Lunchbox Mysteries

How did our food get to our house? Where did it come from? Who grew my food? Engage in a short video with Nebraska Agriculture in the Classroom each week to discover how the food on your plate gets to you from a farmer’s field. At the end of the lesson, students will be able to use common food items to create a healthy and nutritious snack. This series is a great fit for kindergarten – second grade learners.

Nebraska State Standard Connection:

Kindergarten
LA 0.1.6.e With adult guidance, retell main ideas from informational text and/or media.
LA 0.1.6.h Make connections between own life and/or other cultures in literary and informational text.
LA 0.1.6.l Build background knowledge and activate prior knowledge to identify text-to self, text-to-text, and text-to-world connections.

First Grade
LA 1.1.6.e Retell main ideas and supporting details from informational text and/or media.
LA 1.1.6.h Make connections between own life and/or other cultures in literary and informational text.
LA 1.1.6.l Build background knowledge and activate prior knowledge to identify text-to self, text-to-text, and text-to-world connections.

Second Grade
LA 2.1.6.e Retell main ideas and supporting details from informational text and/or media.
LA 2.1.6.h Identify topics and/or patterns across multiple literary and informational texts to develop a multicultural perspective.
LA 2.1.6.l Build background knowledge and activate prior knowledge to identify text-to self, text-to-text, and text-to-world connections before, during, and after reading.  
LA 2.3.2.c Complete a task following multi-step directions.

Give Me Five!

Give me five – of fruits, vegetables, grains, protein, and dairy that is! Develop an awareness that farmers provide an abundance of foods we need to maintain and develop healthy lifestyles. Follow along and create a visual to help remember the five food groups and recognize locally grown foods.

Materials for activity:

• Give Me Five Worksheet
• Scissors
• Crayons or Colored Pencils
• Popsicle Stick/Pencil
• Tape

Ice Cream, Get the Full Scoop

Get the full scoop on ice cream! Milk or meat, beef or dairy? Students will explore two of Nebraska’s top agricultural industries; identifying the differences between beef and dairy cattle to determine the commodities produced by each type of cattle. After, we will shake it up for a sweet treat of ice cream in a bag!

Snack Activity: Ice Cream in a Bag

Materials for activity:

• Ice Cream in a Bag Recipe
• 1/2 cup whole milk half-and-half, or ice cream
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 6 tbsp sea salt/ice cream salt
• 2 cups of  ice
• sandwich sized ziplock bag
• quart sized Ziploc bag
• Spoons
• Hand towel

What’s Poppin’ with Corn?

Get to popping and hurry back! We need you to lend your ears for this corny story, as we discover where the popcorn you eat grows. Learn the science behind what makes popcorn, POP!

Snack Activity: Popcorn

Materials for activity:

• Popcorn Recipe
• Popcorn (popcorn kernels-to use on stovetop or in popcorn maker, or microwave popcorn).
• Access to a stovetop, microwave, or popcorn maker.
• Optional** (Popcorn Kit) for use at a later time.

PB&J Hooray!

It’s easy to make and yummy to eat, but where does your PB&J sandwich come from? Engage in short video to discover the journey your PB&J sandwich takes to end up on your plate! Join us for PB&J sandwiches to enhance this journey.

Snack Activity: Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwich

Materials for activity:

• Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwich Recipe
• Peanut Butter *Substitute Soy butter, almond butter
• Jelly
• Bread
• Plate
• Butter knife to spread peanut butter and jelly

Soy Very Good!

Whether it’s food, fuel, or furniture, soybeans can be found anywhere you look! Follow along as soybean seeds evolve from pod to plate, and as we complete a scavenger hunt for soy products around the house!

Snack Activity: Edamame

Materials for activity:

• Edamame Recipe
• Bag of steamable Edamame
• Soybean Scavenger Hunt Checklist