Each of us had to bring one piece of fruit and one vegetable to school today.
We spent a lot of the day working with these fruit and vegetables.
First of all we sorted them alphabetically which was quite a challenge.
For SESE we looked at whether each piece of fruit or vegetable was rough or smooth, and we sorted them into the colours of the rainbow and also into whether they are grown in Ireland or not. We named the fruit and veg (and colours) in both english and irish.
Our classification for fruit and vegetable was based on which section of a shop you can buy it in, but we looked into which really are fruit and which really are vegetables. Vegetables are the roots or stems (or leaves) of the plants, but fruit come from the flowers of the plants and usually have pips, seeds or stones in them. Actually, many of the foods we class as vegetables are really fruits.
For MATHS we looked at whether each piece is shaped like a sphere, like a cylinder, or was an irregular shape. We sorted them according to size (small, medium and large). We decided (with the help of a balance) whether each piece was light or heavy. There were some surprises there, but when we realised that fruit that are hollow on the inside usually weigh less than pieces that are solid on the inside, we were much better at predicting whether they belonged in the heavy or in the light group. We also talked about whether they roll, slide or stack. We had no time to make a data chart out of the fruit and vegetables, though we would have liked to.
For LITERACY we sorted the pieces into how many syllables were in their names. We also spent a long time focused on the oral language involved in our sorting.
Finally came the really interesting and fun part. We got to taste everything. Actually, it was a challenge. (Literally!)
We each got a tick sheet which we marked with an X if we didn’t try the fruit or veg, or with a smiley or sad face if we tasted the fruit or veg and liked or didn’t like it. Any tick sheet with no Xs at the end won a prize. We tried to taste absolutely everything whether we liked the taste or not. There were a lot of prizes won. Well done everyone!
We used each of our senses to look at, to touch, to smell and to taste each piece. (We used our hearing to listen to the Viennese Vegetable Orchestra, see below).
We really enjoyed sorting all our veg and fruit into alphabetical order, and we even showed off our artistic skills when we made fruit and veg pictures.
We really enjoyed the day and we want to thank all our families for helping us bring all the different types of fruit and vegetables to school today.
What a fun fruity day!
