"Meet Your Vegetables" Unit

"Meet Your Vegetables" Unit for Kindergarten

The pupose of this unit is to teach students about different kinds of healthy foods, and how to make better nutritional choices.

I have included only the first lesson for this week's blog so that you can get an idea of what we will be doing in class the following weeks regarding our health and nutrition unit.

Please visit our classroom blog before the end of the week for important information regarding our upcoming "Meet Your Vegetables" Unit.

California State Standards for Kindergarten Nutrition and Physical Activity
Standard 1: Essential Concepts
1.1.N Name a variety of healthy foods and explain why they are necessary for good health.
1.2.N Identify a variety of healthy snacks.
1.3.N Describe the benefits of being physically active.
1.4.N Recognize the importance of a healthy breakfast.

http://www.cde.ca.gov/be/st/ss/documents/healthstandmar08.doc

The following lesson was accessed through the Scholastic website. We will incorporate this lesson into our classroom using California State Standards.

Meet Your Vegetables
By Jeremy Brunaccioni
http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/unitplan.jsp?id=287

This unit was designed as a fun introduction to healthy foods. Taking an integrated approach, students become familiar with vegetables through art, music and cooking. While the nutritional aspects are inherent, my goal is to help students become more aware of where the food comes from and to become more familiar and comfortable with vegetables and fruits.

OBJECTIVE
Students will:
1. Gain the knowledge and skills to select a diet that supports health and reduces the risk of illness and future chronic diseases.
2. Identify a variety of fruits and vegetables and how they are grown and harvested.

LESSONS FOR THIS UNIT
Lesson 1: Vegetable Faces: A Guiseppe Archimboldo Portrait Study
Lesson 2: Vegetable Soup: A Reverse Recipe
Lesson 3: In My Garden Sing Along

REPRODUCIBLES
Vegetable Request Letter for Parents (PDF) Lyrics for In My Garden Sing-Along (PDF) Classroom Newsletter to Send Home (PDF)

SUPPORTING BOOKS
Books for An Apple A Day Unit Plan

About the Author
Jeremy Brunaccioni is a kindergarten teacher in Massachusetts.

Lesson 1:
Vegetable Faces: A Guiseppe Archimboldo Portrait Study
By Jeremy Brunaccioni

View a slideshow of photos - use the following link for the slideshow: http://content.scholastic.com/browse/media.jsp?id=301
Download full-size images: basil, beans, cabbages, carrots, eggplant, garlic, onions, peas, peppers, potatoes, radishes, Swiss chard, tomatoes, tomatoes (cherry), tomatoes (assorted), zucchini

As part of the Meet Your Vegetables thematic lesson plan, students create vegetable portraits like the Italian painter, while learning how to identify different fruits and vegetables in a healthy diet.

MATERIALS
an assortment of vegetables
drawing paper
colored pencils
scissors
black Sharpie markers
glue
black construction paper (about 11" X 17"), one sheet per student
copies of the vegetable request letter

SET UP AND PREPARE
Visit the following sites and print out color copies of some of the Guiseppe Archimboldo images.http://www.artcyclopedia.com/artists/arcimboldo_giuseppe.htmlhttp://www.wga.hu/frames-e.html?/html/a/arcimbol/index.html
Send home copies of the vegetable request letter (PDF).

DIRECTIONS
Gather students together and share some of the Guiseppe Archimboldo images. Have a discussion about what the artist used to create his faces. Explain that students will have the opportunity to create similar faces.
Use a Sharpie to demonstrate how to draw the outline of a vegetable. Use colored pencils to color the vegetable drawings before cutting them out. After washing their hands, give students the opportunity to arrange the vegetables to create faces.
After they've had a chance to experiment with vegetable faces, students can arrange their vegetable drawings on a sheet of black paper to create a portrait. Once they are satisfied with their face, they can glue the drawings to the paper.

SUPPORTING ALL LEARNERS
Have sample face collages posted around the room to serve as visual cues for the project. Use toothpicks with attached facial features to create individual Mr. Potato Heads.

LESSON EXTENSION
Have students write a grocery list of the vegetables they used in their collage.
Try using fruits to perform the same activity.

ASSESS STUDENTS
Are students engaged and on task?
Do all students have a finished product that looks like a face?

ASSIGNMENTS
Make a list of the vegetables used in the face collage.
Create a "vegetable face" using Play-Doh.

HOME CONNECTION
This lesson can establish a home connection in a variety of ways. Parents can contribute to this project by donating vegetables as requested in the newsletter. Hang the artwork in a prominent place outside of the classroom. Be sure to include photos of the project in both the classroom and school newsletter (PDF).

EVALUATE THE LESSON
Was I clear in my directions?
Was I set up and prepared with the proper materials?
Would I do anything differently next time?

About the Author
Jeremy Brunaccioni is a kindergarten teacher in Massachusetts.
http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/lessonplan.jsp?id=823