should we be concerned about the stress levels of plants?
9. This is just for fun. Make your own tossed salad.

Web Resources Links

Life Cycle

Tossed Salad Surprise

Four Major Components of Soil

What Food Grows Under the Soil?

Germination

Seed Structure

Plant to Human: 'Hands Off Buster!'

Cracking Nature's Code for Flowers

Plant Parts

The Big Question

You've accomplished so much and learned stacks! Well done! Did you realize plants were so much like us before? Did you realize they had a specific life cycle, structure, feeding system, ways of reproducing, and they even had feelings? Well now you do! Just to prove it, answer the following question: HOW ARE PLANTS LIKE HUMANS? (You should be able to give at least 10 commonalities.)

Conclusion

People used to think that learning was all about gaining information and memorizing facts. We hope you've learned some important information in this Knowledge Hunt, but more than that, it would be great if you saw ways to use this knowledge to expand your understanding of the topic.  Remember, with so much info exploding all around us, finding a nugget of knowledge is not as important as doing something with it. What will you do with your learning?