Healthy Science 3 is a short, straightforward unit. Below you'll find a brief discussion of each lesson.
An Apple, A Day requires that you bring in some apples. Since each group is going to work with just a slice, you don't need very many. Talk about how apples are preserved. We've provided dried apples and canned applesauce to get the discussion going.
Challenge students to try to keep their apple slice white and crisp for a day. Set out one untreated slice as a control Then you'll demonstrate how to set up the experiment using citric acid dissolved in water. Citric acid does a great job keeping the apple fresh so you'll probably have the whitest and most crisp apple slice.
Make sure students record their plan and their results. End the science class and then serve the dried apples, the applesauce, and any leftover apples.
Keeping Food Fresh looks at the many ways we have to keep our food fresh. After analyzing the results of the Lesson 1 experiment, talk about the importance of preserving food. Discuss that the goal of preserving food is to keep the food edible by eliminating or slowing down the growth of bacteria.
The food packaging pictures should be matched with the methods listed on pages 2 and 3 of their Student Booklets. After you discuss all the methods with your students, assign the Food Preservative Hunt to be done at home.
Staying Healthy provides great practice reading for information. After students read page 5 and classify the foods on the round color stickers, they read page 6. Then they use the information to complete the unfinished phrases and lists on their puzzle pieces.
Bad News, Good News uses three mini-books to reinforce and introduce ideas. Bacteria reviews what makes food go bad and how bacteria can be controlled. Insecticides and cotton cushion scale insect discuss how something that was supposed to help can end up causing more problems.
