November, 2007
We've been celebrating all year, but our 100th birthday is this month.
Oklahoma became a state on November 16, 1907
Help your students understand the importance of agriculture in our state's history with this lesson: Agriculture: Oklahoma's Legacy
More AITC lessons about Oklahoma history.
November 22 is Thanksgiving Day
Oklahomans were still celebrating statehood on Thanksgiving Day, 1907. What was on the menu?
Oklahoma crops associated with Thanksgiving and reported in the 1907 census:
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113 million bushels of corn
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8.6 bushels of wheat
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2 million bushels of potatoes
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8.8 million pounds of butter (1900)
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171,000 turkeys, ducks and geese (1900)
More on traditional Thanksgiving foods (OAITC lesson): Make Mine Turkey
Turkeys
Some farmers grew turkeys on their farms in 1907, but most people probably went out hunting for wild turkey for their Thanksgiving tables. In fact, wild turkeys were nearly wiped out in the early days of statehood because of the influx of people. By 1925, most people thought they were extinct. In the late 1940s the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation embarked on a stocking program to reestablish the wild turkey to its former range. This program was so successful that today we have huntable populations in every county.
In 1990 the wild turkey was named Oklahoma's official game bird.
What makes dark meat dark?
Dark meat, which avian myologists (bird muscle scientists) refer to as "red muscle," is used for sustained activity—chiefly walking, in the case of a turkey. The dark color comes from a chemical compound in the muscle called myoglobin, which plays a key role in oxygen transport. White muscle, in contrast, is suitable only for short bursts of activity such as, for turkeys, flying. That's why the turkey's leg meat and thigh meat are dark, and its breast meat (which makes up the primary flight muscles) is white. Other birds more capable in the flight department, such as ducks and geese, have red muscle (and dark meat) throughout.
A 3-ounce serving of skinless white turkey meat contains 25 grams of fat, and less than 1 gram of saturated fat. Dark meat has more saturated fat than white meat, and eating the skin adds even more saturated fat. Turkey is also a good source of arginine—an amino acid the body uses to make new protein and nitric oxide, the substance that relaxes and opens arteries. (Source: Harvard Health Publications)
OSU Animal Science -Turkey Breeds
November is American Indian Heritage Month
Students learn about the Indian Allotment Act of 1887, which paved the way for opening Indian land to homesteading.
What was it like to be a child - Indian or settler - in the early days of Oklahoma Territory? Includes games played by settler children and Indian children.
November 14 is National Clean Out Your Refrigerator Day
Geography Awareness Week
is November 11-15
Ag
in the Classroom Geography Lessons
November
12-18 is Children's Book Week
Ag-Related Books for Children
and Young Adults
November 21 is Pumpkin Pie Day
Pumpkins and Other Lessons for Fall
Things to Do With Your Leftover Pumpkins
- If you have a pond, fountain, creek or other body of water nearby, hollow out your pumpkins and float them. If you have enough room, have a pumpkin race. Experiment to find out if jack-o-lanterns will float.
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Place them in a fish tank with garden soil, cover the tank with plastic wrap, and watch the pumpkin decompose. Or set it out in a bed outdoors and chart changes. (Case of the Missing Pumpkin)
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Fill them halfway with garden soil, add worms and sprinkle coffee grounds, shredded newspaper and other organic matter. Place in the aquarium or in a bed outdoors, and watch the worms eat themselves out of their home.
Do you have some fun ideas for leftover pumpkins you want to share? Send me an email.
Bowen, Gary, Stranded at Plimoth Plantation,
1626, Sagebrush, 1998.
(Grades 4-7)
The boat carrying indentured
servant Christopher Sears, 13, to Jamestown, Va., runs into heavy
weather off the coast of New England and is abandoned. Christopher
is billeted at the Brewster house, where he takes to the daily routines
of family and colony.
Gershator, Davis, Bread is for Eating, Henry Holt, 1998.
Celebrates
the importance of bread. The reader is taken on a journey that follows
the making of bread, from the seed planted in the soil to the baker's
kneading of the dough. Music is included.
Hoyt-Goldsmith, Diane, and Lawrence Migdale, Buffalo Days,
Holiday House, 1997 (Grades 4-6).
Portrait of a young Crow Indian
boy - Clarence Three Irons, Jr., a.k.a. Indian - living in Lodge
Grass, Montana. Indian's father raises cattle and horses, and manages
the Crow buffalo herd.
Hughes, Meredith Sayles, Green Power: Leaf & Flower Vegetables, Lerner, 2001
Miller, Jay, American Indian Foods: A True Book, Children's Press, 1997
Pelham, David, Sam's Sandwich, Dutton,
1991.
