LEARN NC

K–12 teaching and learning · from the UNC School of Education

Sweet Potato Fun

These activities allow students to gain knowledge of the North Carolina state vegetable and have fun while doing it! Activities include describing, analyzing and comparing facts about sweet potatoes, creative writing and dramatization, taste testing and completing an online scavenger hunt.

A lesson plan for grade 4 English Language Arts

By Amy Luna and Kathy Beck

About the authors

Amy Luna-Grade 4, Lake Norman Elementary, Iredell-Statesville Schools
Kathy Beck-Technology Coordinator, Lake Norman Elementary, Iredell-Statesville Schools

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Learning outcomes

Students will:

  • recognize the importance of sweet potatoes to North Carolina.
  • Students will discover basic information related to sweet potatoes through the use of Internet resources.
  • Students will develop their narrative planning, writing and editing skills.
  • Students will practice presenting written material orally.

Teacher planning

Time required for lesson

5 days

Materials/resources

  • Informational packet from the North Carolina Sweet Potato Commission (can be ordered at http://www.ncsweetpotatoes.com/ )
  • A sweet potato for each student in your class
  • Various items for decoration of sweet potatoes
  • Ingredients for sweet potato recipes

Technology resources

Computer with Internet access for each student

Video camera (optional)

Pre-activities

Students will need basic computer skills and need to be proficient on the Internet. They will also need to be familiar with peer editing/proofreading techniques.

Activities

Activity 1

  1. Introduce this lesson by using the informational pamphlet provided from the NC Sweet Potato commission. You may want to begin by asking the students if any of them remember what the NC state vegetable is, if they know that NC produces 40% of the US’s sweet potatoes, and if they know that eating 1 sweet potato is equivalent to eating 23 cups of broccoli. They will be very intrigued with this information!
  2. Next, read through the pamphlet with them, highlighting the information you have just talked about. There is a “quiz” activity to complete in the pamphlet, so it may be helpful and fun to have them do this. It can also be used as an informal assessment of what they have learned from the pamphlet.
  3. Now that they have a little background about the sweet potato, take them to the area in which you have access to computers with Internet. Explain to them that they will be completing an online scavenger hunt to learn more about sweet potatoes.
  4. Allow about 45 minutes to an hour for the students to complete the scavenger hunt. Have them print their finished product. This can also be used as an informal assessment. (If you do not have the capacity to print you may also quickly check each students’ answers on the screen.)
  5. If any students finish early you can have them browse the NC Sweet Potato Commission website. There are some fun activities on this site.

Activity 2

  1. Begin this lesson by giving each student a sweet potato. Allow them to observe the sweet potato and take notes about its appearance and size. You may also have them measure it’s length and circumference. Have them draw a picture of their sweet potato and give it a name. Their sweet potato can be either a person or an animal. You will notice that some of the sweet potatoes resemble the shapes of certain animals or people. This may help the students decide what their sweet potato will be and what its name will be.
  2. Now have them decorate their sweet potato as the character they have decided upon. Give them a variety of craft materials to use — anything extra you may have will work. (It might be helpful to allow them to do this at home as some of them may want to use some specific materials.)
  3. When they have completed their “character” sweet potatoes, have them begin brainstorming what it would be like to be this sweet potato for the day. At this point you need to refer back to the pamphlet where it talks about how sweet potatoes are grown, harvested, and sold.
  4. The students will then write a story entitled “A Day in the Life of _________.” (Insert their sweet potato’s name in the blank.) Tell them to pick a specific part of the sweet potato process listed in the pamphlet on which to focus since their story’s setting is only ‘one day’.
  5. Have them plan their story using the beginning, middle, end model. Make sure they know the who, what, when, where, why and how of their story. They also must have a problem and a solution. This will help you to follow the guidelines needed for the NC writing test. You should also give some parameters for length of the story, usually 2 pages is plenty.
  6. Allow about 45 minutes for the drafting process of their story. Once they have completed their story, edit them. You may use peer editing or teacher editing, whatever you can fit into your schedule.
  7. Once the stories have been edited, give them a paper to write their final copy.
  8. Next allow students to read their stories to the class one at a time while videotaping them. They should give an introduction of their sweet potato, so the class knows what its name is and why it is dressed up like it is. (This part may be teacher prompted.) Then they may read their story as if they were that character.
  9. In order to receive immediate feedback, allow the students to offer three comments or questions to the author. You may also complete informal assessment at this time using a rubric for informal assessment of oral presentations. This rubric is an attached file below.
  10. You may have the students complete a self-reflection at this time covering their oral presentation. You may use the same rubric that you used for them, or you may use a general self-assessment form.
  11. Post their final copies of their stories to construction paper and hang them in the hallway to display their excellent work!

