This activity teaches students to identify different types of fruits and categorize them into two main groups based on whether they are dry or fleshy. Students will follow a worksheet and complete a lab assignment where they dissect various fruits.
These fact sheets provide information on the history, production, top producing regions and economic values of various agricultural products and natural resources. The activity sheets provide specific lesson ideas and fun facts for each topic. Commodities include agricultural water, alfalfa, almonds, artichokes, asparagus, avocados, beef, cantaloupes, carrots, citrus fruits, cling peaches, corn, cotton, cut flowers, dairy, dried plums, dry beans, forest resources, mushroom, pears, pistachios, nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, processing tomato, rice, strawberries, table grapes, walnuts.
How does your food get pollinated? Pollinators are essential to agriculture and the environment. Students will learn about the various categories of pollinators and their contribution to producing agriculture commodities. Includes three activities, a math exercise, and ideas for service learning and citizen science.
Seeds from winter squash are collected, cleaned, and skillet toasted for a unique and tasty snack.
Students have the opportunity to taste winter squash in the classroom with this simple slow cooker recipe.
Many seeds travel inside fruits. The fruit is like a suitcase for the seeds. It protects them on their trip. Readers will learn how fruits are designed to protect a plant's seeds and also to help the plant spread its seeds to new places.
In more than 40 exuberant poems and "vandalized" photographs, you'll meet a city kid who fantasizes about farming on a stoop, a girl with crumpets and crepes in her head, and a boy with a pet cabbage. "Doctor Food" prescribes good food as medicine and "Dancing Kitchen" will have you shimmying with your skillet. From the amuse-bouche to the very last pea on the plate, A Moose Boosh celebrates food—growing it, making it, slurping it, and especially sharing it with loved ones at the dinner table. Bon appetit! Poetry is food for the soul, food is poetry for the tongue.
Chef Alice Waters has always been friends with food. The search for good food led Alice Waters to France, and then back to Berkeley, California, where she started Chez Panisse restaurant and the Edible Schoolyard. For Alice, a delicious meal does not start in the kitchen, but in the fields with good soil and caring farmers.
Amara is hosting a potluck for friends on her farm, and her snacks won't be complete without pumpkins. She's searched and searched, but she's grown so many plants that she needs help finding them. What do we know about pumpkins? They're large, round, and orange—and, wait a minute, is that a pumpkin? No, that's an apple. Where, oh where could those pumpkins be?
How do plants survive when they can't run away from danger? Plants can live in diverse places such as under water, in deserts, cold climates, high elevations or even on other plants. They must contend with storms, fire, poor soils, and hungry animals and insects. Fortunately plants can grow from spores, seeds, or vegetatively and often get a helping hand from people. Plants are cultivated to provide fruit, vegetables, nuts, grains, and fibers such as cotton as well as for wood, paper, and many other products. The book concludes by noting a few of the habitats plants help create such as forests, prairies, and marshes as the comical plant characters conclude that they do indeed have amazing powers. Several related activities are listed such as a plant power scavenger hunt, a writing prompt: My Plant Power, and a kitchen scrap garden.
While tracing the development of an apple tree from bud to fruit, Schnieper highlights the progress of an apple tree through the four seasons. The book provides an overview of life in an orchard. Beautiful full-color photos and black-and-white line drawings highlight and elucidate the text. An excellent explanation of grafting is also included.
From blossom to the hands of a child, an orange is seemingly bursting with sunshine even on the coldest of January days. An Orange in January is a story about a child who shares his juicy orange segments on a cold day and feels the sunshine it brings to all.
Today, the average American consumes about sixty-five fresh apples each year. Where do so many apples come from? How do they grow? This book takes young readers on a field trip to the apple orchard to find out how apple growers produce the many different varieties of America's favorite fruit. Recipes, trivia, and fun facts included.
A pioneer father transports his beloved fruit trees and his family to Oregon in the mid-nineteenth century. Based loosely on the life of Henderson Luelling. The slightly true narrative of how a brave pioneer father brought apples, pears, plums, grapes, and cherries (and children) across the plains.
Sure, you know bananas are good for you, but how good exactly? Ounce for ounce, a banana is even more nutritious than an apple. If you want to keep the doctor away, try a banana. And there is so much more to learn about bananas. From their early roots in Southeast Asia to their introduction to Americans at the 1876 United States Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia alongside Alexander Graham Bell's new invention, the telephone, bananas have a very auspicious history. Bananas are now shipped (very carefully) all over the world. After reading this book, you won't think of bananas as just a quick, easy snack anymore.
