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Why Grow Grains

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Expectation

  • B2.6 describe ways in which people, including Indigenous peoples, from various cultures around the world use plants for food, shelter, medicine, and clothing.
  • B2.7 describe various plants used for food, including those grown by First Nations, Métis, and Inuit, and identify local settings where these plants are grown or found.
  • B2.8 describe ways in which plants and animals, including humans, depend on each other.

Examples

How would our lives be different without grains?

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In what ways do grains make it possible to live our current lives?

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Learning Goal

In this activity, students will gain an understanding of how grains are used in their daily lives, specifically oats, soybeans, and wheat.

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A note for teachers

Grains are ubiquitous in our lives, although we may not be aware of it.

The uses for grains are extensive.

Your students may be surprised to realize just how much our lives depend on grains.

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Preparing for the lesson

  • You will need the lesson 1 activity sheet: Grain Gallery https://goodineverygrain.ca/whats-growing-on/
  • We recommend setting up a Word Wall where students can display meanings of important ideas, words, and pictures related to lessons.
  • You will need to be able to play the video “How do you plant Ontario grains? (Check speaker notes for the URL.)
  • Each slide is narrated so teaching this lesson should be engaging and straightforward.

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Word Wall Suggestions…

  • Germinate
  • Wheat
  • August
  • Annual
  • Fall
  • Spring
  • Leaves
  • July
  • Seedling
  • Tillers
  • Water
  • Photosynthesis
  • Ears
  • Pollinated
  • Golden
  • Dicotyledon
  • Plumule
  • Food
  • Maturation
  • Pollinate

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Why Grow Grains

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Minds on!

Discussion

  • What do these items have in common?

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Ontario grains

Used in ways you have never imagined!

  • What do you notice?
  • What do you wonder?

Items made from Ontario Grains

Barley

Pretzels, fish food, soup, vinegar, dog food, baby food

Corn

Gasoline (ethanol), band aids, shampoo, pop, taco shells, corn flakes, diapers, hand sanitizer

Oats

Oatmeal, muffins, cookies, cereal, granola, lotion, soap

Soybeans

Plastics, candles, crayons, Jell-o, mayonnaise, shampoo, soy sauce

Wheat

Paper, bread, pasta, gravy, postage stamps, glue, flatbread, pancakes

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Grains in Your Life

https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PLqUSWWZAnMup4tC8IB4XwQxJ6vylO7StX&v=oVNH8_Gz5Pg&embeds_euri=https%3A%2F%2Fgoodineverygrain.ca%2F&source_ve_path=MjM4NTE&feature=emb_title

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Ontario grains

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Action!

Our classroom is filled with items made from grains!

Find your action sheet.

Look for items around the room that might have come from grains. You can choose to draw a picture of the items or write them down. Remember to check food!

If you are unsure, add the item to your list with a question mark.

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What have we learned?

What are some items you identified as being made of grains?

What are some of the items you had questions about?

Do you notice anything in common among the items you listed?

Can you think of any additional items you use (at home or school) that are not on your list?

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Show what you know…

Choose one activity:

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List or draw a few whole grain foods you might include in your meal. OR

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List or draw a few items made with grains that you use regularly.

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Extend your thinking…

Let’s make a Word Wall to remind us of what we have learned.

Consider the words below. Use sticky notes or index cards to add questions, wonderings, ideas, thoughts, or connections to our What’s Growing ON? Word Wall. Research words you don’t know.

Seedling • Germinate • Oats • Photosynthesis

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www.GoodinEveryGrain.ca

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