UNIT 6
Food Origins

Grand Ideas

I can eat foods from animals and plants.

Many people help provide the food we eat. Farmers, food delivery people, grocery store workers and bakers all work together to bring food to our tables.

Preschool children should begin to learn that plants and animals give us food. They can use this information to practice discrimination, sorting and recognition skills. By sorting and grouping plant and animal foods, young children are better able to distinguish between food and non-food items.

It is also important that children begin to broaden their scope of awareness to include the community as well as their families and themselves. The community can be explored by examining community helpers who work together to help provide a variety of foods. Early stages of career exploration can be achieved through studying the roles of food providers.

Teacher Know How

An important job of Head Start teachers is to stimulate, intellectually, preschool children to question and wonder about the world in which they live. Teachers can also work with children to encourage their ability to think logically and draw conclusions. Nutrition education experiences readily lend themselves to helping children acquire thinking skills that will lead to the development of:

Concepts: labeling or naming an idea, moving from the specific to the abstract.
"What is a grape?"
 

Relationship: What is two or more things? How do grapes grow? How are they similar or
different? What are their functions, characteristics, attributes?
"Are grapes a fruit or a meat?  How do grapes grow?
 

Generalizations:  Drawing conclusions from relationships and Do all of them have concepts/ideas.
This means grouping into classes and finding common elements.
"How many colors of grapes are there?  Do all of them have seeds?  Are different sizes?  Do they taste alike?"*

(Beginnings and Beyond: Foundations In Early Childhood Education, A. M. Gordon and K. W. Brown, Delmar Publishers, Albany, New York, 1985)

Knowing that foods come from many different sources helps to reinforce the idea that we need to
eat a variety of foods. Childhood is an ideal time to learn to identify foods from animal and plant sources and examine these foods and their relationships.

Preschoolers can begin to identify and discriminate between foods of plant or animal origin. For example, children can begin to learn that cows provide us with milk and that milk can be made into cheese, yogurt, ice cream or butter for our use. We also get steak, hamburger and roasts from beef. Children can also learn to identify and describe plant foods. By learning on which part of the plant food is grown, preschoolers can practice sorting, grouping and vocabulary skills. By learning to identify foods according to their animal or plant origins, children can more easily discriminate between food and non-food items.

These discussions also teach children about the community helpers that provide our food. For example, children can learn that the cow provides us with milk, the farmer milks the cow, the truck driver delivers the milk, the grocery store sells milk and the family buys and drinks the milk. Discussions about community helpers such as farmers, food delivery people, grocery store work ers, bakers and cafeteria or restaurant employees help children recognize the community members who work to provide the food we find in super markets, restaurants, schools and at home. Field trips to a farm, dairy or bakery tie in nicely with this unit.

Children grow from egocentric babies to cooperative five year olds. As they grow from babyhood, children become aware of their families and class mates. By the end of the preschool years, most children have widened their scope of focus to include the community. One purpose of education is to prepare children to live the community. Preschool classrooms begin to teach children about the community by examining the people and places in the community.

There are many high quality children's books available that address the concepts taught in this unit. A variety of books, that can be used as a part of the lessons in this unit, are listed in the lessons. These books are usually available at school and local libraries.

Objectives

Children will distinguish between foods of animal or plant origin.

Children will recognize and match animal foods with the animals that are the sources of these foods.

Children will recognize plant foods and identify the parts of the plant where they grow.

Children will become aware of community helpers who help provide the food we eat.

After reading the story, ask these questions:
 

Going For A Walk
 

To Know and Learn

The story, Going for a Walk, will help children begin to recognize foods that originate from plants and those that come from animals.  This story will also help them practice deductive reasoning skills.

Materials Needed

Going for a Walk story on pages 6-3 and 6-4
food and story pictures on pages 6-35--6-37
flannel board, bulletin board, blackboard or wall
crayons or felt tip markers
glue or tape
paper
scissors

Directions

Color and cut out the food and story pictures on pages 6-35--6-37.

Read Going for a Walk on page 6-3 and 6-4 to the children.  Thumbtack or tape the food and story pictures to the flannel board, bulletin board, blackboard or wall to illustrate the story.

After reading the story, ask these questions:
 

What foods grow on plants?
What foods do we get from animals?

