Wind vs Insect Pollination

Name:

Date:

Flowers showing wind and insect pollination

🎯 WALT: We Are Learning To compare wind and insect pollinated flowers

Success Criteria: I can identify features of wind and insect pollinated flowers and explain why these features help with pollination.

📚 Part 1: Multiple Choice Questions

1. Which feature would you expect to find in a wind-pollinated flower?

Bright coloured petals

Sweet nectar

Large, feathery stigma

Strong fragrance

2. Insect-pollinated flowers typically have:

Small, dull petals

Large amounts of light pollen

Colourful petals and nectar

Pollen that blows easily in the wind

3. Which of these New Zealand plants is wind-pollinated?

Pohutukawa

Grass

Kowhai

Manuka

4. Check ALL features that help attract insects to flowers:

Bright colours

Sweet smell

Nectar

Feathery stigma

Large petals

✏️ Part 2: Compare and Explain

5. Complete the comparison table by filling in the missing features:

Wind-pollinated flowers:

• Petals: Small and _____________ coloured

• Pollen: Light and produced in _____________ amounts

• Stigma: Large and _____________

• Nectar: _____________

Insect-pollinated flowers:

• Petals: _____________ and brightly coloured

• Pollen: _____________ and sticky

• Stigma: Small and _____________

• Nectar: _____________

6. Explain why wind-pollinated flowers produce much more pollen than insect-pollinated flowers:

7. A student says "Bright petals are a waste of energy for wind-pollinated plants." Do you agree? Explain your answer:

🌟 Extension Activity

8. Design Challenge: You are creating two new flower species - one wind-pollinated and one insect-pollinated. Draw and label the key features of each flower in the boxes below:

Wind-pollinated flower:

Insect-pollinated flower:

9. Critical Thinking: Climate change is reducing insect populations in some areas. How might this affect plant reproduction? Suggest one advantage that wind-pollinated plants might have in this situation:

Dyslexia-friendly tip: Use the word bank if needed - feathery, large, small, dull, heavy, sticky, present, absent, many