Arizona Grown Specialty Crop Lesson Plan LEVEL: Grades 4-6 Arizona!!! U How the SUBJECTS: Geography, History, Heck Did I Language Arts End Up AZ ACADEMIC STANDARDS: ISS-E1, Here??? ISS-E6, ISS-E15 MATERIALS Peru. The potato found its way to Teacher background Europe around 1570. Although it BRIEF DESCRIPTION information page, was productive and hardy, the This lesson is photocopies of Spanish would put it to limited designed to give dates/events to construct use. They used it mainly to feed students a basic time line, scissors, glue or the underprivileged. It would take historical background tape, vocabulary words three decades for the potato to on the potato and how and definitions (optional- spread to the rest of Europe. it found its way to construction paper to Although potatoes were North America and its mount time line on). introduced to the North American movement westward colonies in the early 1600's, it across the present VOCABULARY wasn’t until around 1760 that they day United States. conquistador, cultivation, really became popular there. It emigrate, explorers, took a major disaster for the famine, Great Depression, potato to spread and become Ireland, New World, Old popular worldwide. The great World, Peru, seed potato famine in Ireland from OBJECTIVES potatoes, truffles, tuber 1845-1851 killed one million The students will learn people and caused another million about the history of RELATED LESSONS to emigrate. Wherever the Irish the potato from its I’m Here, I’m There, I’m relocated, the potato became origin to the present. Everywhere-SuperSpud! popular. The students will Mmmmm, I’m Good! But Today, advanced mechanization demonstrate their Am I good For You? and growing methods have knowledge through From Mashed to Riches allowed the potato to be grown in the construction of a all fifty states and nearly every time line. SUPPORTING nation in the world. There are INFORMATION 5,000 varieties worldwide and it This is a good lesson to ranks as the world’s number one use following your Social vegetable. Studies lesson on the ESTIMATED Columbian Exchange. GETTING STARTED TEACHING TIME The potato has its Students will be working in pairs 45 minutes - 1 hour beginning in Peru in South for this activity so photocopies, America. The natives liked glue/tape, and scissors need to be its ruggedness, storage distributed to each pair of quality, and nutritional students. value. Western man did not come PROCEDURES into contact with the potato 1. Teacher reads background until as late as 1537 when material on the history of the Spanish Conquistadors conquered PROCEDURES (cont’d) information and on the time potato. line model. 2. Students will work in pairs with a copy of the important EXTENSIONS AND dates/events of potato VARIATIONS history. The students will cut 1. In the past, modern them out, sequence them preservation techniques were properly, and glue them not available for foods. together to make a time line Spices were highly coveted on the history of the potato not only for flavoring, but for from its known origin to the temporarily preserving food. present. Cut uncooked potatoes into slices and sprinkle different Additional Activities: spices on each slice. Have 1. Have the students do students make predictions on research and find other major which spices will work most worldwide events that effectively. Keep a daily coincide with the dates listed record and record results in on the potato time line. the form of a graph. 2. Have students research Questions might include: and develop another time line Which spices worked best? based on another AZ Why do you think they Specialty Crop. worked well? What spices were least effective? Why do Possible Questions: you think they did not work Where did the potato have its well? origins? (South America- 2. Have students make out Peru) menus for breakfast, lunch, Who first took it to Europe? and dinner. Compare the food (Spanish) items and make a list on the When did the potato first board on which food items come to North America? came from the Americas and (1613) which came from Europe. What is the exchange called Discuss how our diets would between the first European be different without the Explorers and the Native exchange of food items. Americans? (Columbian Exchange) RESOURCES When do you think the potato www.potatohelp.com first made its way into www.idahopotato.org Arizona? (Answers will vary- sometime from middle to late 1800's) What do you think is the most EDUCATORS’ NOTES important event on the time CURRICULUM DESIGN line? (Answers will vary) Jeff Hayes Why? 5th Grade Make a prediction about what Burk Elementary you think will happen in the Gilbert Public Schools future with potatoes. EVALUATION OPTIONS 1. Compare students’ completed time line to teacher’s model for correct sequencing. (28 events) This Arizona Grown Specialty Crop 2. Students can produce a Lesson Plan was paid for by a grant written summary based on from the Arizona Department of teacher background Agriculture’s Office of Marketing and Outreach. .