Poppy is determined to win a blue ribbon for her cucumbers at the county fair. But Vincent Van Goat is always butting in—as goats do. He gobbles up her cucumbers before the big day! Poppy must come up with a new plan. Luckily, she knows a lot about fast-growing vegetables—and Vincent's eating habits. If Poppy works hard enough, she might be able to present something at the fair after all. But will it be enough to win a blue ribbon?
Sal and her mother are picking blueberries to can for the winter. But when Sal wanders to the other side of Blueberry Hill, she discovers a mama bear preparing for her own long winter. Meanwhile, Sal's mother is being followed by a small bear with a big appetite for berries! Will each mother go home with the right little one? With its expressive line drawings and charming story, Blueberries for Sal has won readers' hearts since its first publication in 1948.
From the whippoorwill's call on the first day of spring through the first snowfall, Edna and members of her family gather fruits, berries, and vegetables from the fields, garden and orchard on their Virginia farm and turn them into wonderful meals. Includes facts about the life of Edna Lewis, a descendant of slaves who grew up to be a famous chef.
An alphabetical tour of the world of fruit and vegetables from apricot and artichoke to yam and zucchini.
This book provides a detailed overview of how farmers grow crops, exploring topics like why soil is important, what a grain crop is, how farmers grow fruits and nuts on trees, and how farmers pick crops. Important vocabulary words are highlighted and defined in a glossary at the end.
Farmers Market
Rise and shine it is market day! This book was developed with fresh vegetables and fruits in mind! The story recounts a family trip to the farmers market through the eyes of a small girl. The setting is southwestern as is the scenery.
First Apple
In this autobiographical novel set in the 1940s, the author tells of her childhood in China and her dream to buy a special gift for her grandmother's birthday--an apple, a fruit that is precious and rare in her part of mainland China. The child's voice and the intensity of her desire to do something for her grandmother, who has raised her from early childhood, are very real. This first novel by a Chinese immigrant is poignant, memorable, and presented in a format that is accessible to readers at the chapter book level and beyond.
First Day in Grapes
All year long Chico and his family move up and down the state of California picking fruits and vegetables. Every September they pick grapes and Chico starts at a new school again. Often other children pick on him—maybe because he is always new or maybe because he speaks Spanish sometimes. Chico's first day in third grade turns out to be different. His teacher likes him right away, and she and his classmates are quick to recognize his excellent math skills. He may even get to go to the math fair! When the fourth-grade bullies confront Chico in the lunchroom, he responds wisely with strengths of his own.
Fresh-Picked Poetry: A Day at the Farmers' Market
This collection of poems takes young readers to a day at an urban farmers' market. Who to see, what to eat, and how produce is grown—it's all so exciting, fresh, and delicious. Readers are invited to peruse the stands and inspect vendors' wares with poems like "Farmer Greg's Free-Range Eggs," "Summer Checklist," and "Necessary Mess."
From Apples to Applesauce
This book describes apple production, following the process from farm to the table. Fun facts about apples and their production, processing, packaging, and distribution are provided throughout.
Fruit Bowl
All the fruits are in the bowl. There's Apple and Orange. Strawberry and Peach. Plum and Pear. And, of course, Tomato. Now wait just a minute! Tomatoes aren't fruit! Or are they? Using sly science (and some wisdom from a wise old raisin), Tomato proves all the fruit wrong and shows that he belongs in the bowl just as much as the next blueberry! And he's bringing some unexpected friends too!
Gathering the Sun
In simple words and sun-drenched paintings, Alma Flor Ada and Simón Silva take us into the fields and orchards, and into the lives of the people who work them. Simple poems in Spanish and English, one for each letter of the Spanish alphabet, describe the wonder of the vegetable and fruit farms. Together, the poems and rich illustrations celebrate the glory of nature and the hearts of all who dedicate their lives to working the land.
Give Bees a Chance
Not sure whether to high-five bees or run away from them? Well, maybe you shouldn't high-five them, but you definitely don't have to run away from them. Give Bees a Chance is for anyone who doesn't quite appreciate how extra special and important bees are to the world, and even to humankind. Besides making yummy honey, they help plants grow fruits and vegetables. And most bees wouldn't hurt a fly (unless it was in self-defense.) With bees officially on the endangered animals list, it's more important now than ever to get on board with our flying, honey-making friends.
Grandpa's Garden
This beautifully told story follows Billy from early spring to late summer as he helps his grandpa on his vegetable patch. They dig the hard ground, sow rows of seeds, and keep them watered and safe from slugs. When harvest time arrives, they can pick all the vegetables and fruit they have grown. Children will be drawn in by the poetry of the language and the warm illustrations, while also catching the excitement of watching things grow!
