Fresh The Fresh from the Farm featured item is from the Wild Rice Farm for educators Healthy Kids Do Better Home Grown Facts in School Wild Rice is the official state grain of Studies report improved test Minnesota. Minnesota producers Recommended Daily scores and memory function for currently harvest 4-6.5 million pounds of Amounts of Whole Grains students who eat a variety of fruits, cultivated wild rice per year. Global wild vegetables, and whole grains and rice production, which includes both wild Ages 5 - 12 Ages 13 & older get physical activity every day. The and cultivated varieties, is about 23 million finished pounds. 2 ½ - 5 5 - 7 servings goal of Smart Choices is to help servings students eat healthy and be active. Minnesota was the world’s first producer of cultivated wild rice, and remains one *Ranges take into account three activity levels: sedentary, moderately active and Exploring Wild Rice and of the world’s largest suppliers of active. For example, active individuals Other Rice Through Taste hand-harvested and cultivated wild rice. should aim to eat the higher number of Testing* Wild rice is mainly grown in northeastern cups per day. Visit www.mypyramid.gov Minnesota. to learn more. Engaging students through taste-testing activities allows them The first cultivated paddies were to experience the featured produce developed by Jim and Gerald item first-hand, helping to create Godward near Cross Lake in the increased interest in eating what 1950s. Wild rice used to be all might be unfamiliar food. hand-harvested, but combines are now used to harvest cultivated wild Tools: rice from drained paddies. ■ 3 cups each of cooked wild rice, Native American communities in north- white rice, and brown rice. Spoon eastern Minnesota still harvest most of Nutrition Facts Serving size 1 Cup Cooked (164g) three tablespoons each into small their wild rice crop by hand. paper cups. Amount per serving Source: Minnesota Cultivated Wild Rice ■ Printed nutrition facts for each type Council www.mnwildrice.org Calories 166 Calories from Fat 5 of rice. % Daily Value (Available at www.nutritiondata.com) How Much Do I Need? Total Fat 1g 1% Activity for younger students: Saturated Fat 0g 0% One serving of wild rice is equal to Have students make a 5 by 6 grid. Trans Fat 0g ½ cup, or about one handful. The Label columns wild rice, white rice, amount of fruits, vegetables, and Cholesterol 0mg 0% brown rice. Examine each type of rice whole grains you need each day Sodium 5mg 0% using the five senses. Describe depends on your age, gender, and Total Carbohydrate 35g 12% findings in chart. physical activity level. Dietary Fiber 3g 12% Activity for older students: Sugars 1g Set a good example by letting children Protein 7g Have students make a 5 by 6 grid. see you eating fruits, vegetables and Label rows: calories, fat, whole grains like wild rice. One Vitamin A 0% Vitamin C 0% Vitamin C 0% Iron 5% carbohydrates, protein, vitamins. serving is equal to one slice of whole Source: www.nutritiondata.com Examine the nutrition labels and fill in grain bread, ½ cup of whole grain the chart. Discuss the similarities and pasta or brown rice, or one cup of differences as a class. whole grain cereal. *This item relates well to the Adventurous Activity project on a page 4. Wild Rice Harvesting Just the Facts Wild rice grows in shallow Wild rice, named “manoomin” (pronounced mah-NO- water in small lakes and min) by the Ojibwa people, has been harvested in slow-flowing streams; lakes and rivers in the Great Lakes area for centuries. often, only the flowering Wild rice is the only grain native to North America and head of wild rice rises it has been found in layers of the earth dating back above the water. 12,000 years. There are several species of wild rice, In harvesting wild rice and Zizania palustris is the species grown in the Great grains by hand, a boat Lakes area. or canoe is poled by one Natives of Minnesota, especially the Ojibwa, harvested person through the wild rice as an important food staple, and continue to wetlands where the wild rice grows. A second person bends harvest wild rice by hand. The grain also provides the heads of the wild rice plant over the canoe with one habitat for fish and waterfowl in the Great Lakes. stick, and strikes them with another stick so that the plump, When it ripens, the grain is harvested by hand using ripe kernels fall into the boat. The unripe kernels will cling canoes and boats. Before it can be eaten, the wild rice to the stem, and the harvesters must wait to harvest these. is dried and roasted and the hull removed. To harvest all the kernels, several trips must be made The harvesting of the rice was such an important part through the wetland area, sometimes days