Where Does Our Food Come From?:
This is actually a unit that will span the school year and will encompass a unit on soils and a unit on plants and growing. One overarching goal of the unit is for students to understand that every product in the grocery store has a back-story: where it was grown and the farmers that grew it, the people who picked it and processed it, the factory where it was processed and the factory workers, and the truck/airplane used to bring the product to our local store.
Soils:
By the end of the unit students will know:
- Healthy soil produces healthy vegetables, which produce healthy kids!
- A compost pile is a pile of kitchen, garden and lawn “leftovers” that, over the course of several months, decomposes to form a dark black, nutrient-rich substance.
- Adding compost to gardens is one way to keep soil healthy.
- Earthworms eat decaying matter and excrete nutrient-rich castings.
- Earthworms tunnels help aerate the soil. Earthworms burrow underground by swallowing soil.
- Earthworms have distinct body parts, including a mouth, bristles, brains, heart, stomach, and intestines. Earthworms breath through their skin.
- Earthworms need air, water and food to survive.
- Soil is comprised of clay, humus and sand.
- Not all soils are the same; their makeup varies by location.
- Water moves through different soils at different rates.
- Soil absorbs water.
The text book that I turn to for guidance is called Healthy Foods from Healthy Soils by Elizabeth Patten and Kathy Lyons, © 2003
Plants and Growing:
By the end of the unit students will know:
- Plants have roots, stems, leaves, flowers, fruits/vegetables, seeds.
- Plants need water, sunlight, space and food/nutrients to grow.
- Plants follow a seasonal cycle of growth, seed production and decay.