Green Bean! Green Bean!
A girl plants the seed of a green bean and watches it grow and mature through the seasons, even providing a nook in which to read a book. Includes supplementary information about the life cycle of plants, pertinent vocabulary, and activities.
Grow! Raise! Catch!
Who grows our juicy fruit and yummy vegetables? Who raises animals for our tasty eggs, milk, and meat? Who catches fresh fish for our table? Farmers and fishermen show off their bounty in this lively and informative look at the people who produce the food on which we all rely.
Growing Seasons
Growing Seasons is a non-fiction picture book about farm life at the turn of the last century, as told through the eyes of Elsie Lee Splear [1906-1996] and the paintings of artist Ken Stark. Nearly everything was done by hand-washing clothes with homemade lard soap, canning fruits and vegetables, butchering meat, and much more- before the advent of rural electricity, indoor plumbing and central heating.
Harlem Grown: How One Big Idea Transformed a Neighborhood
Harlem Grown tells the inspiring story of how one man made a big difference in a neighborhood. After seeing how restless they were and their lack of healthy food options, Tony Hillery invited students from an underfunded school to turn a vacant lot into a beautiful and functional farm. By getting their hands dirty, these kids turned an abandoned space into something beautiful and useful while learning about healthy, sustainable eating and collaboration. Five years later, the kids and their parents, with the support of the Harlem Grown staff, grow thousands of pounds of fruits and vegetables a year. All of it is given to the kids and their families.
How Did That Get in My Lunchbox?
One of the best parts of a young child's day is opening a lunchbox and diving in. But how did that delicious food get there? From planting wheat to mixing dough, climbing trees to machine-squeezing fruit, picking cocoa pods to stirring a vat of melted bliss, here is a clear, engaging look at the steps involve in producing some common foods. Health tips and a peek at basic food groups complete the menu.
How Do Apples Grow?
This book is a part of the Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science series, and it clearly illustrates how fruit comes from flowers. Colorful illustrations show the male and female parts of the apple flowers up close, and the role that bees play in pollinating apple flowers is explained in simple language. The book follows apple trees through all four seasons, from the closed buds of winter to the ripe apples of fall.
How Groundhog's Garden Grew
Little Groundhog, in trouble for stealing from his friends' gardens, is taught by Squirrel to grow his very own. From seed-gathering to planting, harvesting, and eating home-grown fruits and vegetables, children join Little Groundhog in learning about the gardening process. At the end, Little Groundhog invites his animal friends to a Thanksgiving harvest feast.
How Things Grow
How Things Grow is an elementary level book teaching all about plants and how they grow. You will learn about seeds, flowers, seasons, trees, fruits and nuts.
How to Grow a Monster
Last year, Gabe's mom grew way too many zucchinis. This year, Gabe and his sister have a secret plan to take control of the garden. They have to stop the zucchini madness! Tying into the popular Makers Movement, Makers Make It Work is a series of fun easy-to-read stories that focus on problem-solving and hands-on action. This charming story explores the Makers theme of Gardening and includes explanatory sidebars and a gardening-related activity for young makers to try themselves.
How to Grow an Apple Pie
It's easy to make an apple pie, but what does it take to make the apples? Sophie is about to find out! First, the apple trees need to be about six years old—just like Sophie. Next, they need to be pruned, and the bees have to pollinate their blossoms! After that, the tiny apples grow through the summer until they're ready to pick in the fall. Finally, it's time for Sophie to make the perfect pie!
I Love Strawberries!
Through Jolie's comical scrapbook-style journal entries, readers will learn how she convinces "old people" (her parents) to let her grow her own strawberries. Growing strawberries is a lot of work and responsibility, but Jolie is ready with the help of her faithful rabbit Munchy! Together they find out just how delicious, rewarding, and sometimes complicated it can be to grow your own food.
Jack & the Hungry Giant Eat Right with MyPlate
Yummy! Colorful images of fruits, vegetables, grains, dairy, and protein foods fill the pages of this picture book starring Jack of beanstalk fame. Fortunately, the friendly giant in this version of the story is happy to invite a guest for dinner. As they cook together, Jack learns about the food groups that are a part of a well-balanced meal. The book is an appetizing way to introduce children to the MyPlate nutrition program, written and illustrated by Loreen Leedy.
Las calabacitas de Zora (Spanish Edition)
The first zucchini of a summer garden is always exciting, but what happens when the plants just keep growing...and growing...and growing? Zora soon finds herself with more zucchini than her family can bake, saute, or barbecue. Fortunately, the ever-resourceful girl comes up with the perfect plan—a garden swap!
