v c n m Mr. Harper’s science mini lesson with audio read along Seed Dispersal How plants move seeds to new places Click on the speaker icons to hear the audio

v c n m Most plants reproduce by making seeds and dropping them on the ground.

v c n m But new plants need sunlight and room to grow.

v c n m If the seeds stay near the parent plant, the new plants might be in the shade and not have enough light to grow very well.

v c The new plants may be too crowded to grow properly.

v c Parent plants need a way to disperse their seeds some distance away so the new plants can thrive.

v c “Disperse” is a word that means to scatter or send things away in different directions. It is the opposite of “gather.”

v c But plants can’t walk around to put seeds in different places. How can a plant disperse its seeds?

v c Plants have adapted several ways to disperse their seeds.

v c Some seeds are also nuts that animals like to eat. Some animals hide nuts for later by burying them in the ground.

v c If the squirrel forgets where he buried the acorn, he has planted an oak tree that may produce thousands of acorns.

v c Some plants surround their seeds with tasty fruits.

v c Animals eat the fruit then walk away and drop the seeds when they poop. Many seeds can still grow after passing through an animal’s digestive track.

v c Birds may carry seeds far away from the parent plant.

v c Some plants put their seeds in sticker burrs that can grab onto passing animals.

v c The animals might walk a long way before the burrs fall off.

v c Some plants make seeds that can travel on the wind. Dandelion seeds act like little parachutes that only take off when the wind blows them.

v c Cocoanut seeds can float in the ocean for weeks. The cocoanut may wash up on a beach thousands of miles from the parent tree and grow into a new tree.

v c Plants have adapted several ways to disperse their seeds.

v c To learn more about plants check out this Brainpop cartoon. Brainpop junior : brainpopjr.com Plant Life Cycle

v c If you don’t know the user name and password that Pacoima Charter students use to log on to Brainpop.com from anyplace in the world…… …ask Mr Harper… …or ask your teacher…. …or ask any student at Pacoima Charter. Everyone should know the Brainpop user name and password. 123cat 123dog