After reading and discussing each part of Going for A Walk, have the children draw foods that they would find in an orchard (or farm), garden and/or barnyard.

The following books and filmstrip can be used to further explore the concepts taught in this lesson:

Pickles Don't Grow On Trees (L. Morton, Random House, New York).

Fruits Ripe For Timothy (R. Rothschild, Addison-Wesley, Reading, Massachusetts, 1963).

Food Sources filmstrip (Primary Health Education, R. S. Walsh Association, 402-404 Bibbay, Scranton, Pennsylvania 18505).
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Food For Thought

To determine whether children can name food sources, describe a farm setting and ask the children to name foods they might find growing on a tree. Repeat with a garden setting and a barnyard.

GOING FOR A WALK

Jose went for a walk at my neighbors farm to see all the foods to eat that grew there.
 

There were apples and peaches up in trees clear of harm that grew round, ripe and fair.

Apples and Peaches grow on trees.
Apples and Peaches are good for me.
Apples and Peaches grow on trees.
Apples and Peaches are good for me.

Ask the following questions:

Sook Ling went for a walk in my neighbors garden to see all the foods to eat that grew there.
 

She tiptoed throughout rows of beans and snowpeas, all the while begging their pardon* . There were so many! Plenty to share!

Beans and snowpeas in a garden are found.
Beans and snowpeas are green and round.
Beans and snowpeas in a garden are found.
Beans and snowpeas are green and round.

Ask the following questions:

Bob went for a walk through his neighbor's barnyard to see what animals lived there.
 

There were chickens, and cows and a pig on guard for eggs, milk and meat they prepare.

Everyday I eat milk or cheese.
I may also eat meat if I please.
Everyday I eat milk or cheese.
I may also eat meat if I please.
 
 

Ask the following questions:

 
Picnic Party Circles
 

To Know and Learn

Children will distinguish between food items and non-food items by creating a picture of a picnic.

Materials Needed

Picnic Party Circles on pages 6-38--6-47
flannel board, bulletin board, blackboard or wall
thumbtacks or tape
crayons or felt tip markers scissors
picnic basket (optional) table cloth or blanket(optional)
paper plate
cup
napkin

Directions

Color and cut out the pictures of the Picnic Party Circles on pages 6-38--6-47.

Talk about picnics and the foods people often take on a picnic (hot dogs, hamburgers, rolls, water melon, corn on the cob, mustard, ketchup, potato salad, onions, and other popular picnic foods).

Ask the children to answer the following questions:

What are some foods we get from animals?
What are some foods we get from plants?
What are some foods that we take on a picnic to eat?
What are non-food items that we take on a picnic but do not eat?

Have the children place all of the Picnic Party Circles that they can find which contain food items on a bulletin board, flannel board, or wall using thumb- tacks or tape. Identify and describe each food and non-food item. The children can go on a "mock" picnic by "packing" the Picnic Party Circles in a basket and then placing them on a table cloth. Real non-food items such as plates, cups and forks can also be used instead of the Picnic Party Circles.

After the children have set up the picnic, ask them to answer the following:

What foods are at the picnic?
Which foods come from a plant source?
Which foods come from an animal source?
Are these foods you eat at a picnic?
What other foods could you eat at a picnic?
What are non-food items that are used at a picnic?

To make this activity more fun, the children could prepare and eat a picnic-style lunch or snack.  Invite parents to come to the picnic.

The activity, Going on a Lion Hunt, could be adapted to Going on a Picnic. To get to the imaginary picnic, children can "swish" through glass, climb fences, swim up streams and so forth.

Food For Thought

Ask the children to name and describe foods that they would bring to a picnic. Also ask them to name non-food items that they would bring to a picnic. Ask them to name foods that they would not bring (ice cream, raw meat, etc.) and why these foods are not appropriate to bring to a picnic.
 

Barnyard Bonanza
To Know and Learn

The story, Barnyard Bonanza, will help children learn about foods of animal origin.

Materials Needed

Barnyard Bonanza story on page 6-7
food and story pictures on pages 6-50--6-52
animal puppet patterns on pages 6-48 and 6-49
chopsticks, wooden kitchen utensils, tongue
depressors or straws
construction paper or brown paper glue or tape
crayons or felt tip markers
scissors
table or flannel board (optional)

Directions

A. To Make the Puppets

Color and cut out the animal puppet patterns and food pictures on pages 6-48--6-52.

