The Blue Dragon
Programme 4: Roots and Fruits
The aim of this programme is for the teacher to explore with children ideas about
parts of plants, what plants need to grow and safety issues related to the idea
that children should not eat parts of plants from the garden or other places outside
and in the home.
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The characters find themselves walking through what looks to be a desert. It is
very hot, and they are thirsty and hungry. They realise that they need to find some
food and suggest that they look for some plants, because plants can make their own
food. They come across an oasis where there is water, air and sunlight, the things
that plants need to make their own food and grow.
They search around and find roots, but they are not sure whether they can eat them,
so decide that they had better not, just to be safe. Then the characters find a
very tall plant, a coconut tree. Naughty monkeys at the top of the tree throw coconuts
at them that break, and the animals realise that they can drink the coconut milk
and eat the white coconut. After eating coconuts the friends fall asleep and the
naughty monkeys take Cinders away. When she is found she is pink because she has
eaten a flower that has made her ill. The naughty monkeys refuse to say what will
make her better unless Cinders gives them fire, but she is too poorly. Finally they
give her a leaf from a medicine plant, she turns back to her blue colour and gives
the naughty monkeys fire.
The friends continue on their journey.
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The programme explores:
- plants as living things;
- different parts of a plant;
- different parts of vegetable and fruit plants: the roots, shoots, stem,
flowers and fruit;
- the idea that some plants can be dangerous and should not be eaten;
- how seeds can grow into plants;
- how different seeds grow into different plants;
- why plants need air, water and light to grow.
There are many curriculum links, including:
- Geography – desert lands.
- Literacy – sequencing events, eg growing plants, putting cookery cards
in order.
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A plant is a living thing and possesses the characteristics of living things. Plants
do the following things, even though it is difficult for us to see them doing it:
- respire;
- move (plants will turn towards the light);
- are sensitive to stimuli (Venus flytrap is sensitive to touch);
- excrete;
- reproduce;
- get energy – from sunlight;
- take up water.
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Before watching this programme the teacher could take a digital camera sequence
of planting seeds, placing them on separate cards. Jumble them up, and ask children
to sort them so that they can then use them as a set of instructions to plant and
grow some seeds.
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