Life Cycles: Pumpkins
Pumpkins is a picture-book celebration of the edible plant. Full-color photography offers a tour of the life of a pumpkin plant, from planting to flower to fruit to harvest, and finally to being carved into a jack-o-lantern. Large photos and simple language make this book ideal for young students.
Look Inside Food
Look Inside Food is an all-inclusive book highlighting the production of our food from the farm to our table. This interactive flap book includes extensive information and illustrations about the origin of our foods including grains, fruit and vegetables, and food from animals such as milk, meat, and eggs. Even sugar and chocolate begins its production on a farm.
Migrant
Anna is the child of Mennonites from Mexico, who have come north to harvest fruits and vegetables. Sometimes she feels like a bird, flying north in the spring and south in the fall, sometimes like a jackrabbit in an abandoned burrow, since her family occupies an abandoned farmhouse near the fields, sometimes like a kitten, as she shares a bed with her sisters...But above all Anna wonders what it would be like to be a tree rooted deeply in the earth, watching the seasons come and go, instead of being like a "feather in the wind."
Oliver's Fruit Salad
Oliver is off to stay with Grandpa, who grows his own vegetables. But Oliver doesn't eat vegetables—only chips. How will Grandpa persuade him into a week of healthy eating?
Our Apple Tree
A whimsical and very useful look at the life cycle of the apple tree. With the help of two helpful tree sprites as guides, readers travel from spring, when the apple tree blossoms, through summer, when the fruit grows, to fall and the harvest. Along the way, you'll learn about the life of the tree and the animals that visit—from insects that pollinate the flowers to deer that eat the fallen fruit.
Peach Heaven
The white peaches grown in Puchon are the best in all South Korea and are a rare treat for a little girl who lives in the town. She dreams of a peach orchard where she can play and eat as much of the delicious fruit as she wishes. Then one day, after weeks of heavy downpours, the sky begins to rain peaches. Yangsook finds herself in peach heaven—until she remembers the farmers who have lost their harvest, and decides she must help them.
Pick, Pull, Snap! Where Once a Flower Bloomed
In the orchard, a honey bee buzzes. Its legs brush pollen inside a fragrant pink flower. A small green fruit begins to grow and grow and grow...Peaches and peas and even peanuts—they all begin with a single flower. How? Open this book and find out!
Pie in the Sky
Do pies grow on trees? Join a father and child as they watch over their backyard cherry tree—and all the colorful living things surrounding it—throughout the seasons. At the end of the summer, they harvest the cherries together and make a delicious pie for the whole family to enjoy.
Plant Secrets
Young scientists will love this nature mystery that reveals the secrets hiding in seeds, plants, flowers, and fruits throughout the life cycle of various flora. Curiosity will bloom in this introduction to botany and primary nature science. Plants come in all shapes and sizes, but they go through the same stages as they grow. Using four common plants, young readers learn about plant structure and life cycles.
Plants Feed Me
Plants Feed Me is an early elementary, non-fiction picture book about the plant foods we eat. This book describes which parts of plants are edible in simple accessible language using botanically realistic illustrations. Basic botanical science concepts of seed, sprout, flower, fruit, and plant structure are introduced with words and pictures.
Pumpkins
From late summer to Thanksgiving, pumpkins are everywhere, a symbol of fall and a reminder of the holidays to come. In this book, Ken Robbins portrays the pumpkin from seed, to sprout, to flower, to fully fledged fruit, and back again. Instructions are given to (safely) carve a jack-o’-lantern.
Radio Man
Diego and his family are migrant farmers who move from state to state picking fruits and vegetables. Each day brings a new experience—a different place, a different crop, and different people to meet. But no matter where Diego goes, his radio goes with him—it helps him to learn about the places he's going and to keep in touch with the people he meets along the way.
Rah, Rah, Radishes!: A Vegetable Chant
Know any kids that don't like veggies? Here's a book that's sure to change their hungry minds. Rah, Rah, Radishes! celebrates fresh vegetables, nature's bright colors, and the joy of healthy eating.
Rooftop Garden
Set to a foot-tappin' original tune, this rhythmic, rhyming story shows a group of city friends work diligently together to grow herbs and vegetables in a rooftop garden, concluding with a summer harvest and feast that celebrates the gardeners' commitment.
Seed, Sprout, Pumpkin, Pie
Pumpkins! Who can resist the sight of big, round, orange pumpkins ripening in a field? Children piling off school buses to pick one out. Carving out funny faces, smiles, or scary frowns to illuminate Halloween doorsteps. Making room for that last piece of pumpkin pie after a delicious Thanksgiving feast. In this book, pumpkins aren’t just a fruit, they’re a symbol, a scent, a flavor of the entire season.
