The season is upon us. Next week we are sure to see plenty of flowing pumpkin creatures shining from neighbors' porches and front steps. Kerrie Hollihan gets us thinking about where this tradition may have originated - and also thinking about the other veggies in our fall harvest that might work for carving, too. |
English/Language Arts
Explore Lead Sentences/Hooks
Social Studies
Explore holiday origins
Explore the use of materials based on geography
STEM
Explore biology - plants
Explore form and function
FCS/Nutrition
Explore the nutritional value of root vegetables
Research Skills
Explore image searching
Explore Lead Sentences/Hooks
- Note how Author Hollihan starts her Minute by using some fascinating historical facts about the use of turnips in Celtic history. Have your students try this technique with an informational or procedural piece of writing from their writing journal.
Social Studies
Explore holiday origins
- Author Hollihan talks about a Celtic holiday to honor the dead. How do other cultures think about the deceased? Take a look at a similarity seen in cultures from ancient times to the present - the tradition of honoring the dead. Are there other holidays based on these practices in other cultures (Mexican Day of the Dead comes to mind)?
Explore the use of materials based on geography
- During the “dark time of the year” the Celts carved out vegetables to put in coals and light their way. Root vegetables worked because they were available. Have students take a look at ways other cultures may have produced light during these dark times. What do their choices have in common? The materials available are one very likely answer. Use this exploration to help students realize that geographical differences are a major factor in human development.
STEM
Explore biology - plants
- Use this Minute to look at the similarities and difference in how our vegetables grow. What characteristics do root vegetables share? Would all root vegetables be suitable for carving and holding coals? What other characteristics must you consider when trying to solve the problem of light in a time before electricity?
Explore form and function
- Form follows function. But humans have an uncanny knack for taking something functional (the turnip in this case) and altering the form to make it - beautiful? Interesting at least! Use this Minute to talk about other examples in art, design and architecture where artistic form follows the discovery of functional items. This would be a great time to look at the Museum of Modern Art’s online gift store - full of functional items of sleek design!
FCS/Nutrition
Explore the nutritional value of root vegetables
- Root vegetables gain their nutritional value from the soil in which they grow. Explore the nutritional benefits of eating root vegetables with your students
Research Skills
Explore image searching
- This Minute lends itself to having a discussion about Image searching - because looking at the images for carved turnips is really fun! Compare the image search engines found in Google and BING. How are they the same? How are they different? Look at the Tool choices in Google’s image search - note how you can filter your searches by size, color, type and usage rights. Try doing an image search using an image in both search engines by clicking on the camera icon.
© Karen Sterling, 2017 - May be used for educational purposes without written permission