Medical Sciences and Wellness (1st Grade) by STEM.org is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution - NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

Farming World

Grade Level: 1
Suggested Order: Week 1
Suggested Time: 1 hour
Lesson Type: Progressive Subject (Medical Sciences and Wellness)
Overview
Students will learn about farms around the world, the importance of cultivation of crops, and why some items found at the local grocery store are locally grown while others are imported.
Vocabulary
Objectives
Required Project Materials
Multimedia Resources
Optional Multimedia Resources
Before the Lesson/ Background Information
The Lesson
Part 1: Vegetables and Fruits
  1. Discuss the differences between vegetables and fruits. Where do they come from?
  2. After they wash their hands, allow students to examine the samples you brought to class. Are there seeds? If so, where are they located? Where are the stems? Are any of them roots? Assist the students with dissection of the produce so they can look at the insides.
  3. Students will investigate how they smell and taste.
  4. Examine the plant samples and identify the parts of the plant (stem, leaf, root, etc.).
  5. Read “Jobs on a Farm” together.
Part 2: Types of Farming
  1. Read “Food From Farms”.
  2. Work with the students to name foods they eat at home. Identify where the various foods come from on a world globe or map. Define “import” and “domestic”.
  3. Have the students guess which fruits and vegetable samples are domestic or imported. The master gardener can help with this part of the lesson.
  4. Define “organic” vs. non-organic foods.
  5. Allow students to take seeds from the produce samples. Can they grow them at home?