Spring is for Strawberries
When a farm family brings their spring crops to a city farmers market, the farmer's daughter befriends the daughter of a neighborhood family doing their weekly shopping. Over the course of a year, the girls explore the bounty of each season. Sweet spring strawberries and crisp, fresh greens make way for corn on the cob, peppers, and a rainbow of tomatoes. Fall brings pumpkin patches and the crunch of apples. The friends part at the final winter market, already looking forward to the sweet red strawberries that will unite them again next spring.
Thank a Farmer
Bread, milk, wool, fruits, and vegetables: things that fill our day to day lives. But where, and who, do they come from? Across wheat fields and city rooftop gardens, mushroom beds and maple forests, trace food and clothing back to the people who harvested and created them. Thank a Farmer gently emphasizes the importance of agriculture and reminds readers to give thanks to farmworkers around the world.
The Apple Pie Tree
Two young sisters watch in fascination as their apple tree changes, from bare in winter to a burst of pink blossoms in the spring. When autumn comes, the small green apples have grown big enough for picking—and for pie! This colorfully illustrated book shows how apples are produced and how apple trees change with the seasons.
The Fruits We Eat
This book teaches accurate science about fruits and the production of fruits. It is a book of facts, examples, and illustrations. Facts taught include: How fruits are included in a healthy diet, different ways fruits are eaten, types of plants that grow fruit (tree, bush, vine, etc.), parts of a fruit, colors of fruit, and sweet fruits vs. tart fruits. The illustrations are very detailed and include many diagrams.
The Peach Pit Parade
When Polly's father goes overseas to fight in World War I, her whole world changes. Though the war is in Europe, its effects are felt on American soil. There are food, fuel, and other supply shortages everywhere. Even something as simple and enjoyable as a family Sunday car ride isn't possible anymore. Everyone must do their part to help the war effort. Victory gardens are planted and scrap metal is collected. "It's the biggest event in our history. And it involves every single adult, every single boy, and every single girl," says Polly's teacher. As Polly struggles to make sense of the war, she wonders how she can contribute. When the government puts out a notice requesting peach pits to be used in gas mask filters, Polly knows how she can help.
The Pie that Molly Grew
Using "The House that Jack Built" rhyme scheme and beginning with the planting of a single seed, the journey of bringing a pumpkin to harvest comes to life for young readers. Under Molly's watchful eye and care, each stage of growth—from the seed to the sprout to the leaves to the final fruit on the vine—is showcased. And at the end, Molly's lovely pumpkin is turned into a delicious pie for one and all to share in a celebration of gratitude. All from the seed that Molly sowed.
The Pumpkin Book
Big, small, round, tall—pumpkins come in all shapes and sizes. Here one learns the marvels of the growth cycle of these incredible plants—from flat seeds, to thick vines covered in golden flowers, to brilliant orange pumpkins! Gail Gibbons also relates the special role pumpkins played in the first Thanksgiving. Simple and clear directions for drying seeds, planting and tending pumpkin patches, and carving funny or scary faces are included in the book, along with a fascinating section on pumpkin facts and lore.
The Story of Food: An Illustrated History of Everything We Eat
This glorious visual celebration of food in all its forms reveals the extraordinary cultural impact of the foods we eat, explores the early efforts of humans in their quest for sustenance, and tells the fascinating stories behind individual foods. With profiles of the most culturally and historically interesting foods of all types, from nuts and grains, fruits and vegetables, and meat and fish, to herbs and spices, this fascinating culinary historical reference provides the facts on all aspects of each food's unique story. Feature spreads shine a spotlight on influential international cuisines and the local foods that built them. The Story of Food explains how foods have become the cornerstone of our culture, from their origins to how they are eaten and their place in world cuisine.
The Summer My Father Was Ten
That was the summer the boy lost a baseball under a tomato plant in Mr. Bellavista's garden. And someone tossed a tomato back instead of a baseball. A lively battle took place, which seemes like great fun at the time, but in the end Mr. Bellavista's garden had been destroyed. In a touching story of one boy's efforts to make amends, we see the rebuilding of a garden and the forming of a relationship across generations.
The Very Oldest Pear Tree
In the 1630s in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, a Puritan settler planted a pear tree—the first pear tree in America. More than a century later, the tree still bore fruit, impressing a famous poet and one of the first US presidents. The pear tree survived hurricanes, fire, and vandalism, and today, more than 350 years after it was first planted, it's alive and strong, and clones of it grow all around the US. This is the amazing true story of the Endicott Pear tree, and how it grew up with our nation.
