LESSON FOUR: VARY YOUR VEGGIES BROCCOLI Objectives: Identify what is a vegetable Describe why it is important to eat vegetables Experience and try a vegetable Describe ways to increase vegetable intake each day Supplies Needed: Whole fresh broccoli bunch or florets Utensils for portioning vegetable to be tasted (knife, cutting board) Paper cups for tasting portions Disposable gloves Tasty Tidbit Parent Newsletter Worksheet: A-Mazing Fruits and Vegetables Vegetable Fact Sheet: Broccoli Poster: Tasty Days: Broccoli Trivia Question: (Announce or post one day before the tasting day) Q: What state produces most of the broccoli sold in the U.S.? A: Over 90% of broccoli sold in the U.S. is grown in California. Tasting Opportunity: Fresh broccoli Let s Taste Lesson: Review the Trivia Question: Ask students what they think the answer is. Share the correct answer with the students. Do the Activity: Plant Parts Ask students to think of vegetables they eat and identify the part of the plant they come from. (It may be helpful to start with broccoli flower.) Examples: Carrot, potato, beet, radish, parsnip, turnip - Roots 10/1/2012 1
Celery, asparagus, rhubarb - Stems Lettuce, spinach, cabbage Leaves Broccoli, cauliflower - Flowers Tomatoes, pumpkins - Fruit Corn, peas, beans - Seeds Mystery Message Distribute worksheet to students. (Answers on separate page) Talk It Over: How many students have ever tasted broccoli? How did you eat it? (Cooked, raw, with a sauce or dip?) Teacher may want to tell children their favorite way to eat broccoli. Reminder for students: Who knows what the difference is between a fruit and a vegetable? Most fruits come from trees and bushes. An exception to this is strawberries that are small plants that grow low on the ground. Fruit trees and bushes grow back every year. Most vegetables come from plants that must be planted every year from a seed. Exceptions to this include rhubarb, asparagus, and artichoke; each of these comes from plants that grow back every year. Apply: How many cups of vegetables should a 9-10 year old student eat each day? (2 to 2½ cups) How many of you ate 2 cups of vegetables yesterday? (Have some students tell what vegetable they ate yesterday. Show a measuring cup and estimate what amount of vegetables the students ate.) What are some ways you could eat broccoli? (Raw with a dip for lunch or for a snack, steamed as a side for dinner, in a stir-fry, soup, or casserole) Do you ever see broccoli served at a restaurant? (On salad bars, steamed as a side dish, in salads, on an appetizer tray) 10/1/2012 2
Taste Opportunity: Pick a better snack & Act reminds you that it is easy to eat vegetables as snacks. Have students wash their hands. Serve each student a floret of broccoli. Assure them that everyone likes different foods, but we don t know if we like something until we try it. Encourage students to taste, but let them know that they do not have to try it. Ask students to describe the taste of the broccoli. How is it alike or different from the food tasted during the last tasting day? How would you get broccoli ready for a snack? Broccoli Wash. Eat. (How easy is that?) Let s Move: 10 minute Activity Break Pick a better snack & Act reminds you that it is fun to move and play every day. Students can be active without any special equipment. Taking an activity break helps teachers and students think better during the school day. Silent GPS Directions* Have students stand at their desks. 1. Teacher chooses 1 student to go to the map to find a mystery location. 2. Teacher chooses location (state, country, city) and tells everyone in the class except the student at the map (can write location on board or piece of paper). 3. Without talking, class uses movement to guide the student to the correct location. (May want to write the movements and directions on the board.) a. East: students do knee lifts b. West: Students do jumping jacks c. North Students raise the roof push hands up and down overhead d. South: students do squats 4. Repeat with new location and new student 5. Variation: can use other directions right, left, forward, backward; have students suggest other movements 10/1/2012 3
