Flowers and Grasses of Iowa

A colorful look at a variety of flowers and grasses along with popular pollinators found throughout Iowa.

• Why are some plants colorful and others plain?

• What strategies do plants use to increase their chances of successful reproduction?
• What organisms come to mind that have characteristics/behaviors to help increase the chance of successful reproduction?
• What are the insects doing?
• What do you notice about the insects you see?
• What do you notice about the plants?

Students could:

• Use one or more of the lessons from the Iowa Land and Sky: Iowa Plant and Animal Reproduction Storyline.
• Record observations while watching the video, then discuss what students noticed about the flowers and pollinators.
• Brainstorm a list of organisms and the characteristics/behaviors that help them increase the chance of successful reproduction.
• Develop a claim about characteristics/behaviors helping increase successful reproduction. Support the claim with evidence and scientific reasoning.

• CK12 | Reproductive Behavior: This resource provides examples of behavior meant to increase chances of reproducing, such as a mating dance.
• Lab Aids | Animal Behavior: This is a lesson that guides students through the process of examining data and forming an argument that certain traits increase the chances of reproduction.