Materials Needed
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Food and Nutrition Education Lesson
What to Do Ahead of Time
Root Vegetables Bulletin Board Pieces
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Print bulletin board pages but do not
post
Optional: Print food focus activity sheets
Objectives
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Students will be able to identify three types of root vegetables and how they can be eaten.
Students will be able to explain how the nutrients in root vegetables help our bodies.
Introduction
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Students should be divided into 9 groups and each group should get one bulletin board page.
As you proceed through the lesson, each group will contribute a different fact or piece of
information to the lesson, using their bulletin board page to help. For younger students, you
may wish to call on the group that has the bulletin board page that corresponds to the lesson
and ask them to read it aloud. For older students, you can ask the class to guess if their
group’s page contains the information you are looking for. As each page is discussed, invite
students to come to the front of the room to hang their piece of the bulletin board.
Tip: Make a note next to each lesson segment to know which group you gave each page to
(i.e. group 5 received page 1, group 6 received page 2, etc.).
Tell the students that today they are going to learn about root vegetables and why they’re so
special. Explain that all foods contain nutrients, which our bodies need to keep us healthy.
Vegetables are especially rich in vitamins and minerals which keep our bodies healthy in many
different ways, but not all vegetables have the same ones. That’s why it’s so important to eat
a variety of fruits and veggies every day.
Lesson
Bulletin Board
Page
Talking Points
Ask students: Think of any vegetables (either single food or recipes) that are
root vegetables. Encourage students to look at their bulletin board pages and
think of other vegetables as well. (Answers can include: Beets, Jicama,
Turnips, Parsnips, Radishes, Yucca, Rutabaga, Kohlrabi, Carrots). Ask students:
Which root vegetables are their favorites and why, and which ones they have
never tried before.
Ask students: Think about why root vegetables look and taste different from
other vegetables. (Root vegetables tend to be sweeter… you can eat them
raw or cooked…root vegetables usually are covered with a thicker skin that
sometimes has to be peeled. Some people may find these vegetables
“mysterious” looking with their odd shapes, various colors and different
nutrients that aren’t commonly found in most vegetables, but there are many
great reasons to give a hoot for veggie roots! In fact, hundreds of years ago
root vegetables were found to be lower in status of all the vegetables because
of their lack of glamour, so peasants and lower class individuals would use
these root vegetables as one of their staple foods. Little did the upper class
know, these vegetables were unlike any other vegetable with their ability to
be stored longer, withstand colder climates and provide people with great
energy to work very hard throughout the day. Another benefit of root
vegetables is that many are available year round such as beets, jicama,
turnips, rutabaga and radishes. Jicama and radishes can be eaten cooked or
raw so they are very versatile. If you eat them raw they add a great
CRUNCH to your dish! Beets, turnips, and parsnips are really yummy if you
roast them and add some cinnamon and olive or canola oil.
Let’s focus on a widely known root vegetable – beets. Ask students:
How do beets grow – do they grow on bushes, on trees, on vines, or
underground? (Answer: underground – they’re what we call root
vegetables, because they’re actually roots and typically have a thicker
skin to help them survive living underground). Beets and other root
vegetables grow a thin stem of leaves above ground, and each plant
produces one singe edible root below ground. Tubers such as potatoes
can easily be mistaken for roots. Plants like garlic have a bulbous
collection of leaves and ginger which is an underground stem may also
seem like a root vegetable, but they are not. These plants have roots,
which most plants have and they are grown underground. True root
vegetables however have a main root that grows down and has small
roots that grow from it. They are actually the root of the plant and
deliver nutrients to the leaves and stems above ground.
Ask students: Are all vegetables the same color, shape, taste or
texture? (Answer: Vegetables come in all different shapes, sizes,
textures and flavors). Explain that it’s important to eat a variety of
vegetables because each vegetable is good for us in a different way and
gives us different things called nutrients. Ask students if they know why
root vegetables are good for us? (Answer: They give our body and brain
energy). Ask students: What nutrient in beets is good for providing our
bodies with energy (Answer: Complex carbohydrates). Explain that
beets and other root vegetables also contain fiber, which is good for
your stomach and insides, and helps you fill up after a meal.
Ask students: How much root vegetables should you have at a meal?
(Answer: Start with a half a cup, which is equal to about one cupped
handful – demonstrate with your hand). Ask students: Should we eat
any other vegetables, or can we just eat root vegetables all the time?
(Answer: Though these vegetables are especially good for us in their
own special way, we should eat other types and colors of vegetables
too – green, white, orange, yellow, purple, etc.). Discuss that all root
vegetables cannot be prepared the same way and that some root
veggies can be eaten raw (jicama, radishes), while others are best
cooked (yucca and turnips). Explain that we should be eating
vegetables a few times a day and a variety, because we get different
nutrients from each vegetable.
Ask students: Can you suggest some ways to eat root vegetables?
Remind them that some root veggies can be eaten raw (jicama and
radishes), while others are best cooked (yucca, sweet potatoes and
turnips). Accept many suggestions, including beet chips, carrot fries,
jicama slaw, and even mashed parsnips/turnips/rutabaga (explain
these cooking techniques are fun and creative ways to make mashed
“fake” potatoes). Ask students: If they are going to try any of these at
home and which ones?
Ask students: How many of you know that beets come in a variety of
colors? AND What other colors do beets come in besides red? (Answer:
Beets can come in white, yellow and even “candy cane” red and white).
Ask students: What nutrition do these variety of deep colors provide
for our bodies (Answer: These colors work in the body to act as cell
“cleaners”, sweeping away what can make us sick - a nutrient also
known as anti-oxidants). Ask students: How many of you have heard of
the term anti-oxidant?
Ask students: What other part of a root vegetable can be eaten?
Explain to students that the green leaves and stalks of root vegetables
are edible and can add great flavor to your meals. Wash and chop up
stalks to throw into soups, stir fries, salads and sandwiches! Ask
students: Do any of you already do this at home and in what recipes?
Review
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Ask Students: What type of activity might someone do better at by
eating root vegetables? Answer includes: any type of physical activity
such as football, soccer, running/track, cheerleading etc. Explain it is
the complex carbohydrates in root vegetables that give our body
energy for an extended period of time and helps with endurance.
Summarize the lesson by pointing to each bulletin board piece and asking students to say one
thing they learned from each bulletin board piece. Look for answers that cover the following
key points:
o There are a variety of root vegetables to choose from.
o Root vegetables are distinctive in taste, flavor, texture and appearance.
o Root vegetables are grown underground.
o Root vegetables contain complex carbohydrates, which gives our bodies energy. Root
vegetables also contain fiber which helps fill you up.
o During a meal we should eat a half of a cup of root vegetables, along with
incorporating a variety of other colors of different vegetables on a daily basis.
o There are many tasty ways to eat these vegetables - both raw and cooked.
o Beets come in a variety of colors aside from dark red.
o The green leaves and stalks that grow above ground from a root vegetable are edible
too!
Encourage students to find and try root vegetables in the café and try them out.
Resources
You may find these additional websites helpful for background information on these lesson:
Massachusetts Farm to School Project - Harvest of the Month Program
http://www.massfarmtoschool.org/programs/harvest-of-the-month/
USDA Food and Nutrition Service – Farm to School
http://www.fns.usda.gov/farmtoschool/farm-school
The USDA’s MyPlate
http://www.choosemyplate.gov/
Produce for Better Health Foundation Educator
Resources http://www.pbhfoundation.org/pub_sec/edu
Team Nutrition (A USDA website) Nutrition Education
Resources http://www.fns.usda.gov/tn/resource-library
Smithsonian Gardens
http://www.gardens.si.edu/