Time for Cranberries
From the cranberry bog to the Thanksgiving table, join Sam and his family as they harvest a classic American fruit. When the vines hang heavy with berries that the autumn winds have turned deep red, it's time for cranberries, and Sam is finally old enough to help with the harvest! This charming, lyrical picture book follows Sam and his family as they raise the water in the bog, pick the cranberries, and gather the fruit for processing. It's a story of modern family farming in action, showing readers where their food comes from but mostly delighting them along the way. This book is a great companion to lessons on farming, harvesting, use of machines, Thanksgiving, or cranberries.
Tomatoes, Potatoes, Corn and Beans
This excellent book describes how foods from North and South America changed eating around the world. It focuses on corn, beans, peppers, peanuts, potatoes, tomatoes, and chocolate but also includes other foods that originated in the Americas. Can you imagine Italian food without the tomato? Indian curries without the pepper? German or Irish food without the potato? Corn is now the most widely grown grain in the world. This book details the history of those transitions and is illustrated with historic artwork and modern photos. For anyone wishing to understand the real gold found in America, this book is an essential read.
Try It! How Frieda Caplan Changed the Way We Eat
Meet fearless Frieda Caplan—the produce pioneer who changed the way Americans eat by introducing exciting new fruits and vegetables, from baby carrots to blood oranges to kiwis. In 1956, Frieda Caplan started working at the Seventh Street Produce Market in Los Angeles. Instead of competing with the men in the business with their apples, potatoes, and tomatoes, Frieda thought, why not try something new? Starting with mushrooms, Frieda began introducing fresh and unusual foods to her customers—snap peas, seedless watermelon, mangos, and more! This groundbreaking woman brought a whole world of delicious foods to the United States, forever changing the way we eat. Frieda Caplan was always willing to try something new—are you?
Up in the Garden and Down in the Dirt
Up in the garden, the world is full of green—leaves and sprouts, growing vegetables, ripening fruit. But down in the dirt there is a busy world of earthworms digging, snakes hunting, skunks burrowing, and all the other animals that make a garden their home. Discover the wonders that lie hidden between stalks, under the shade of leaves...and down in the dirt.
Up, Down, and Around
From seeds dropping into soil to corn bursting from its stalks, from children chasing butterflies to ants burrowing underground, everything in this vibrant picture book pulses with life—in all directions! Sprightly illustrations set the mood for a rhythmic text that follows nature's course to a feast of backyard bounty.
Weslandia
Wesley suffers rejection from classmates until he puts his school lessons to use and founds his own civilization around a staple crop that blows in on the wind. He turns over a plot of earth, and plants begin to grow. They soon tower above him and bear a curious-looking fruit. As Wesley experiments, he finds that the plant will provide food, clothing, shelter, and even recreation. Wesley's innovations make a perfect tie-in for teaching about goods and services in the community and how agriculture creates jobs and influences development. His whimsical garden is also sure to pique students curiosity about growing plants, making this a nice introduction to any plant-related lesson.
What's in the Garden?
Good food doesn't begin on a store shelf with a box. It comes from a garden bursting with life, color, smells, sunshine, moisture, birds, and bees! Healthy food becomes much more interesting when children know where it comes from. So what's in a garden? Children will find a variety of fruits and vegetables and a tasty, kid-friendly recipe for each one to start a lifetime of good eating. A "Food for Thought" section explains facts about each fruit and vegetable, and a "How Does Your Garden Grow?" section explains facts about gardening and the parts of plants.
When Vegetables Go Bad
This work of fiction is a great tool to introduce nutrition to younger audiences and encourage them to eat vegetables. This title might mislead you to think the vegetables in the book are spoiling but the story is really about vegetables behaving badly because Ivy refused to eat them. Instead of eating her vegetables, Ivy stuffed them into her pocket. At night when she is sleeping, the vegetables form a taunting chorus in Ivy's sleep and invade her dreams with nasty songs. No matter how Ivy tries to run from this nightmare, the vegetables chase her down and continue their harassment. Once she admits she likes vegetables, the nightmare stops.
Wiggling Worms at Work
Crawling through the dirt, worms are hard at work. Worms help the fruit and vegetables we eat by loosening the soil and feeding the plants. Read and find out about these wiggling wonders!
Zora's Zucchini
The first zucchini of a summer garden is always exciting, but what happens when the plants just keep growing...and growing...and growing? Zora soon finds herself with more zucchini than her family can bake, saute, or barbecue. Fortunately, the ever-resourceful girl comes up with the perfect plan—a garden swap!