Glue or tape the animal puppet patterns and food pictures to construction paper or brown paper. Trim any excess paper.

Glue or tape each animal puppet pattern to a chopstick, wooden kitchen utensil, tongue
depressor or straw.

B. To Use the Puppets

Sing the song, Old MacDonald Had a Farm, to introduce the activity. Include the cow, pig, turkey and chicken in the song.

Read Barnyard Bonanza on page 6-7 to the children. Use the animal puppets and food pictures to illustrate animals and the foods they give us. A towel or cloth can be used to cover a table and act as a stage, or a flannel board could be used to better dramatize the story.

After Barnyard Bonanza has been read, hold up one animal puppet and ask the children to name other foods that come from that animal. Repeat for all the animals. Foods cards could be placed on the stage or flannel board to illustrate the foods named by the children.

The following books can be used to further explore the concepts taught in this lesson:

The Little Farm (L. Lenski, H. Z. Walck, Inc., New York, 1942).

Farm Numbers: A Counting Book (D. Smith, Abelard-Schuman, London, 1970).

Wake-up Farm! (A. Tresselt, Lothrop, Lee and Shepard Company, New York, 1955).

The Chick And The Ducklings (M. Ginsburg, MacMillan Publishing Company, New York, 1972).

Food For Thought

Children can practice matching the food cards of animal origin with their sources and then name as many other foods from a cow, pig, turkey or chicken as they can remember.
 

BARNYARD BONANZA
(can be sung to the theme song from
The Beverly Hillbillies)
Chorus
This is a story about a farmer named Ted
He had so many children he barely kept them fed
And one day while he was sitting on a pail
The animals came and said, "We give you food without fail!"
The Cows said, "We give you food without fail!"
The Pigs said, "We give you food without fail!"
The Turkeys said, "We give you food without fail!"
The Chickens said, "We give you food without fail!"
To the cows Ted said, 'What foods will you give me without fail?"
"Why, foods like milk, cheese, steak or hamburger without fail," said the cows.
Chorus
To the pigs Ted said, "What foods will you give me without fail?"
"Why, foods like Bacon, pork chops or ham without fail," said the pigs.
Chorus
To the turkeys Ted said, "What food will you give me without fail?"
"Why, foods like turkey and drumsticks," said the turkey.
Chorus
To the chickens Ted said, "What foods will you give me without fail?"
"Why foods like eggs or drumsticks," said the chickens.
Chorus

 

I Am  I Said
To Know and Learn

The song, I Am I Said, will help children to identify animals, birds, fish and seafood that provide them with food.

Materials Needed

I Am I Said song, on page 6-9
food and animal pictures on pages 6-53--6-55
flannel board, bulletin board, blackboard or wall
thumbtacks or tape
crayons or felt tip markers
scissors

Directions

Color and cut out the food and animal pictures on pages 6-53--6-55.

Read or sing I Am I Said on page 6-9 to the children until they know it well.

Make the song more dramatic by using the animal and food pictures. The pictures can be thumbtack or taped to a flannel board, bulletin board, black board or wall.

After the children have sung I Am I Said, have them answer the following questions:

What animals were named in the song? (cow, chicken, pig, fish, lobster and clam)

What foods do cows give us to eat? (milk, cheese and meat)

What foods do chickens give us to eat? (eggs, chicken parts)

What foods do pigs give us to eat? (ham, sausage links, pork chops and bacon)

What parts of a fish can we eat? (fillets, roe and steak)

What parts of a lobster (or crayfish) can we eat? (tail, body and claws)

How do we cook clams? (fry, bake, boil and steam)

The following book can be used to further explore the concepts taught in this lesson:

Elizabeth Catches A Fish (J. Thomas, Seabird Press, New York, 1977).

