Fruit salad

This term I found three different brands of fruit salad at Ace Office. Four cans proved more than sufficient for the class of 18. I opened the class with a set of three videos this term. Pinkfong's Fruit Juice Shake Shake, Don't Memorize Types of Fruits of Plants, and SciShow's Why Tomatoes are Fruits. This list should be revisited and revised as appropriate in future terms. The second video is a good introduction, but does not actually cover fruit types and is only a part one of two or three videos. Prior experience noted that the single SciShow video was insufficient as an introduction. The complication is that a number of videos opt for a more developmental system of fruit type designation which requires knowing the life history of the fruit. This exercise uses a morphological definition set. The result is that some videos will leave the students unnecessarily confused.

The largest Pyrex bowl in the house was sufficient to hold all four for mixing purposes. A can opener was brought along just in case, along with paper towels and a ladle.

Blossom and Audrey

The bowl also became the container for the third table.

This term I found foil cupcake cups also at Ace Commercial.

This were then placed in a cupcake baking tin, minus the paper liners. Maybe the paper liners could have been retained. 

Working with only two cupcake trays, I placed one on each table. Were the class to have been larger, a third tray would have been necessary, if not a double set making six to accommodate two per table.

Lashana, Herna, Shawn, and Natalie

I recommended that the students first try to identify the fruit without looking at the labels on the can. 

Pelinda, Benselyn, Andrea, Ashanty, and Saya

Each student had a worksheet that included a table of fruit types on the second page.

Herna, Burnell "Chris", Shawn, and Natalie

Although the suggestion was made to visually identify the fruit, all the groups turned to tasting the fruit to try to identify the chunks. I had looked for kiwi fruit at the store, but there were none. Adding some other unusual fruit to the mixes might have made the exercise richer and, undoubtedly, more challening.

Pelinda, Saya, Benselyn, Andrea, Ashanty

One of the groups was stumped by the green grapes. Further questioning determined that no one in the group had any experience of grapes other than as a flavor. When asked about honeydew melons and cantaloupe the group appeared to be equally unfamiliar with these fruits. These are all foreign fruit, but all three do come into the stores. I am reminded that there can still be a real disconnect between what is on a shelf at the store and the lived experience of the students. 

Blossom and Sisero

AJ and Audrey Ann

Benselyn, Andrea, Ashanty, Pelinda, and Saya