Booklet/Reader
Jr. Sprout - Funky Foods
Blue tomatoes, red bananas, and green oranges - is this possible? Yes, it is with the help and knowledge of farmers and scientists. Changes in color or taste made to fruits and vegetables can create healthier foods. This booklet an activity and provides colorful images and information regarding healthy fruits and vegetables through standards of science, math and English.
Jr. Sprout - Healthy Eating
This creative activity booklet engages students to create their own food faces while using healthy fruits and vegetables grown in a vegetable garden. It also discusses challenges that people encounter while selecting "bad foods" that contain oils, sugars, and fats versus "good foods."
Learn More: Farmers Market
Learn more about food grown in all 50 states in this digital magazine. Each page includes top agricultural states, crop life cycles, fun facts, special days, and more. Start a conversation about where food comes from.
Kit
SpaceLite (Plant Light)
This small grow light is easy to set up, use, and store, and it comes in a kit with everything you need to get started: frame, pot, light bulb, light timer, and one packet each of Micro-tina Tomato and Earligreen Pea space seeds. These miniature plants are sure to impress your students and will get flowers and edible fruit—perfect for life cycle studies.
Order this kit online from agclassroomstore.com.
Map
Interactive Map Project
Use this interactive map to help students see how geography and climate affects the production of agricultural crops. The map has USDA statistics built in to allow your students to answer questions such as, "Which state(s) produce the most cattle?" "Where does [my state] rank nationally in corn production?" "What region of the United States produces the most cotton?" etc. There are many agricultural maps available including field crops such as corn, wheat, barley, and alfalfa in addition to fruit and vegetable crops, ornamental nursery crops, and livestock.
Movie/Video
Apples
This 30-minute video begins with the legend of Johnny Appleseed and then goes on to explore apples in pioneer times with the story of the McIntosh apple. An orchard is visited over the seasons from winter pruning, spring blossoms with bees and pollination, spring planting, summer thinning to fall harvesting. Viewers even get to see apple cells through an electron microscope and learn how to clone an apple tree.
Food Doesn't Grow in the Supermarket!
This DVD, narrated by children, follows "The City Guy," an adult who thinks he knows where food comes from (the grocery store), as he visits three different farms to learn where food really comes from and what it takes to produce it. Interesting even for those who have experience in farming and food production! This video is available on DVD or
YouTube.
Order this DVD online from agclassroomstore.com.
George the Farmer
Join George the Farmer from Australia in his YouTube video series to discover the paddock to plate or paddock to product journey of some of your favorite products, including apples, wool, dairy, chickpeas, potatoes, chickens, and wheat.
How Do Farmers Make Seedless Fruit?
Explore how seedless fruits are made and how trees are reproduced without seeds in this 4-minute video.
That's So Sweet! – A Look at Honey Production in the Twin Cities
Follow along on the fascinating journey of honey from the hive to your home. Kristy Lynn Allen, head beekeeper at the Beez Kneez introduces the process of honey collection, extraction, and delivery. Learn the important role honey bees play in honey production and the pollination of some of our favorite fruits and vegetables!
The Importance of Pollinators
Pollinators are vitally important to agriculture, as well as our food system and ecosystems. They help thousands of flowering plants reproduce, from flowers to fruits and even some crops. Pollinator habitat can also provide benefits on the farm, such as preventing soil erosion and improving biodiversity. This video collection discusses the importance of pollinators and provides examples of the successful implementation of pollinator habitats on farmland.
Top 10 Foods That Originally Looked Totally Different
Everyday foods, fruit and veggies used to look totally different before we started cultivating them. But did you know they haven’t always looked like they currently do? Here are 10 fruits and veggies that looked very different before we started cultivating them!
True Food TV's Home Gardening Video Series
True Food TV's
Home Gardening video series provides useful gardening tips. The instructional videos include information about how to start seeds, what to grow when, container growing for small spaces, and more.
Will the Last Farmer in America Please Turn Out the Light? video
Immigration policy affects how we eat... what we eat... and how much it costs. Discover the necessity farmers have for skilled labor in order to plant, grow, and harvest the food on our tables. When did immigrant farm labor begin and what challenges would occur if this work force was lost?
Poster/Infographic
Dig In! Posters
These dynamic posters visually express the world of possibilities found in growing and eating fruits and vegetables. Display them in your classroom, the school cafeteria, and throughout the school to motivate students to choose more fruits and vegetables at meals and as snacks. Horizontal posters are 24" x 36". Vertical posters are 36" x 24". Posters are available in
PDF or upon request from
USDA Team Nutrition.
