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DISCUSS:

If you could make a giant version of any fruit or vegetable, which one would you do?

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DISCUSS:

What other traits would you select for? (Remember, traits are things like size, shape, color, flavor, and so on.)

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DISCUSS:

Before we start the activity… take a quick guess! Are there any fruits or vegetables that you think might be varieties of the same thing?

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Extend this lesson

Reading

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# Extensions

Below are ideas for extending this topic beyond the activity & exploration which you just completed.

Lesson Assessment and Answer Key
Reading: Three readings about melons, tomatoes, & pumpkins.
Activities: In three hands-on activities, children use science, reading and math while learning about vegetables.
Video: What do you do with a giant pumpkin?

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# Readings:

These Common-Core-aligned readings are free with registration on ReadWorks. All readings include comprehension questions.

Growing Melons, Kinds of Melons, Fun with Melons — A set of three readings describing how melons grow, kinds of melons, and contests involving watermelons. (Grades 2 & 3)
Magic Tomatoes — In this story, a farm boy learns what you need to grow tomatoes. (Grade 3)
Pumpkin Time! — A short, illustrated reading describing the life cycle of a pumpkin. (Grade 2)

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#Three Activities

The Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project offers hands-on lessons that integrate science, reading, and math through their Growing Minds project.

Tomato Exploration introduces children to tomato varieties, including heirloom tomatoes of the past.
Pumpkins in the Fall focuses on predicting and counting how many seeds are inside a pumpkin.
Lettuce Exploration has children grow and taste three varieties of lettuce — writing poems, making observations, and graphing their results.

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trait

1 of 9

something you can observe about a living thing, such as the number of petals on a flower

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inherit

2 of 9

to get a trait from parents

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inherited trait

3 of 9

a trait of a living thing that comes from its parents

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variation

4 of 9

the different versions of a trait, such as the number of petals on a flower or the size of a pumpkin

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artificial selection

5 of 9

the process of humans choosing certain traits of living things so that they are passed to the offspring

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variety

6 of 9

a particular type of fruit or flower, such as a ghost pumpkin

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fruit

7 of 9

the part of a plant that contains seeds inside a covering, like apples

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seed

8 of 9

a part of a plant that can grow into a baby plant

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evidence

9 of 9

information that can be used to support or reject an idea

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Image & Video Credits

Mystery Science respects the intellectual property rights of the owners of visual assets. We make every effort to use images and videos under appropriate licenses from the owner or by reaching out to the owner to get explicit permission. If you are the owner of a visual and believe we are using it without permission, please contact us—we will reply promptly and make things right.

Exploration

ferry-morse pumpkin packet by Eliza Cross

pumpkin seeds by Shawn Campbell , used under CC BY-SA

wood background by Petr Kovar , used under CC BY-SA

pumpkin vine by furtwangl , used under CC BY-SA

hand holding cup/plant by UWyoExtension , used under CC BY-SA

large pumpkin by Christian Ude , used under CC BY-SA

celestia: north america by NASA , used under Public Domain

pumpkin patch by Sweet Posy Dreams

patch with sign by Sycamore Pumpkin Festival / we cropped the Sycamore flag from an image

