1. Begin by defining the common features of members of the Kingdom Plantae and showing live specimens and samples from as many groups as possible:

Bring several living plant specimens to class, especially leafy dicots, cacti, grasses, air plant, mosses, ferns, a flowering plant, and so on.

Bring plant seeds such as beans, corn, barley, wheat, sunflower, bird seed mixture, and other common ones.

Bring several types of fruit, including hespiridia (citrus), pomes (apples, pears), berries (tomato), achenes (maple), and so on.

2. Show Table 33.1 and discuss plant taxonomy, with an emphasis on reproductive and life cycle strategies as distinguishing factors.

1. Show Figures 33.1—33.6 to illustrate the various lines of evolution for the green algae.

1. Show Figure 33.9 and discuss alternation of generations. Spend enough time to make sure that students can tell not only what each stage is called but the ploidy of each stage and the process (meiosis, mitosis, fertilization) that produces each.

1. Show Figure 33.9 and other photos of the moss, liverworts, and hornworts.

2. Discuss the physical limitations associated with the lack of a vascular system (living near water, reproduction requiring water, small size) and use living samples if possible to illustrate.

3. Figure 33.10, the moss life cycle, is a good illustration of a nontracheophyte life cycle.

1. Show many pictures of a variety of vascular plants, especially tall trees such as the redwood and sequoia.

2. Emphasize, by contrast to the nontracheophytes, the vascular plant features that have evolved to date, including vascular bundle, vessels, and leaves, and discuss how these features have allowed plants to exist in nonaquatic environments.

1. Show Figure 33.15 and discuss the probable phylogeny of vascular plants.

1. Mention the club mosses, and bring a living specimen to class, to emphasize that they are not the same as the true mosses.

1. Bring living fern specimens, preferably those with sori, and allow students to examine the features of this group, including dependence on water, and the reproductive cycle.

2. Mention the fact that the sporophyte is the dominant (most visible) phase of the life cycle in this group.

1. Begin this section by ensuring that students understand that a plant embryo is a seed, and that some have coverings and some do not.

2. Hand around seeds of various plants, and include some that have been cut open and also some recently germinated ones.

3. Emphasize the point that the evolution of seeds allowed plants to become independent of water for reproduction.

4. Add that another major adaptive advantage of seeds is that dispersal of the species is accomplished and give examples of how this is done, including by wind, water, and animals.

5. Discuss pollen and pollination and show a video of various animals pollinating plants.

6. A discussion of coevolution fits nicely in this section, as many plant and animal features have evolved in relation to pollination and seed dispersal.

1. Show Figure 33.27, the pine life cycle, and discuss the details of reproduction in this group.

2. Bring to class various pine cones with different sizes and morphologies, to show the variety of structures that have evolved in this group.

3. Bring a Pinus cutting and discuss how this group of plants has become extremely independent of water, with reduced leaf surface area and wind pollination.

1. Introduce this section by bringing one or more nice plants in flower.

2. Show Figure 33.29 and discuss the anatomy of the flower.

3. Show Figure 33.30 and discuss the angiosperm life cycle.

4. Bring snapdragons and allow students to have a flower to tease apart in an effort to see some of the reproductive structures.

5. Bring several types of fruit, and discuss the adaptive significance of fruit, including its use to disperse seeds by attracting animals that eat it.