Fold-out
flap book with the look of a real sandwich and easy-to-say, rolling
rhymes. Sam and his sister Samantha are making a giant sandwich,
but little does Samantha suspect that slimy slugs and creepy bugs
are among the ingredients.
Waters. Late. and Russ Kendall, Giving
Thanks: The 1621 Harvest Feast,
Scholastic, 2001
In Plimoth, Massachusetts,
sometime in the autumn of 1621, English settlers--known as Pilgrims--and
the Wampanoag people shared a harvest celebration that eventually
became swallowed up in myth and legend. Giving Thanks is a photographic
reenactment of what might have taken place, based on true historical
accounts.
Ichord, Loretta Frances, Hasty Pudding,
Johnnycakes, and Other Good Stuff: Cooking in Colonial America,
Millbrook, 1998.
Facts
about America's culinary heritage covering such topics as manners,
food preservation, and culinary staples such as corn. Ichord
also includes a section on regional diversity and one she calls "Soul Cooking," which
focuses on the unique cuisine created by slaves. Recipes for
popular dishes, updated for modern kitchens and accompanied
by clear directions and discussion of how the same dish would
have been prepared by colonial cooks, conclude each chapter.
Children will need adult help when they prepare the food, but
they'll have fun learning the history and making such dishes
as johnnycakes, pumpkin soup, and, of course, hasty pudding.
P.A.S.S.
Broccoli Activities
PreK: Math - 1.1; 5.3. Health - 3.2. Science - 1.1
Kindergarten: Math - 1.1. Science Process - 1.1; Health - 1.3
Grade 1: Science Process - 1.2; 2.1. Physical Science - 1.2
Grade 2: Science Process - 1.2; 2.1.
Grade 3: Science Process - 2.1. Life Science - 2.1
Pear Activities
PreK: Creative Skills - 1.2,4. Math - 2.2; 5.2
Kindergarten: Creative Skills - 1.3. Math - 5.1,2
Grade 1: Math Process - 1.2; 5.1. Math Content - 5.1,2. Visual Arts - 1.4; 2.3; 3.2,3
Grade 2: Math Process - 1.2; 5.1. Math Content - 5.1,2. Visual Arts - 1.4; 2.3; 3.2,3
Grade 3: Math Process - 1.2; 5.1. Math Content - 5.1a. Visual Arts - 1.4; 3.1
Grade 4: Math Process - 1.2; 5.1. Math Content - 5.1b. Visual Arts - 1.2; 3.2,3
Leftover Pumpkin Activities
PreK: Creative Skills - 1.2. Science - 1.3,4; 2.2
Kindergarten: Creative Skills - 1.3. Science Process - 1.2,3. Physical Science - 1.2
Grade 1: Science Process - 1.2; 3.1,2; 4.3. Physical Science - 1.1
Grade 2: Science Process - 1.2; 3.1,2; 4.3. Life Science - 2.1
Grade 3: Science Process - 1.2; 3.1,2; 4.3.
Grade 4: Science Process - 1.2; 3.1,3; 4.1.
Grade 5: Science Process - 1.2; 3.1,3; 4.1. Life Science - 2.1. Earth Science - 3.1
Grade 6: Science Process - 1.1; 3.1,2,3.4; 4.1,4; 5.1. Life Science - 4.1
Grade 7: Science Process - 1.1; 3.1,2,3.4; 4.1,4; 5.1.
Grade 8: Science Process - 1.1; 3.1,2,3.4; 4.1,4; 5.1.
Sandwich Day Activities
PreK: Creative Skills - 1.1. Oral Language - 1.1; 3.2. Writing - 9.1,3
Kindergarten: Reading - 1.1,4. Writing - 1.1,2,3. Oral Language - 1.2
Grade 1: Writing - 1.1,4; 2.1,5; 3.3. Oral Language - 3.1,2. Math Process - 1.1,2; 2.3; 4.4; 5.1,2. Math Content - 5.1,2
Grade 2: Writing - 2.1; 3.3. Oral Language - 3.1. Math Process - 1.1,2; 2.3; 4.4; 5.1,2. Math Content - 5.2
Grade 3: Writing - 2.1,2,3ab; 3.3. Oral Language - 3.1. Visual Literacy - 3. Math Process - 1.1,2; 2.3; 4.4; 5.1,2. Math Content - 2.2b; 5.1abc,2b
Grade 4: Writing - 1.5; 2.,1,2; 3.3. Oral Language - 3.1. Visual Literacy - 3. Math Process - 1.1,2; 2.3; 4.4; 5.1,2. Math Content - 2.3b; 5.1ab
Grade 5: Writing - 1.3,6; 2.1,5; 3.3. Oral Language - 3.1; Visual Literacy - 3. Math Process - 1.1,2; 2.3; 4.4; 5.1,2. Math Content - 5.1abd
2008 Ag Day Contests - Agriculture: Cultivating Oklahoma's Future
Entries due December 3
2008 Teacher of the Year Application
Entries due December 21
The leaves are falling, and so are the pecans
Pecans start falling from Oklahoma trees this time of year. The experts are predicting this year's crop will be the second best in recent years, due to abundant rainfall early this summer. In northern Oklahoma many pecan trees were damaged by late frost, but a bumper crop in southern Oklahoma is expected to make up for that loss. In 2005, pecans ranked number 11 in value of all Oklahoma commodities, and Oklahoma ranked number 5 in the nation in the production of pecans.