apart. of the ancient Ojibwa culture that the people would Cultivated wild rice is grown in paddies and is harvested move their villages to be closer to the rice during with combines. The water must be released from the harvest time. When Europeans came to the Great paddies late in the summer to allow time for the ground Lakes area of North America, they learned about to become firm, yet not impede the growth of the wild rice harvesting wild rice from the Natives living there. plants. Modified grain combines are then driven over the Early French explorers called the grain “riz sauvage” firm paddies to harvest the crop. After the harvest, the (wild rice) or “folles avoines” (wild oats). The Ojibwa water is released back into the paddies. Seed used for consider wild rice to be a gift from the Great Spirit, cultivated wild rice is the same seed as the wild rice found view the harvest as a sacred practice, and feel that in lakes and rivers. the wild rice they harvest by hand is distinct from the Source: www.mnwildrice.org/facts.php cultivated varieties. Sources: www.wildrice.org and www.mnwildrice.org What’s in a Name? Ojibwa name: Manoomin (Good Berry or Good Seed) Family: Gramineae (Poaceae) Genus: Solanum Species: palustris Wild rice (also called Canada rice, Indian rice, and water oats) is four species of grasses forming the genus Zizania, and the grain which can be harvested from them. Zizania palustris is the species grown in Minnesota. The grain was historically gathered and eaten in both North America and China. While it is still eaten in North America, the grain is no longer eaten in China: only the plant’s stem is eaten there as a vegetable. The popularity of wild rice in the United States is growing because it has become more widely cultivated in recent decades. Despite its name, wild rice is not directly related to Asian rice, although they are both members of the grass family. Wild rice grows in shallow water in small lakes and slow-flowing streams. The grain is eaten by ducks and other aquatic wildlife. Zizania palustris is an annual plant, native to the Great Lakes. In more recent years, other varieties (species) of wild rice have been cultivated in other parts of the United States, primarily California. Science Corner: The Wild Rice Physical Activity Harvest, or Manoominikewin Corner There are many steps involved in traditional wild rice During the winter months, harvesting and finishing. Knocking, Drying, Parching, it is more important than Hulling, and Winnowing. Read about the process at ever to help students www.manoomin.com/Harvesting.html. engage in at least one hour Lesson Plan of physical activity every day to stay healthy and fit, both 1. Separate students into 5 groups. Assign each group a mentally and physically. step in the harvesting and finishing process. 2. Have them create a diagram or illustration of the Dedicate the month of February to playing a different game assigned step and present to their classmates. or activity every day, in or out of the classroom. 3. Incorporate physical activity into your lesson Objective: Develop base endurance and flexibility; study assessment by finishing with a game of “Wild Rice pulse/heart rate and the benefits of cardiovascular exercise. Charades.” Put words associated with wild rice Authentic Graphing: harvesting on separate pieces of paper and have a ■ Do different activities that require varying amounts of student (or pair of students) pick one out of a basket effort, like standing still, walking and running in place and act out the word or phrase. The other students After two minutes of each activity, students measure their must guess the words, and the action goes on until heart rates by taking their pulses. Record the data. the words are guessed. ■ Graph the pulse rates and discuss results. Suggested words: ■ Brainstorm ways to increase their heart rates throughout • Paddling a canoe the day. • Knocking Fitness Breaks: • Spreading rice to dry ■ Take a two-minute fitness break between lessons. • Picking over the rice to remove leaves and insects Ask students to lead the break with stretches, then play a • Lighting the fire popular dance song and let the students dance. • Parching For more ideas, visit: www.sparkpe.org • Hulling/Dancing/Treading • Winnowing Literature Links Student Sleuths Elementary: ■ The Good Path: Ojibwa Learning and Activity Book for Kids by Thomas Peacock and Marlene Wisuri (Minnesota Historical Society Press, 2002) ■ The Sacred Harvest by Gordon Reguinti and Dale Kakak (Lerner Publications, 1992) Secondary: ■ The Birch Bark House by Louis Erdich (Hyperion Books, 2002) 1. What were wild rice camps in Ojibwa history? ■ The Ojibwa: Wild Rice What became of the camps? Gatherers by Therese 2.