giant pumpkins by Yourcsd , used under CC BY-SA

tree by Public Domain Images

pumpkin in hand by Olichel

giant pumpkins + cowboy by Mike Mozart , used under CC BY-SA

frame by Alvaro , used under CC BY-SA

swirly watermelon by Alvaro , used under CC BY-SA

modern watermelon by Stefan Schweihofer , used under Public Domain

fruit stall by Daderot , used under CC BY-SA

peach evolution by James Kennedy

full size peach by PublicDomainPictures , used under Public Domain

hand by Niek Verlaan

corn evolution: small by Paul Ransome

ear of corn by U.S. Department of Agriculture , used under CC BY-SA

three shovels by Lothar Wandtner

plethora of fruit by Olearys , used under CC BY-SA

pink roses by StockSnap , used under Public Domain

wild pink rose by Efraimstochter , used under Public Domain

pink rose by Carla Nunziata , used under CC BY-SA

pumpkin isolated by PublicDomainImages , used under Public Domain

family genetics by Manuel Corpas , used under Public Domain

gardener pruning by Image used under license from Shutterstock.com: Fresnel

fresh vegetables by Mary LaFrance

pumpkin patch by liz west , used under CC BY-SA

citrouille blanche by Chef Simon

yellow & blue gourds by Michael Schwarzenberger , used under Public Domain

yellow gourd by Efraimstochter , used under Public Domain

gourd with bumps by Robert Couse-Baker , used under CC BY-SA

orange pumpking with streaks by Jim Linwood , used under CC BY-SA

gourd & pumpkin exhibition by Kathastrophal

gourds & pumpkins by blickpixel , used under Public Domain

orange pumpkin vs. by Petr Kratochvil , used under Public Domain

orange pumpkin guts by Denise Torres

white pumpkin guts by Mirko Erakovic

pumpkin flower by PublicDomainPictures , used under Public Domain

pumpkin flowers by Toshiyuki IMAI , used under CC BY-SA

butternut squash by PublicDomainIssues , used under Public Domain

cucurbita maxima by J.M.Garg , used under CC BY-SA

granny smith by Steve Buissinne , used under Public Domain

red delicious by Apple and Pear Australia Ltd. , used under CC BY-SA

decorative squash by Hans , used under Public Domain

Activity

pumpkin face off by William Warby , used under CC BY-SA

cherry by Amanda Slater , used under CC BY-SA

grape by Andrew McFarlane , used under CC BY-SA

plum by Alan Levine , used under CC BY-SA

cherry blossom by James Petts , used under CC BY-SA

cherry interior by Nova , used under CC BY-SA

cherry leaf by Rosser1954 , used under Public Domain

grape blossom by Jckowal , used under CC BY-SA

grape interior by Yelkrokoyade , used under CC BY-SA

grape leaf by Forest and Kim Starr , used under CC BY-SA

plum blossom by Christopher Pluta , used under Public Domain

plum interior by Evan Amos , used under Public Domain

plum leaf by Plum leaves , used under CC BY-SA

cucumber by Rasbak , used under CC BY-SA

dosakai by Jamain , used under CC BY-SA

lemon by fir0002

cucumber blossom by Petr Kratochvil , used under Public Domain

cucumber interior by viZZZual.com , used under CC BY-SA

cucumber leaf by Bincymb , used under CC BY-SA

doaskai blossom by Bicanski , used under Public Domain

doaskai interior by helsesenteret

doaskai leaf by Scot Nelson , used under CC BY-SA

lemon blossom by Jessica Johnson , used under Public Domain

lemon interior by aleksandra85foto , used under Public Domain

lemon leaf by Tony Buser , used under CC BY-SA

tomato by tooony , used under CC BY-SA

watermelon by Shu Suehiro , used under CC BY-SA

zebra fruit by Pirate Alice , used under CC BY-SA

tomato blossom by Earth100 , used under CC BY-SA

tomato interior by Rasbak , used under CC BY-SA

tomato leaf by Jerry Nettik , used under Public Domain

watermelon blossom by Pinus , used under CC BY-SA

watermelon interior by liz west , used under CC BY-SA

watermelon leaf by TonyCasanova33 , used under CC BY-SA

zebra fruit blossom by Niek Willems , used under CC BY-SA

zebra fruit interior by Dan , used under CC BY-SA

zebra fruit leaf by Jerry Nettik , used under Public Domain

Credits

“The kids were always really surprised by the fruits they didn't know, specifically what the insides looked like! They also really enjoyed sorting the cards. I appreciate that the worksheet had lines for them to write down their evidence - it was great to be able to see their thinking. ”

“I taught this lesson to three different third grade classes. They LOVED it! They really began to notice the similarities and differences of the seeds, leaves, and flowers. Great lesson that kept everyone engaged,”

“Watching third graders have discussions about what traits prove that certain plants are related to the same wild plant was amazing. The lesson furthered their thinking and they have the basics of heredity down!”

“The kids really liked the Odd One Out game. Lots of exclamations like "What????" The card sorting was a great followup-challenging and intriguing to them. Thanks! We appreciate your curriculum so much. We are all learning.”

“The use of the technology with the pictures of the various fruits, flowers, seeds, leaves really helped to 'show' students exactly what I was trying to teach them about plant traits. They were easily able to match like plants with the cards based on the 'preparation' from the tech lesson.”

“My kids say the best part was the "Odd One Out" activity. I enjoyed the fruit cards, a couple of them stumped me, but it was interesting to see how comparing the leaves, insides and flowers helped to show the relation between the fruits.”

“"This was the best lesson I ever had"--N, age 9 "It's really cool how you put fruits together and see how they compare!" --KB, age 8 "Cool." -M, age 7 "AWESOME!...Because!" -J, age 7 "I have never seen anything like this!" -S, age 7 "I bet I can make a watermelon boat! Probably using the rind." --A, age 10 "Illuminating lesson!" --M, age 38 Great work. This had the kids engaged start to finish. ---K, age 35 ;)”

“I never ever knew that pumpkins could be in different shades of color and sizes and that I never knew varieties could change roses, fruits, corn and any other fruit or vegetable. Signed Kennedy Bruce”

“Very engaging to try to which one didn't belong - lots of great discussion while predicting and then the "ohhhh as they saw the seeds with the leaves and flowers. The sorting activity at the end solidified their thinking. Loved it. ”

“I love this series of explorations. The connection to foods they eat make the concepts so relatable and easy to talk about in our everyday lives. This means the content and ideas presented really stick!”

“My students were amazed at all the varieties of pumpkins and fruit that are available today as compared to the past! They also became more aware of similarities and differences during "Odd one out"”

“This was swell. The boys enjoyed the Odd One Out game. It would be interesting to add some of the vegetables in the discussion we well, although that wouldn't go with your 'flowers' theme. But you could add it as an extra.”

Fruit Cards printout	Print 15 copies
Odd One Out worksheet	30 copies
Odd One Out & Fruit Cards Answer Key teacher-only resource	1 copy
Scissors	30 pairs

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How could you make the biggest fruit in the world?

Vocabulary