Students will gain a deeper understanding of economic and health impacts through the lens of a strawberry farmer and apply their understanding to build and plant a strawberry patch.<\/p>\n
Reading, Math, Health, Social Studies<\/p>\n
Antioxidants:<\/strong> substances that inhibit oxidation in living organisms and removes potentially damaging oxidizing agents in a living organism.<\/p>\n Cause: <\/strong>part of the cause and effect relationship, where one is the result of the other and the cause is the action.<\/p>\n Commodity: <\/strong>a raw material or primary agricultural product that can be bought and sold.<\/p>\n Consumer: <\/strong>a person who purchases goods and services for personal use.<\/p>\n Demand: <\/strong>a consumer\u2019s desire to purchase goods and services and willingness to pay a price for a specific good or service.<\/p>\n Effect: <\/strong>part of the cause and effect relationship, where one is the result of the other and the effect is the reaction.<\/p>\n Farmer\u2019s Market<\/strong>: a food market where local farmers sell fruit, vegetables, and other goods directly to consumers.<\/p>\n Fruit:<\/strong> a fleshy product of a tree or plant containing seeds and can be eaten in some cases.<\/p>\n Food miles:<\/strong> the distance food is transported from the time of its production until it reaches the consumer.<\/p>\n Goods: <\/strong>merchandise or possessions.<\/p>\n Growing: <\/strong>the natural development of a living thing that occurs by increasing size and changing physically.<\/p>\n Harvesting: <\/strong>gathering a crop.<\/p>\n Healthy: <\/strong>promoting good health.<\/p>\n Minerals:<\/strong> solid, inorganic substances of natural occurrence.<\/p>\n Nutrients:<\/strong> substances that provide nourishment essential for growth and the maintenance of life.<\/p>\n Nutritional value:<\/strong> contents of food and the impact it has on the body.<\/p>\n Packing: <\/strong>action or process of putting things into bags, boxes, or storage.<\/p>\n Producer: <\/strong>a person, company, or country that makes, grows, or supplies goods or commodities for sale.<\/p>\n Product label: <\/strong>any piece of material attached to a product to identify its contents.<\/p>\n Purchasing: <\/strong>acquiring something by buying it or paying for it.<\/p>\n Services: <\/strong>systems supplying public need such as transport, communications, or utilities such as electricity or water.<\/p>\n Sorting: <\/strong>arranging systematically in groups or to separate according to type, size, class, or shape.<\/p>\n Storing:<\/strong> keeping or accumulating something for future use.<\/p>\n Strawberry:<\/strong> a sweet, soft, red fruit with a seed-studded surface.<\/p>\n Supply: <\/strong>a resource from which a person or place can be provided with the necessary amount of that resource.<\/p>\n Transplanted: <\/strong>having been moved or transferred to another place or situation.<\/p>\n Transporting: <\/strong>taking or carrying from one place to another.<\/p>\n Transit: <\/strong>the carrying of people, goods, or materials from one place to another.<\/p>\n Vitamins:<\/strong> any group of organic compounds, which are essential for normal growth and nutrition.<\/p>\n Strawberries are unique! Did you know strawberries are the only fruit that wear seeds on the outside? Most fruits that are categorized as \u201cberries\u201d contain their seeds inside the fruit; however, strawberries are not considered a true berry. Strawberries are a member of the rose family. There are several different fruits and berries that belong to the rose family including raspberries, blackberries, cherries, apples, and pears. Strawberry plants are perennials. That means if you plant one it will grow back year after year, but most strawberry farmers do not use this method. Instead they purchase strawberry plugs<\/strong>, which are young, small strawberry plants that are grown and then transplanted<\/strong> in the farmer\u2019s strawberry patch. Strawberries are also the first fruit to ripen in the spring, and no other small fruit produces berries as soon after planting as strawberry plants.2<\/sup><\/p>\n Strawberries have many health benefits. Listed here are a few facts to better understand their health benefits.<\/p>\n In North Carolina, strawberry farmers plant in the fall, around late September through early October, depending on the location. The plants are planted as transplants in rows on raised beds. The raised beds are covered with a special plastic that is typically black in color. This plastic serves as a weed barrier, increases soil warmth through insulation, holds in moisture, and provides a clean surface for strawberries to grow and ripen. Between the rows, rye grass is often planted to prevent soil erosion. Throughout the growing season, farmers watch the weather for rain and extreme temperatures that drop below freezing (32 degrees Fahrenheit or lower). They irrigate the berries in dry conditions with watering systems, such as sprinklers or drip tape laid beneath the black plastic. Additionally, during winter months, with below freezing temperatures sprinkler systems are used to provide a layer of ice as a barrier for frost protection for the strawberry plants. Strawberries are typically harvested in late April through May, and can continue to June, depending on weather and location.<\/p>\n Did you know that if an average of 25 strawberry plants were planted, these plants and the resulting runner plants would produce 25 quarts of strawberries? Imagine nearly 6 gallons of strawberries produced from 25 plants.2\u00a0 <\/sup>If it takes approximately 5 lbs. of strawberries to make a gallon, how many lbs. could a farmer sell from 25 strawberry plants? Answer<\/strong>: 30 lbs.<\/p>\n Before you begin identify any food allergies among the students. Provide them with a few favorite breakfast and snack foods such as a strawberry pop tart, fruit roll-up, and any other foods with strawberry as an ingredient. Allow students to conduct a taste-testing party. Ask students, \u201cWhat is your favorite snack food you sampled today? What is the common feature among these different snacks?\u201d Direct student conversations by explaining that the snack foods they sampled contain strawberries to provide a desirable flavor. Ask students the following questions:<\/p>\n Create a class pictograph, bar graph, or tally chart to display the information. Explain to students the next several days\/weeks we are going to be learning more about strawberries and how important they are in our diet and in our community.<\/p>\n Standards: 4.H.2.2<\/strong><\/p>\n Materials:<\/strong><\/p>\n Essential Question: <\/strong>Why is the strawberry the state berry for North Carolina?<\/p>\n Standards: 4.G.1.1, 4.RI.3, 4.W.2. 4.W.2b, 4.W.2d, 4.W.7 <\/strong><\/p>\nNC Ag Facts<\/h3>\n
\n
Background Knowledge<\/h3>\n
Health Benefits<\/h3>\n
\n
Planting & Caring for Strawberries<\/h3>\n
Student Motivator<\/h3>\n
\n
Procedures<\/h2>\n
Activity 1: Students will understand the significance of state symbols and identify North Carolina\u2019s state red berry.<\/h3>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
Activity 2: Students will develop an understanding of the journey from field to consumer.<\/h3>\n