Fruits vs Veggies - What's the Difference?

Many adults aren’t even sure of the difference between a fruit and a vegetable! This easy lesson plan is a fun, STEAM based exploration that encourages children to study their world around them.

Search For Seeds

How can we tell the difference between a fruit and a vegetable? Fruits and vegetables both come from plants, but the secret is that they are different parts of the plant, and one has seeds, the other doesn't. Fruits grow from the flowers of plants. Fruits contain seeds unlike vegetables. The other parts of the plant (like the stems, roots, leaves) grow into vegetables. Set out a variety of fruits and vegetables for your children to touch, smell, taste and sort. Help the children put all the fruits on one side of a table, and all the vegetables on the other. Cut the fruits open to find the seeds. Cut the vegetables open to see the absence of seeds. Talk about the differences.

Create a Chart

Create a simple T-Chart as shown in the picture below. The children or teacher can draw fruits or vegetables, use print out pictures, or even felt, or stickers. Encourage children to share why they think each food might be a fruit or a vegetable, and place on the correct side of the chart.

Explore your Lunch

The classroom is a fantastic environment to encourage exploration. At lunch time, spark a discussion about what's in their own lunch. How many fruits? How many vegetables? What kind ? How can we tell? Add those fruits and vegetables to your T-chart. What kind of fruits and vegetables are our favorites?

More?

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