$1 Million Orange

Vocabulary: Nutrition, Preserve, Processing, Food Systems, Agriculture, Local, Environmental Impact

Grade Levels: 3-6

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Science Framework

Spanish Lesson Plan

Lesson Video

Lesson Bridge:

Connect this lesson (2) to Water Wise Gardens’ (1) by asking students if they remember how ancient agriculturists used to grow and harvest crops. Compare and contrast modern day methods to ancient methods.

Lesson Overview:  

In this lesson, students will make fresh orange juice to explore how food changes from its original form to a processed product. Through this hands-on activity, students will build curiosity about where their food comes from and how it affects their health. They will also examine the pros and cons of food processing, looking at how it impacts cost, jobs, energy use, health, and the environment. This lesson helps students see how food and agriculture are deeply connected to their everyday lives and overall quality of life.

Suggested Activities & Learning Objectives by Grade:

• 4:

• 4-ESS3-1 What fuels are used to transport produce and how do those fuels affect the environment?

Essential Question(s) that Connect CCCs and SEPs:

• Is there energy required in growing an orange? Where does the energy come from? (Energy and Matter;Obtaining, Evaluating and Communicating Information.)
• What type of energy is required to turn an orange into orange juice? (Energy and Matter;Obtaining, Evaluating and Communicating Information.)
• What energy would be required if we wanted to run an orange juice factory?(Energy and Matter;Obtaining, Evaluating and Communicating Information.)
• What are some of the environmental effects caused when orange juice is made on a large scale, like in a factory? (Scale, Proportion & Quantity; Engaging in Argument from Evidence).

Vocabulary:

Nutrition-The study of food and how it affects the body

Preserve- To keep safe from injury or spoiling

Processing- To change something by special treatment

Food Systems- The sum of all of the steps food takes to end up in our bellies

Agriculture- The art and science of growing crops and raising livestock for food

Local- Sourcing food from nearby areas

Environmental Impact- Any change in the environment, whether good or bad, that a product has caused

Materials:

• A collection of processed foods to show and tell(optional)
• Oranges (about ¼ orange per student)
• Large bowl
• Cutting boards
• Child safe knives
• Pitcher
• 1 small paper cup per student
• Soap
• Hand sanitizer and sanitizer spray
• 1 Million Dollar Orange Stations(for your reference)
• Flow of Water Series Garden Journal (optional)

Prep:

• Check out the book An Orange in January by Dianna Hutts Aston (available through OCE Library, Local Library system, and many school libraries).
• Sanitize tables and cooking implements.
• Decide whether you will make orange juice, or just taste test orange slices

Activity:

Engage:

Begin with a classroom discussion in the seating area in your garden or in the classroom.  Ask the following questions: What’s the difference between an orange and orange juice? What steps are involved in making orange juice?(Think, Pair, Share)

Explore:

Begin a discussion about how some of the foods we eat have gone through changes before they reach our plates.

Think, Pair, Share: “What steps might it take to turn an orange into orange juice?”

Show (or describe) a few examples of common foods like applesauce, bread, or canned beans. Ask students to imagine what ingredients might be in them and how those ingredients originally came from the earth.

Thumbs up/down: “Do you think it takes a lot of steps to make these foods?”

Sentence Frame: “Orange juice is an example of __________ __________.” (processed food)

Explanation:

Thumbs up/down: Have you ever heard about processed foods before?

Processed food is any food that has been changed from its original form before we eat it. This can include washing, cutting, cooking, freezing, mixing, or adding other ingredients to improve taste, texture, shelf life, or appearance. For example, bread is a processed food. It starts with wheat plants, which produce wheat seeds. Those seeds are harvested and milled into flour, a process that uses machines and energy. Then, the flour is mixed with water, yeast, and other ingredients, and baked to become bread. Processed foods often take more steps, time, and energy to make than whole foods. Because of that, they usually cost more. For instance, a jar of jam might be more expensive than buying fresh fruit and sugar to make it yourself, because of all the extra processing, packaging, and transportation involved.

Think, Pair, Share: What are some other examples of processed foods you can think of?

 Today we are going to make orange juice, a processed food, to learn about the steps involved in making orange juice.

Action:

Option #1: Make Orange Juice

1. Review your Garden Agreements
2. Have every student wash their hands.  20 seconds, or the length of time it takes to sing happy birthday, is the right amount of time it takes to clean germs off of our hands.
3. Divide the class into about 7 groups (harvesters, slicers, juicers, mixers, packagers, and transporters)
4. Talk about the first job that happens in orange juice production: The oranges have to be harvested!
5. Then the oranges are transported to a place where they can be juiced - sometimes on the other side of the country! Walk to a different location in the garden, to where the orange slices are waiting.
6. Now the oranges are juiced, usually by machines. Let’s pretend we are a machine and take turns juicing the oranges into this bowl. Have students take turns squeezing the orange juice into the bowl. *You may want to add some water to increase the volume of juice.
7. Mixers can add some water to the orange juice
8. Now that the oranges are juiced and mixed,  we have to package our juice so that it can be sold. Pour the orange juice into separate cups for all of the students.
9. Once all of the orange juice is packaged, it now has to be taken to grocery stores all over the country! You can have students scatter around the garden and individually bring them their cup of orange juice.
10. Have students throw away their cups.

Option #2: Make Orange Slices and Play Charades

1. Review your Garden Agreements
2. Have every student wash their hands.  20 seconds, or the length of time it takes to sing happy birthday, is the right amount of time it takes to clean germs off of our hands.
3. Divide the class into about 9 groups: One per charade 1 Million $ Orange Charades
4. Have each group theatrically act out their step in the process from Orange to Orange Juice
5. After each station has acted out their station, you can have students group by group slice up some oranges.
6. Once you have enough slices for the class, have students sit in the garden or teaching area for a taste test.
7. Toss the orange rinds into your compost/green waste bin

Reflect:

What did you learn about making orange juice? Is it processed food? What are some advantages of making orange juice at home? What are some disadvantages?

Lesson Photos

Extension Activities:

• Have students research food preparation in other cultures such as that of Native Americans in pre-colonial times.  Compare it with food preparation today.
• Have students investigate the prices of foods in their original form and the same products in processed forms.  How many processed products can they find for one original food?