Activity 3

  1. This taste-testing activity can be completed in a short period but may need the help of parent volunteers. You will be surprised at the number of students who have not tasted sweet potatoes!
  2. Begin by selecting four or five sweet potato recipes. There are four listed in the informational pamphlet that you used before. You can also find them online at the website listed below.
  3. Once you have done this find parent volunteers to make these recipes for you at home.
  4. Have the parents bring in their final products whenever will be convenient for you. Allow each student to sample each of the dishes.
  5. When they have tasted all of them, instruct the the students to decide which dish they enjoyed the most. Take a class poll and create a table of the data. (Don’t forget to include ‘none’ as an option!) The students may then use the information to make a bar graph entitled “Who Likes Sweet Potatoes?” You may complete this as a class, or have the students do this on their own using graph paper. To extend this part of the lesson for early finishers you may have them assemble data on the computer using a spreadsheet and create a bar graph, or pictograph.

Assessment

Activity 1

  • The assessment for this lesson will be the completion of the “quiz” activity in the pamphlet. You can grade this if you want or you may just go over the answers with the class.
  • The second form of assessment will be the informal grading of their finished, printed scavenger hunt. If you do not print, you may look over their answers on the screen and take a quick assessment of their learning.

Activity 2

  • The assessment of their oral presentations of their own writing will be done using a rubric.
  • Self-asessment will also be completed by each student.
  • Teacher informal grading of the final written story may also be done.

Activity 3

  • Teacher informal grading of their graphs may be done.
  • Teacher informal assessment during the taste-testing may be done to ensure that the students really are tasting the dishes.

Supplemental information

Attachment:

Oral Report Rubric: xls | rtf


Students will need the pamphlet “Sweet Potato The World’s Vegetable Champ” provided by the NC Sweet Potato Commission. You may obtain these pamphlets by visiting the website listed below.

Related websites

North Carolina SweetPotato Commission Site
http://www.ncsweetpotatoes.com/

SweetPotato savenger hunt
You say potato…We say SweetPotato

Comments

None

North Carolina Curriculum Alignment

Computer Technology Skills (2005)

Grade 4

  • Goal 3: The learner will use a variety of technologies to access, analyze, interpret, synthesize, apply, and communicate information.
    • Objective 3.04: Enter data into prepared spreadsheets and select graph to best represent data and cite sources of data. Strand - Spreadsheet
    • Objective 3.07: Locate, select, organize, and present content area information from the Internet for a specific purpose and audience, citing sources. Strand - Telecommunications/Internet

English Language Arts (2004)

Grade 4

  • Goal 4: The learner will apply strategies and skills to create oral, written, and visual texts.
    • Objective 4.04: Share self-selected texts from a variety of genres (e.g., poetry, letters, narratives, essays, presentations).
    • Objective 4.07: Compose fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and drama using self-selected and assigned topics and forms (e.g., personal and imaginative narratives, research reports, diaries, journals, logs, rules, instructions).
    • Objective 4.09: Produce work that follows the conventions of particular genres (e.g., personal and imaginative narrative, research reports, learning logs, letters of request, letters of complaint).
  • Goal 5: The learner will apply grammar and language conventions to communicate effectively.
    • Objective 5.04: Compose multiple paragraphs with:
      • topic sentences.
      • specific, relevant details.
      • logical progression and movement of ideas.
      • coherence.
      • elaboration.
      • concluding statement related to the topic.
    • Objective 5.06: Proofread and correct most misspellings independently with reference to resources (e.g., dictionaries, thesauri, glossaries, computer spell-checks, and other classroom sources).
    • Objective 5.07: Use established criteria to edit for language conventions and format.
    • Objective 5.09: Create readable documents through legible handwriting and/or word processing.