For kids · ages 5–12
Sunflower worksheets
Three worksheets to print: label the parts of the flower, cut out the life cycle and put it in order, and count the seeds in the spirals. With answers, so you can check your work.
How does it work? Print this page on A4. Work through the three tasks with a pencil or pen. The answers are hidden under the "See the answers" bars — try them yourself first!
Worksheet 1 · Label the parts of the flower
Each arrow points to a part with a name. Write the right name on the line. Choose from: petal (ray floret) · middle with seeds · leaf · stem · bud.
See the answers
1. petal (ray floret) · 2. middle with seeds (the disc with disc florets) · 3. leaf · 4. stem. The little flower that is still closed is called a bud. You can read more about this on the anatomy page.
Worksheet 2 · Cut out the life cycle
A sunflower goes round in a circle: from seed back to seed. Below are five pictures, all jumbled up. Cut out the boxes along the dotted line and stick them on a new sheet in the right order. Write a number (1 to 5) next to each one.
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The right order is: 1 = B (seed) → 2 = C (small seedling) → 3 = D (young plant with leaves) → 4 = A (flower) → 5 = E (faded flower with ripe seeds). And then it starts all over again, because a new plant grows out of those ripe seeds. That is why it is called a cycle: a loop that goes round and round.
Worksheet 3 · Count the seeds in the spiral
In the middle of a sunflower the seeds lie in spirals. Some spirals turn to the left, others to the right. Take a pencil and trace two spirals: one going one way and one going the other way. Then count how many spirals turn the same way in total.
See the answers
In real sunflowers it is almost always two numbers that sit next to each other in the Fibonacci sequence: 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89... You often find 34 spirals one way and 55 the other way (or 55 and 89 in really big flowers). You can read how that works on Fibonacci and the sunflower.
For teachers and parents
The three worksheets link up with curriculum goals around nature (the structure and life cycle of plants) and maths (counting, patterns, number sequences). Worksheet 1 builds vocabulary and observation, worksheet 2 is a cut-and-paste activity for fine motor skills and the idea of a "cycle", and worksheet 3 introduces number patterns in a concrete way. The answers sit in fold-out blocks, so you can let children try first. Deeper background with sources can be found on anatomy and Fibonacci. You could combine these with a real plant using the grow diary.
Tip: lay a real sunflower head (from the greengrocer or home-grown) next to worksheet 3. Counting real seeds suddenly makes the pattern far clearer than a drawing does.