Mini-Lesson Ideas: Science and Math
May 2015 - Beet Hummus
Mini-Lesson Ideas: Science and Math
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1.EDIBLE PLANT PARTS: Beet Hummus is made from a number of fruits and vegetables, each of which is a different part of a plant! Match the ingredient with the part of the plant it comes from.
Chickpeas (garbanzo beans)Bulb
BeetRoot
Lemon Seed in a pod
GarlicDried fruit
CuminFruit
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2. LEGUMES: All plants need nitrogen to grow well and be healthy. Certain types of bacteria, called rhizobia, can change the nitrogen from the air into a type of nitrogen that plants can use. Some plants, like chickpeas (garbanzo beans) are calledlegumes and have a special relationship with rhizobia. The plant provides a home (its roots) for the rhizobia and shares its food (sugar) with the rhizobia. The rhizobia share their nitrogen with the plant. This is called a symbiotic relationship, as both the plants and the rhizobia depend upon each other and benefit from sharing with each other.
Vocabulary:
- Legume: a type of plant that has a special relationship with bacteria in order to get its nitrogen
- Rhizobia: a type of bacteria that changes nitrogen from the air into nitrogen that plants can use
- Symbiotic relationship: interaction between two species that depend upon each other to share things that they need
Question: What other foods are legumes? (Hint garbanzo beans(also called chickpeas) are one type.)
3. WHICH ROOT?
Match the popular root vegetables with the picture of what we eat.
A B C D E
4. RECIPE REMIX! Let’s find out how we can make Beet Hummus for your class. Let’s assume there are 30 students in your class.
It takes 36 pounds of chickpeas to make 160 servings of Beet Hummus. How many pounds of chickpeas do we need to make enough servings for your class (remember we are assuming 30 students, who each want one serving)? _____
The recipe for Beet Hummus requires 5 cups of oil, 1 ¼ quarts of lemon juice, and 1 ¼ quarts of water for 160 servings. How many total cups of liquid are needed to make the recipe for 160 servings? ____
Based on the question above, how many cups of liquid are needed to make enough servings for your class?_____
In order to make enough Beet Hummus for ALL of Minneapolis Public Schools, we’ll need to make about 35,100 servings. How many pounds of chickpeas would that take?
5. ACTIVITY:Give each student several dried chickpeas (NOT canned) and a plastic cup. Put the chickpeas in the cup. Fill the cup with water so that the chickpeas are partially covered with water. Place the cups on the windowsill so they get sun. Children should check/ refill water every morning and afternoon. Within a week or so, students will see good sprouts coming out of their chickpeas. Variations: have students keep a journal – they can record when they need to add water, when they see the sprouts appear, how the chickpea sprouts look each day, etc. They can count the number that do and do not sprout, and do math problems (what percentage sprouted, for example, or how many total chickpeas in the class sprouted).
Answers:
1)Chickpea (Garbanzo Bean)= Seed in a pod; Beet= Root; Lemon (juice)= Fruit; Garlic= Bulb; Cumin= Dried fruit in parsley family (often confused with seed)
2)Beans (black, kidney, lima, fava, Anasazi); lentils; Edamame/ soybeans; peas; peanuts
3)A = beet, B = radish, C = turnip, D = rutabaga, E = carrot
4)6.75 pounds of chickpeas make 30 servings. 15 cups of liquid for 160 servings. Approximately 2.8 cups of liquid for class of 30 students. 975 pounds of chickpeas would be needed for all MPS students.
References:
Images:
Beet
Radish
Carrot
Turnip
Rutabaga
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