Cycles - Dandelions

Focus: An efficient and rugged design allows dandelions to survive and reproduce in often inhospitable situations. Their flowering and seed cycle can be observed in every lawn.

Puppets (Father, Mother, Polly, Dandy Dandelion (use live plant), Dosie Deer, Trowel and Lawnmower)

Materials Checklist
Dandelion Details (whole, washed dandelion plants, one per group)
Puppet show (puppets, script, trowel, lawn mower props to tape to Polly)
A Closer Look (dandelions, hand lenses, diagram of individual floret)

Beauty Before Age (examples of dandelion flowers at all stages of development, dandelion flower heads in different stages of development – enough for each group to sort, tape, poster board)

Dandelion Investigations (Dandelion Investigations task cards, rulers, tape measures or 10' strings, thermometer, clipboards with white paper, wooden spoons, pencils, trowels or spading fork)
Dandy Lion Collages (K-2) (paper plates or poster board, markers, white glue, scissors, lots of dandelion flowers and leaves)
Sharing Circle (dandelion flowers with stems)

Supplemental Reference Materials (Dandelion Cycle Diagram, Single Dandelion Floret, Dandelion Investigations)

Additional Reading/Resources
Dandelions: Stars in the Grass, by Mia Posada. New York: Scholastic, 2000.
ELF Corner: The Forgotten Art of Dandelion Chains.

ELF Notes - Template for newsletter on Dandelions
* Word document * pdf file

For Younger Children
Many of the activities in VINS's new Small Wonders book can be used in ELF, too. To find appropriate activities for children aged 3-6, click here.

Teaching Suggestions
Make sure the school's groundskeeper knows not to mow down all patches of dandelions in May.

Ask children how long it takes to pick 300 dandelion flowers. Answer: about a second, since each head contains hundreds of florets!

A Closer Look
To understand the inside of a dandelion, it helps to start with a simple flower like a daffodil and look for stamens and pistils there first. Then go on to the dandelion.

Use magnifying lenses to look closely at different open flowers – you can often see the straight stigmas in the younger flowers and the curling ones in the older ones.

Give each child a half-sheet of black construction paper or cardboard to work on. The yellow flowers show up well and so does the pollen.

It's fun to try counting how many florets in a dandelion. Divide the group in half, break up a dandelion flower into many parts so each child can count some (14-25 florets or so). Add up the sums tallied by each group and compare.

On rainy or cold days, the flowers may not open, but if you put the plants in a plastic bag indoors, they will open in a few hours.

Dandelion Investigations
As an alternative for younger students: have children find as many different flower stages as possible and glue these onto a paper plate in order of age to see the life cycle of a dandelion flower from bud to helicopter. (note, in early May it is very hard to find mature seed heads.)

If the school yard or surrounding area does not provide a suitable location for this exercise, the leader might bring into the classroom a few large clumps of dandelions including soil and surrounding grass or vegetation. Choose dandelions obtained from different locations to best display the size diversity of the plants. Small groups of children can inspect the plants and complete the activity outside.

Learning Goals

Concepts/Ideas:

• Dandelions are members of the Composite family. Each flower head is composed of many tiny individual flowers called florets.
• One dandelion plant can produce many flower heads and seeds from spring through summer. Dandelions growing in one area can be found in different stages of flowering and seed development.
• Dandelions have adaptations that help them to survive harsh conditions in every stage of their life cycle.
• Dandelion growth patterns, flower size, height and leaf shape, will vary according to growing conditions.

Vocabulary: composite, bracts, pollen, stamens, anthers, pistil, stigma, ovary, ovule, flower head, floret, strap, pappus (definitions)

Skills:

• Examining the different parts of a dandelion plant
• Actively listening to learn the special characteristics of dandelions
• Using a hands lens to examine the different parts of a dandelion flower
• Comparing different stages of flowering and seed development in dandelion plants
• Observing variations in dandelions growing outdoors
• Creating a collage using shapes and colors of dandelion leaves and flowers

Grade Expectations:
Grades PK-K (S30, S38) Dandelions are living plants that have a root, stem, leaves and flowers. They have characteristics that protect them from being eaten or easily uprooted.

Grades 1-2 (S30, S31) Dandelions are flowering plants that undergo stages of development from seed to flower. They have parts that enable them to get the sunlight, water and nutrients needed to survive in the places they live and reproduce.

Grades 3-4 (S30, S31) Dandelion plants have characteristics that work as defenses and help them to survive even under harsh conditions. Dandelions are flowering plants that have structures necessary for seed production.

Grades 5-6 (S30, S31, S39) Dandelion growth patterns, flower height, leaf shape and other characteristics vary and change with growing conditions.

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