Let s Share: Give each student a Tasty Tidbit Newsletter to share with their family. Tell them there are ideas for them to do with their parents or grandparents. Have the students ask their families to pick out a snack idea to try at home and an activity to do with their family members. Background for Educators: What are vegetables? Vegetables are plants that have to be grown from seeds every year. We eat different parts of the plants. The vegetables we eat may be from the leaves, the stalk, the seeds, the flowers or the roots of the plants. Why do we need to eat vegetables? Vegetables are a good source of vitamins A and C. The darker green and darker yellow vegetables are especially high in vitamin A. Vitamin A helps our eyes adjust to dim light, keeps our skin healthy and keeps the lining of our mouth, nose, throat and digestive tract healthy. Vitamin C helps heal cuts. Vegetables also are a good source of fiber which helps to keep food moving through our bodies. What amount of vegetables do we need to eat each day? A child, 4-13 years old, needs about 1½ to 2½ cups of vegetables each day. The vegetables can be fresh, frozen, or canned. Also, it can be vegetable juice. Learning more about broccoli: Broccoli has been grown for over 2000 years. Romans prized broccoli and by the 16th century it was eaten by families in France and Italy. Americans have grown it in their gardens for over 200 years. The word broccoli comes from the Italian brocco meaning arm branch. Broccoli is a member of the Cruciferae family which means it s related to cabbage, cauliflower, and brussel sprouts. There are two types of broccoli: sprouting/italian broccoli, the most common, and heading broccoli looks like cauliflower. Broccoli grows best in areas with a cool climate and moist soil. Broccoli grows in Tennessee, but over 90% of the US broccoli crop is grown in California. Over 30,000 plants can grow in only one acre of land! Ideally, broccoli should be harvested during the cooler months in order to ensure the longest storage time. Broccoli stalks are 10/1/2012 4
gathered, bunched, and packed in one swift process. Broccoli may be packed in the field or transported to a processing facility where it is cut and packaged. The part of broccoli that is consumed is actually a group of buds that are almost ready to flower. Broccoli is called the crown jewel of nutrition because it is so rich in vitamins and minerals. It has calcium and vitamins C and A. Half of a pound of broccoli has more vitamin C than two and a half pounds of oranges or 204 apples. Web Site Resources www.fruitsandveggiesmorematters.org www.choosemyplate.gov 10/1/2012 5
Tasty Days Lesson Four Activity Vary Your Veggies Message Mystery Help Brianna Broccoli decode the message below. Each number represents a letter of the alphabet ( A=1, B=2, C=3...Z=26) 10/1/2012 Adapted from Produce for Be er Health Founda on P.A.C.K. program, Iowa Department of Public Health Pick a be er snack TM & Act. Tasty Days is funded in part by an agreement with the Tennessee Dept. of Human Services, SNAP Ed program; USDA SNAP; the Expanded Food and Nutri on Educa on Program; and University of Tennessee Extension. Programs in agriculture and natural resources, 4 H youth development, family and consumer sciences, and resource development. University of Tennessee Ins tute of Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture and county governments coopera ng. UT Extension provides equal opportuni es in programs and employment.
Tasty Days Lesson Four Activity Vary Your Veggies Message Mystery Answer Key Help Brianna Broccoli decode the message below. Each number represents a letter of the alphabet ( A=1, B=2, C=3...Z=26) E A T C O L O R F U L F R U I T S A N D V E G G I E S E V E R Y D A Y 10/1/2012 Adapted from Produce for Be er Health Founda on P.A.C.K. program, Iowa Department of Public Health Pick a be er snack TM & Act. Tasty Days is funded in part by an agreement with the Tennessee Dept. of Human Services, SNAP Ed program; USDA SNAP; the Expanded Food and Nutri on Educa on Program; and University of Tennessee Extension. Programs in agriculture and natural resources, 4 H youth development, family and consumer sciences, and resource development. University of Tennessee Ins tute of Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture and county governments coopera ng. UT Extension provides equal opportuni es in programs and employment.