From Seed to Seed:
Plant Science for K-8 Educators

Activity 36: Snack Time

Grades: K-8

Associated Lesson Topics:

• Nutrition
• Plant parts as food
• Umbelliferae (carrot) family; celery is a member
• Carbohydrates, fats, and proteins

National Standards:

• SCIENCE: Standard F
• HEALTH: Standard 1, Standard 2, Standard 3

Planting the Seed...

Present students with a representation of the Food Guide Pyramid. Which food groups do you think you should eat from the most? The least? Where do most of the foods at the bottom of the pyramid come from? At the top?

Teacher Information:

The National Science Education Standards emphasize that students should develop an understanding of why certain foods are nutritionally better than others. Many schools have discovered that through growing food in their school gardens, students have learned about healthy food choices and nutrition. Even if you do not have access to a garden, you can still teach the same lesson in a hands-on manner by growing plants in your classroom.

The Food Guide Pyramid can be used to illustrate the importance of including many plant-based foods in our diets. To begin, students should investigate the Food Guide Pyramid. The Food Guide Pyramid is available on the World Wide Web through the United States Department of Agriculture or you can request a full-color 34- by 22-inch poster version from the National Livestock and Meat Board's Department of Education by calling (800) 368-3138.

Necessary Materials:

• Plant seeds or seedlings.
• Planting materials.

Procedure:

• After investigating the food pyramid, the class should decide which foods would make the healthiest snack.
• Buy these seeds or seedlings and plant them in your classroom or garden.
• Harvest the food when ready and have a healthy snack break! Some suggestions follow.

• Salad: Lettuce, spinach, carrots, tomatoes, sprouts
• Celery logs: Celery, peanuts (to make peanut butter)
• Salsa: Tomatoes, onions, jalapeno peppers

Old Fashioned Peanut Butter (recipe from the Georgia Peanut Commission)

Ingredients:
1 cup roasted shelled peanuts
1 teaspoon oil
1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions:
1) Place ingredients in blender. Close top.
2) Blend for several minutes.
3) Turn blender off.
4) Use a rubber spatula to scrape mixture from blender sides to the bottom and back in contact with the blades.
5) Close top. Blend until it looks like paste or is easy to spread.

There are also several children's cookbooks from which to get ideas and recipes. Check the kidsgardening.com Resource Directory for suggestions.

Harvesting the Crop...

This is a logical time to link botany to human biology. Depending on the grade you are teaching, you can make the discussion more challenging by exploring the following questions. Why are fats bad for you? What is it about plant-based foods that makes them so good for you?

Fruits and vegetables are jam-packed with:

• Vitamins (e.g., A, C, E, B, folic acid, biotin), which promote healthy eyes, skin, and hair. They also help to break down food and fight infections.

• Minerals (e.g., calcium, magnesium, iron), which contribute to strong bones and teeth, help the blood carry oxygen, regulate the heart, help muscles contract, and promote growth and healing.

• Fiber, although not digested by our systems, helps clean out our digestive tracts and is believed to help prevent certain types of cancer.

• Phytochemicals help reduce the risk of diseases such as cancer.

Note: Although these plants are being grown for the nutrition unit, they can also be used in other plant-based units. For example, by growing celery and peanuts, students learn about 1) different kinds of seeds (peanuts) and 2) different plant parts that we eat (peanut = seed, celery = petiole). Other possibilities include units on germination and plant growth.

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