Next week, from 14 – 22 August, is National Science Week in Australia. The theme for this year is Food: Different by Design which fits perfectly with this year being the International Year of Fruit and Vegetables.
Focus on fruits and Vegetables
Here is a wonderful video promoting fruits and vegetables for the International Year.
The video is fun to watch and makes my mouth water with all the bright and colourful photographs of delicious fruits and vegetables. If you watch the video with your students, it may lead to many and varied follow-up discussions and activities. Here are just a few suggestions.
Discussions
What fruits and vegetables can you name?
Which of them are fruits and which are vegetables?
What is the difference between fruit and vegetables?
Which of these fruits and vegetables have you tried?
Which is/are your favourites?
Is your favourite included in the video?
What is your favourite way to eat these fruits and vegetables?
Activities
Extend vocabulary — make a list describing the fruits and vegetables and what children like about them; for example: sweet, juicy, crunchy, soft, ripe, nutritious, delicious, raw, cooked, bitter, exotic.
Have children draw or write about their favourite fruit or vegetable treat.
Set up a fruit and vegetable market in the classroom using laminated children’s drawings or images cut from magazines; plastic, wooden or paper mache fruit and vegetables, and use it for a variety of activities including sorting and shopping.
Food
Make a fruit salad or fruit kebabs. Invite every child to contribute a piece of fruit. Share it for brain break or morning tea.
Make vegetable soup. Invite children to contribute a vegetable. Serve it with bread or savoury scones, which you could also make, for lunch.
These readilearn resources provide suggestions for other lunch ideas that are easily prepared at school.
How to make a healthy smiley face sandwich is a procedural text with step-by-step instructions that are easy enough for children to follow on their own with the supervision of an adult in a small group. The activity is suitable for use in literacy groups. It could be incorporated into a unit focusing on healthy eating.
Continue reading: Fruit, Vegetables and Food for Thought — Science Week – readilearn
Norah Colvin 
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