Nutrition Posters
How would you rather eat calcium, fiber, iron, protein, vitamin C, and zinc? This set of posters provides examples of foods that fit into each category and includes nutrition information about each.
Parts of a Strawberry Plant Poster
The fruits and vegetables we eat come from parts of a plant. Flowering plants have six main parts. Use this 28" x 24" laminated poster of a strawberry plant to label and discuss the functions of the roots, stems, leaves, flowers, fruit and seeds.
Order this poster online from agclassroomstore.com.
Plant Part Chart
The fruits and vegetables we eat come from parts of a plant. Identify examples of roots, stems, leaves, flower, fruit, and seeds from every letter of the alphabet using this colorful 25" x 30" poster.
Order this poster online from agclassroomstore.com.
Stop the Invasion Fact Sheet Set
With the Stop the Invasion Fact Sheet Set, students will read about six different invasive species, the damage they cause and how to stop their spread. Download the entire set.
What is a Fruit? What is a Vegetable? Bulletin Boards
This set of bulletin boards teaches students about the differences between fruits and vegetables and offers many examples of each. The set also includes 36 fruit and vegetable cards along with instructions for how they can be used in your classroom.
Order this kit online from agclassroomstore.com.
Teacher Reference
Antimicrobial Wash for Fresh Produce
This article supplements lessons regarding food safety and food processing from the farm to the grocery store. Learn about an antimicrobial formulation, approved by the US Food and Drug Administration, that has been formulated to reduce the risk of food-borne pathogens that could contaminate fresh produce. The antimicrobial wash is a combination of lactic acid, fruit acids, and hydrogen peroxide proven to reduce pathogens up to 99.99 percent.
Botany on Your Plate: Investigating Plants We Eat
This investigative science curriculum introduces the world of plants to elementary school students through foods we eat. Watch children's understanding of our world grow as they partake in hands-on activities that explore edible roots, stems, leaves, flowers, fruits, and seeds through observation, dissection, journaling, discussion of findings, and, of course, tasting! This book can be used in educators' instruction to support standards in nutrition, math, language arts, and social studies. Every lesson includes plant snacks that spark curiosity, interesting questions, and social dialogue to fuel the learning process.
Edible Gardening: Growing Your Own Vegetables, Fruits, and More
This gardening guide provides fun and creative ideas for growing vegetables, fruits, and more. It lists of everything you need and easy, step-by-step instructions accompany each project. Grow a pepper plant in an upside-down planter or plant a spaghetti garden. Teachers will be inspired to create edible class gardens with their students.
Encyclopedia of Gardening Techniques
The definitive guide to the best gardening techniques from pruning and propagation and planting to harvesting by the American Horticultural Society. This step-by-step guide contains a vast amount of expert information clearly demonstrating the tried-and-tested techniques honed by the world's leading garden authority. The book covers every aspect of gardening from pruning to sowing, watering to feeding, and propagating to planting. Covering all plants including trees, flowers, shrubs, climbers, lawns, vegetables, fruit and herb, it shows how to create water features and patios, and add lighting. It also includes organic techniques, recycling, and how to treat pests and diseases.
Grow it Again
This resource will help you find creative solutions to growing affordable plants in the classroom. You may find it hard to believe, but the makings of a fantastic growing experience are probably in your kitchen right now. Don't put those carrot tops in the compost or throw out the seeds in that apple core—try growing them instead. Turn a peanut into an unusual flower or a beet top into a leafy plant. The step-by-step illustrated instructions in this book make it easy!
Mandarin Oranges: Protecting the Flavor of This Popular Fruit
This article can enrich a lesson on food safety, transportation, food packaging, or food science with a real-life example. Illustrate how food scientists are researching the mandarin orange to protect the flavor of the fruit after it is harvested.
Yum! Fruit and Vegetable Wraps
Food scientists have a career in developing foods that are appealing to the eye and taste bud as well as being nutritious. Use this research article about fruit and vegetable wraps to highlight what a career in food science would entail.
Website
Producepedia
Fruits, vegetables, and nuts are all considered produce. Producepedia is a website devoted to teaching about these important food crops. Find fun facts about various produce, learn about how and where it is grown, when it is in season, and watch videos from top chefs about how to cook and prepare the produce for eating.
Science in Your Shopping Cart
We pay less for food than citizens of other nations; the United States enjoys the cheapest food in the world. Each year, dozens of improved products and new varieties of fruits, nuts, and vegetables emerge from the laboratories and greenhouses of the Agricultural Research Service. But walking through the grocery store, do we ever consider where such an abundance and variety of food and products come from? Learn about ARS research and how it affects your food using the "Science in Your Shopping Cart"
Factsheets and
podcast.