Food For Thought

Show the children a picture of an animal from the song and ask them to name the foods we eat from that animal.
 

l AM I SAID
(can be sung to the tune of The Friendly Beasts)
"I" said the cow all white and red
"I give to you milk to drink with your brad
I give you cheese and steak if you please"
"I" said the cow all white and red.
"I" said the chick all feathers and beak
"I give you eggs all through the week
I come packaged in parts or complete"
"I" said the chick all feathers and beak.
"I" said the pig all pudgy and pink
"I" give you ham and sausage link
For fun in mud I like to sink"
"I" said the pig all pudgy and pink.
"I" said the fish from deep in the water
"You should eat lots of me, yes you ought to
I give you fillets, fish cakes and roe"
"I" said the fish from deep in the water.
"I" said the lobster from the ocean floor
"Most people eat me and yell for more
They eat my tail, my body, my claws"
"I" said the lobster from the ocean floor.
"I" said the clam from within my shell
"Eating me will keep you well
Fry me, bake me, boil me, steam me"
"I" said the clam from within my shell.
"We are the foods you eat to be well
If you eat us you will feel swell"
Thank you animals one and all
For all the wonderful foods at our beck and call.
Crayfish can be substituted for lobster.
 
 

Animals Match Up!
To Know and Learn

By matching an animal with the variety of foods it provides, children will learn to recognize where foods originate.

Materials Needed
animal and food cards on pages 6-48--6-55
cardboard heavy paper or old playing cards
glue or tape
crayons or felt tip markers
scissors
clear contact paper (optional)
 

Directions

A. To Make the Cards

Color and cut out the food and animal cards on pages 6-48--6-55. Pictures from magazines or other sources can also be used.

Glue or tape the food and animal cards to cardboard, heavy paper or old playing cards. Trim any excess paper or cardboard.

Cover with clear contact paper to increase durability.

B. To Use the Cards

Discuss the different foods that come from animals (cow, chicken, pig and turkey). Ask the following:

What foods can we get from cows? (milk, cheese, ice cream, yogurt, steak, beef and hamburger)

What foods can we get from pigs? (ham, pork chops, bacon and hot dogs)

What foods can we get from chickens? (drumsticks, chicken breasts, liver and eggs)

What foods can we get from turkeys? (turkey breast and drumsticks)

Show the children the animal and food cards. Have them match the animals with the foods they provide. This activity can also be done by the children individually.

It may be appropriate to explain that we get milk from dairy cows and meat from beef cattle.

To further develop this lesson's concepts, use these following books:

Fish Is Fish (L. Lionni, Pantheon Books, Inc., 1970).

Brown Cow Farm (D. lpcar, Doubleday and Company, Inc., New York, 1959).

Food For Thought

Name an animal and have the children identify different foods that can come from that animal.
 

Sam's Story
 

To Know and Learn

Children will become aware that milk comes from a cow by listening to Samantha's Favor. Children will experience several forms of milk products by preparing an Orange Milkshake and Better Butter. They will also practice fine motor, reading readiness and counting skills by preparing these items.

Materials Needed

Samantha's Favor story on page 6-12
Shake, Shake, Shake the Cream Chant on page 6-12
Hi-Ho the Dairy-Oh! song on page 6-12
Orange Milkshake picture recipe on page 6-56
Better Butter picture recipe on page 6-57
crayons or felt tip markers
scissors
whipping cream
powdered milk
orange juice
water
baby food jars
paper cups
crackers and bread (optional)
knife (optional)

Directions

Samantha the Cow could also be made into a finger puppet.

Read Samantha's Favor on page 6-12. Ask the children to answer the following questions:

What kind of animal is Samantha? (cow)
What food does Samantha give? (milk)
Who milks the cow? (the farmer)
What other foods can Samantha provide? (cheese, yogurt, butter, ice cream and pudding)
Does Samantha make these foods immediately?(no)
Who helps make cheese, yogurt and ice cream?(the farmer and dairy workers)

Sing Hi-Ho the Dairy-Oh) on page 6-12 to describe where we get milk. Point out that:

We get milk from a cow.
A truck takes milk from the dairy.
The dairy makes the milk safe to drink and puts the milk in cartons.
The milk goes to the grocery store in cartons.
We usually buy milk in the grocery store.
Milk is good for us.

Prepare Orange Milkshakes from the picture recipe on page 6-56. Display the picture recipe and review the directions with the children until they know them well. Have the children:

Tell the children that powdered milk can be changed back to fluid milk as in this recipe. Ask the children:

Is this milk?
Will this help make our bodies strong?

Let the children drink the Orange Milkshakes from paper cups.

