Fun Fruit and Vegetable Activities

FRUITS

• A fruit is a part of a plant that "contains the seeds" that will grow into a new plant.
• Fruits grow on flowering plants.
• Fruits come in many different shapes, sizes, and colors.
• They vary a lot in smell and taste.
• They contain vitamins and are healthy food to eat.

VEGETABLES

• Vegetables are the parts of a plant that we eat: the leaves, roots, stem, and flowers.

Activities:

• Students can listen to or read books on fruits and vegetables.

 

•  Students can visit a supermarket to observe the multitude of fruits and vegetables available in their local markets. If you call ahead of time, many supermarkets will schedule a time of day for you to bring the children and they will give you a tour of the fruit and vegetable section. The children will be introduced to common and unusual plants plus learn where these fruits and vegetables are grown. (A great social studies lesson.) I've done this several times and the children were also given some fruits to taste plus everyone could choose a fruit they would like to take home. (I've found most large and small markets to be very generous.)
• Students can also visit a local orchard or farm. 

The following 12 pictures are all fruits. (Yes, even the tomatoes and peppers because they have seeds.)

• Students can sketch and label various fruits and vegetables.

• Students can count, sort (color, size, shape, texture), classify, describe, measure, and compare fruits and vegetables. 

• Students can use a Venn Diagram or other Graphic Organizer to compare and contrast fruits and vegetables.

• Students can conduct a survey to find out the favorite fruits or vegetables of their friends and families. They can tally this data and create tally charts, frequency charts, or graphs of the data.

• Students can identify vegetables that we eat that are the leaves of plants.

              (lettuce, spinach, cabbage, taro, mint, parsley, coriander)

• Students can identify vegetables that we eat that are the roots of  plants.

             (taro, carrots, beets, turnips, parsnips, radishes, and rutabaga)

• Students can identify vegetables that we eat that are the stems of  plants.

            (potatoes, yams, asparagus, ginger, celery)

• Students can identify vegetables that we eat that are the flowers of plants.

         (cauliflower, broccoli)

 

• Parents, teachers, and students can visit the Dole Website for lesson plans on nutrition education and lots of ideas and fun activities . Included are a Teacher's Toolkit with  Language Arts, Math, Music, Science, and Social studies lesson plans. The lessons are for PreK - Grade 5. 
• Click Here: Dole Website 
 

 

• Students can try to name a fruit or vegetable for every letter of the alphabet. For which letter can they name the most fruits and vegetables?

           A-Apple  B-Banana  C-Cucumber

• Students can be encouraged to bring to school/camp/the beach/family outings/etc.  healthy snacks as they learn more about fruits and vegetables.

• Older students can research which fruits are rich in Vitamin A and Vitamin C.   (Vitamin A: cantaloupe, carrots, sweet potato, spinach, broccoli)  (Vitamin C: orange juice, grapefruit, fresh pineapple, green pepper, cauliflower)
 

• Students can watch a Brain Pop Video on Nutrition. Click Here: Nutrition Video                                                                                                                                                                                                            
  

• Students can name fruits and vegetables for every color in the rainbow/spectrum (ROY G BIV). 

                
                    RED - apple, pepper   ORANGE - orange, pepper

• • Students can help prepare a fruit salad and try to include every color of the rainbow/spectrum. (Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet) 
  
  
  • Cathy at Nurture Store made a great Rainbow Fruit Salad......read about it and view it here.
  
  
  • Hopefully students will become excited about eating fruits and vegetables!
  
  

Where does soil come from? Video

Tim and Moby over at Brain Pop are at it again! They are asking and answering more questions.

Tim will explain where soil comes from and how soil is formed in this FREE video from Brain Pop.

Tim will also discuss erosion and weathering (2 important terms in soil formation).

Click Here: Brain Pop Video (Where Does Soil Come From?)

Do Plants Need the Sun? Photosynthesis

Here are a couple of activities to do with the kids to observe the effect of light on green plants.

Do plants need the sun?

Photosynthesis Experiment

Experiment 1

• Chose a plant that has healthy leaves.
• Have children observe the plant. Discuss the color of the leaves.
• Have the children make a prediction of what will happen to the plant if the plant does not get sun.
• Cover one leaf  (front and back) completely with aluminum foil or black construction paper.
• Put the plant in a sunny spot.
• In a week or two, remove the aluminum foil or black construction paper and observe the leaf.
• Compare that leaf to the other leaves.
• Discuss the reasons for the difference in the covered leaf compared to the other leaves.
• Introduce the term producer. (Plants are organisms that produce their own food thus they are producers).
• Introduce the term photosynthesis. The process whereby plants use sunlight to make their own food.

The leaf will probably be wilted, yellow, and dying. The aluminum foil prevented the sunlight from getting to the leaf. Without sunlight plants cannot make their own food.

Experiment 2

• Plant a few seeds in 2 different containers.
• Have students sketch pictures of both containers.
• Place one container in a dark area and place the other container in a sunny area.
• Have students predict what they think will happen to the two containers over the next week or two.
• Water the plants in both containers when the soil gets dry.
• After the week or two is over place both containers together side by side.
• Have the students observe both containers and compare and contrast the plants. Do they look the same? Do they look different? Why?
• Have the students sketch pictures of both plants.
• Was their prediction correct?
• Introduce/review the terms producer and photosynthesis. (See above.)

Note: Animals are organisms that can not produce their own food, thus they are NOT producers. Animals are consumers. 

Have fun teaching your students about plants!

Click HERE to see more of my Plant Blog Posts!

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I have some illustrated  Plant Word Wall Cards in my TPT Shop!

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Plants-Illustrated-Science-Word-Wall-283226

PLANT WORD WALL CARDS

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Plant-Unit-Sunflower-Plant-Life-Cycle-Science-Literacy-2394411

Also, here is a fun Plant Unit!