Internet Research: plant classification
(see trident.ftc.nrcs.usda.gov/npdc/index)
Using the classification system, students research 25 plants at the USDA website. Using information provided, see if students can discover and classify plants within the four major classes: moss, fern, gymnosperm and angiosperm.
Research and Reporting: Trace the origin of a food/snack
Students will realize that plants are grown world wide. Students will understand some of their favorite foods come from far away places. Using a Nestle Crunch Bar made by Hershey's Inc. as an example, print and read the ingredients and the origin of these ingredients:
Sugar- sucrose - from sugar cane from Florida
Cocoa butter - from cacao from Ivory Coast or Brazil
Soy lecithin - from soybeans from Midwestern United States
Vanilla - from Vanilla orchid from Brazil
Crisped Rice - from rice from Japan
Peanut Traces - from peanuts from Georgia
Have students bring in one food wrapper from one of their favorite snacks. Each student will list the ingredients and research the origin of these ingredients in the school or public library.
(For additional activities, see Ranger Rick_s NatureScope, Rain Forests: Tropical Treasures, p. 46, "Jungle in the Pantry", extensive listing of products that originate in rain forests)