Another food that can be prepared from milk is butter.. To make Better Butter follow the picture recipe on page 6-57. Display the picture recipe and review the directions with the children until they know them well. Have the children:

Let the children take turns shaking the butter. To make the activity more fun, have the children repeat the Shake, Shake, Shake the Cream chant on page 6-12 as they shake the baby food jars. After the butter has been made, ask the following:

Is butter made from milk?
How did you make the butter?

The following books can be used to explore the concepts taught in this lesson:

The Farmer And His Cows (L. Floethe, Scribner's, New York, 1957).

Snipp, Snapp, Snurr And The Buttered Bread
(M. Lindman, A. Whitman and Company, Chicago, 1970).

Milk (Wonder Books, Grossel and Dunlap, New York, 1972).

Green Grass And White Milk (Aliki, Crowell Company, New York, 1974).

Food For Thought

Have the children name the animal that provides milk and name foods we make from milk.
 
 
 

HI-HO THE DAIRY-OH !*
(can be sung to the tune of The Farmer in the Dell)
The farmer milks the cow
The farmer milks the cow
Hi-ho the dairy-oh!
The farmer milks the cow.
The truck takes the milk
The truck takes the milk
Hi-ho the dairy-oh!
The truck takes the milk.
The dairy bottles the milk
The dairy bottles the milk
Hi-ho the dairy-oh!
The dairy bottles the milk.
The grocery store sells the milk
The grocery store sells the milk
Hi-ho the dairy-oh!
The grocery store sells the milk.
We all drink the milk
We all drink the milk
Hi-ho the dairy-oh!
We all drink the milk.
Milk will make you strong
Milk will make you strong
Hi-ho the dairy-oh!
Milk will make you strong.
* (Mary T. Goodwin, Creative Food Experiences
for Children, Center for Science in the Public's
Interest, Washington, DC, 1980.)
 
SHAKE, SHAKE, SHAKE THE CREAM
Shake, shake, shake the cream
So fast it can't be seen.
Cream will turn to butter I hear
Butter, butter, butter appear !
 
SAMANTHA'S FAVOR
Samantha was a milk cow
that whistled where ever she went.
Because every day when Samantha gave her milk,
The "thank you's" were sure to be sent.
"Thank you, Samantha for milk,
Creamy and white- such a delight."
"Thanks too, for the other things your milk can bring."
"Yogurt, pudding and cheese, please."
"These foods we thank you for,
And without your milk, we can eat them no more.
Samantha had a favor,
Which she gave without a thought.
She gave us milk to drink
Or to make other foods to savor.
 
 
 
Cheese Please Me
To Know and Learn

Children will practice identifying a variety of cheese products by making cottage cheese, having a cheese tasting party and reading the Cheese Please Me poem. They will also practice fine motor, reading readiness and counting skills by preparing cottage cheese.

Materials Needed

Cheese Please Me poem on page 6-14
Little Miss Muffet nursery rhyme on 6-14
Cottage Cheese picture recipe on 6-58
a variety of cheeses: cubed, grated or sliced Muenster, Swiss, Cheddar, Mozzerella and American milk
lemon juice
stove, hot pot or hot platepot
strainer
paper cups
spoons

Directions

Talk about the variety of cheeses that can be made from milk. Mention cheeses such as Muenster, Swiss, Cheddar, Mozzerella, American and cottage. Ask the children if they have ever tried any of these cheeses.

Show the children the cheeses. Describe the cheeses using the five senses. Discuss the color, look, smell and feel of the cheeses and the sound they make when chewed. Point out that different cheeses look differently. For example, Swiss cheese has holes in it, Mozzerella cheese is smooth and cottage cheese is white and chunky.

Read Cheese Please Me, see below, and let the children practice it until they know it well.

Let the children sample the different cheeses. After they have finished, ask them to answer the following questions:

Where does cheese come from?
Which animal gives us milk to make cheese?
Does all cheese look, smell, feel, sound and taste-alike?

Ask the children to point to their favorite cheese. After the discussion has ended, tell children that they are going to make their own cheese.

Follow the picture recipe for Cottage Cheese on page 6-65. Display the Cottage Cheese picture recipe and review the directions with the children until they know them well. Have the children:

Distribute the cottage cheese in paper cups and let the children eat the cheese. Ask them the following:

What is this?
What is cottage cheese made from?
Which animal gives us milk?
Describe the cottage cheese using their senses.

