Day 3: Plant Parts

Today we learned about the many parts that a plant has. Here are the most important points:

• ROOTS:
  - They hold the plant into the ground, also known as "anchoring"
  - Suck up, or "absorb" water and nutrients (food) from the ground or soil and get them up to the rest of the plant
  - Store food for the plant to use later
  
• STEMS:
  - Hold the plant upright so that it can get sunlight
  - Carry water and nutrients from the roots up the plant so that it can get to the rest of the plant
  - Carry water from the leaves to other parts of the plant- the cells that carry water are called xylem cells
  - Carry food producecd in the leaves to other parts of the plant- the cells that carry food are called phloem cells
  
• LEAVES:
  - Coated with a waxy covering called the cuticle that protects the leaf
  - Composed of 2 parts
  - Blade: The biggest part of the leaf that you see
  - Inside the blade are:
  - Veins that transport water and nutrients to the rest of the leaf
  - Margin, which is the very outer edge of the leaf
  - Petiole: The connection from the stem to the blade
  MOST IMPORTANT JOB: Producing food through the process of photosynthesis, which we will learn about later!

• FLOWERS:
  - Make seeds so that the plant can reproduce
  - They smell to attract insects and other things that can come help pollinate flowers so they can reproduce
  - Main parts:
  - Petals: Attract pollinators and look pretty
  - Sepals: Green outer parts that protect the petals
  - Pistil: Long skinny part in the middle of the flower- female reproductive part
  - Stigma: Sticky part at the top of the pistil that pollen lands on for reproduction
  - Style: Supports the stigma
  - Ovary: The part that becomes the seed after it is fertilized
  - Stamens: Skinny parts that surround the pistil- male reproductive part
  - Anther: Produces pollen
  - Filament: Holds the anther in place

• FRUITS:
  - The ripened ovary of the plant- we eat many of them!
  - Protects seeds inside of it
  - Parts to the seed:
  - Seed coat: Cover the outside of the seed to protect it
  - Embryo: Tiny plant inside the seed that is ready to grow
  - Cotyledon: The nutrients and energy stored inside the seed
  - Plants with one cotyledon- monocots
  - Plants with two cotyledons- dicots

Day 3 (Wednesday) Homework:
Today I first want you to do some practice doing the worksheet about labeling plants found here. This is something you are going to have to be able to do for the test at the end of the unit. Once you have done that you need to look over our class blog and submit a post where you highlight 2 things that you understand well from today's lesson and 1 thing that you are still having some difficulty with. Also, I want you to write about what I could do better in my teaching you the parts of the flower. I know there is a lot to learn, but I want to do the best I can for you! Finally, comment on at least one other person's post about what he/she wrote. Make your post on this blog by Thursday.