Read Little Miss Muffet, see below.

Ask the children to name the food Miss Muffet was eating.

Food For Thought
Ask the children to identify the animal that gives us the food we need to make cheese.
 

CHEESE PLEASE ME
Cheese please, before I sneeze
(pretend sneezing)
I will take a slice, a chunk, or a squeeze
(put hand out)
Melt it, grate it, or just plain
(pretend cooking or grating cheese)
I will even take it wrapped in cellophane
(nod head and smile)
 
 
 
 
LITTLE MISS MUFFET
Little Miss Muffet
Sat on a tuffet
Eating her curds and whey.
Along came a spider
Who sat down beside her
And frightened Miss Muffet away.
 
 
Eggs-Specially For You
 

To Know and Learn

Children will practice identifying foods from poultry.  They will also practice fine motor and reading readiness skills by preparing Egg Boats.

Materials Needed

Chicken Egg-Specially poem, see below
Egg Boat picture recipe on page 6-59
hard-cooked eggs
plain yogurt
paprika
paper (optional)
toothpick (optional)
knife
cutting board
bowl
spoons

Directions

Talk about the foods that come from a chicken (eggs, drumstick, wings, etc.).

Read Chicken Egg-Specially, see below, and have them repeat each line until they know the poem well.

Prepare Egg Boats from the picture recipe on page 6-59

To make the activity more fun, the children can also make sails and put them in the boats before eating.  Sails can be made by cutting a triangle out of paper and taping it to a tooth pick.  Insert the tooth pick in the egg to finish the Egg Boat.

After the children have made and eaten the Egg Boats, talk about how the egg shell and inside of the egg feels and looks.  Also talk about the many ways we can cook eggs.  Mention egg dishes such as omelets, scrambled eggs, pickled eggs, egg salad, quiche and egg nog.  Ask the children to identify the animal which gives us eggs.

For a more variety, other egg dishes can be prepared and served by the children.  Children may also be more successful in making the Egg Boats if they work in small groups (2 or 3) with close adult supervision.

The following books can be used to further develop the concepts of this lesson:

Johnny's Egg (E. Long, Addison-Wesley, Reading, Massachusetts, 1980).

Horton Hatches The Egg (Dr. Suess, Random House, New York, 1960).

Egg Thoughts And Other Frances Songs (R. Hoban, Harper and Row, New York, 1972).

Scrambled Eggs Supper (Dr. Suess, Random House, New York, 1953).

The Wonderful Egg (W. G. Shloat, Jr., Scribner's, New York, 1952).

Food For Thought

Ask children to name and act out the animal that gives us eggs. Children could also be asked to draw pictures of animals that give us eggs (for example, chickens, turkeys and ducks, etc.).
 
 
 

CHICKEN'S EGG-SPECIALLY
(sing to the tune of "The Farmer in the Dell")
The chicken lays an egg
The chicken lays an egg
Cluck, cluck, cluck, cluck
The chicken laid an egg.
 
Animal Foods Mural
 
 

To Know and Learn

By creating an Animal Foods Mural children will identify a variety of foods from animal origins and practice fine motor skills.

Materials Needed

food pictures (for example: magazines, newspapers and grocery store advertisements)
paper
glue or tape
crayons or felt tip markers
scissors

Directions

Talk about foods that come from animal sources. Have children do the following:

Name foods that come from cows.
Name foods that come from pigs.
Name foods that come from chickens.
Name foods that come from turkeys.
Name foods that come from fish.

Ask the children to draw or cut out magazine pictures of foods with animal origins.

Glue or tape the pictures to a large sheet of paper with Animal Foods Mural written at the top.

After the food pictures have been attached to the paper, ask the children to name each food and the animal which provided the food.

Each child could make an individual collage to be taken home.

Teachers can use an overhead projector to enlarge a picture of a cow and then trace the picture onto a large piece of paper. The children could paste pictures of foods from a cow in the outline. This can also be done with a pig, chicken, turkey and fish.

Food For Thought

Name an animal and ask the children to identify as many foods as they can that originate from that animal.

 
UNIT 6 CONTINUE


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