Pecans and other nuts are loaded with unsaturated fat and essential nutrients. The U.S. Department of Agriculture recommends eating three to five servings of nuts, seeds or legumes a day. One ounce of pecans (20 to 30 halves, depending on the pecan size) equals one serving. Pecans can also help with weight loss because they help you feel full.
If you can find a pecan tree and a willing owner nearby, take your students outside to gather pecans, and use them in these lessons.
Students learn about themselves as individuals and understand that things in nature also have traits that distinguish them from all others.
Students evaluate the quality of pecans based on a set of criteria.
Okmulgee owns the world record for largest pecan pie, pecan cookie, pecan brownie, and biggest ice cream and cookie party. Each June, Okmulgee rolls out the welcome mat to thousands of its closest friends as the annual Pecan Festival comes to town.
November 17 is Homemade Bread Day
Bread in a Bag
Oklahoma Vegetable of the Month: Broccoli
Thomas Jefferson introduced broccoli in the US. He recorded his planting of broccoli on May 27, 1767. Although broccoli has been grown in the US for over 200 years it did not become a popular food until the 1920s, when Italian immigrants began planting and selling it. Broccoli was a popular vegetable in ancient Rome.
Broccoli is classified as a cruciferous vegetable, along with cabbage and cauliflower. It grows best in cool weather. In Oklahoma gardens it grows well if planted early in the spring or late in the summer for a fall garden.
Ounce for ounce, boiled broccoli has more vitamin C than an orange and as much calcium as a glass of milk, according to the USDA's nutrient database. One medium spear has three times more fiber than a slice of wheat bran bread. Broccoli is also one of the richest sources of vitamin A in the produce section. Researchers have found that, among other benefits, eating broccoli can help prevent several kinds of cancer, strokes and cataracts.
Play With Your Food: We Eat the Broccoli Flower
Most kids first know broccoli as trees because they look like trees. Allow students to examine some broccoli florets. Ask which part of the plant we eat. Explain to students that the part of the broccoli we eat is actually the flower of the plant. More specifically, they are florets getting ready to bloom. Once they have bloomed, they don't taste as good. Broccoli that has started to bloom has a yellowish cast to it, because broccoli flowers are yellow. Ask studentsto name other vegetable flowers that we eat? (cauliflower)
Game: Root, Leaf, Fruit, Stem or Flower
- Players sit in a circle, with one student (the caller) in the center.
- The caller points to any other student and says, "Root, Leaf, Fruit, Stem or Flower - Flower."
- By the count of ten, the student must then name a vegetable not previously mentioned whose flower (or root or leaf or stem) we eat.
- If successful, he or she sits in the center of the circle. If not, the same student remains in center, calling on a different student to name a specific food.
Be a Food Explorer : Broccoli Forest
Build and eat a Broccoli Forest or make Broccoli Trees, with dipping sauce, using carrots for trunks and broccoli florets as the crown. Provide vegetables that are roots (carrots), stems (celery) and fruit (peppers). Students will sort according to the part of the plant we eat.
Oklahoma Fruit of the Month: Pears
Pears were among the Oklahoma crops big enough to report in the 1900 census, a few years before statehood. Oklahoma orchards produced 2,000 bushels of pears in 1900 and 7,450 in 1910.
Pears are a very good source of dietary fiber, Vitamin C, copper and Vitamin K.
Be a Food Explorer: Pear Taste Test
Bring several different kinds of pears to class. Have students determine which ones they like best by looking at them. Then do a taste test and ask students if the pears that look best also taste best. Some pears are crunchy and some are more buttery. Have students vote to see how they prefer their pears (crunchy or buttery). Graph the results.
Play With Your Food: Still Life With Pears
Bring several different kinds of pears to class. Arrange them in an attractive dish, and have students do still life drawings or paintings of them. Discuss the tradition of still life art.
Georgia O'Keefe, Two Pears (1927)
More examples of still life with pears
Sandwich Day is November 3rd
John Montague, born in 1718, was an English nobleman who loved to play
cards. Once in 1762 he played cards at a men's club in London for 24 hours
straight. He didn't want to push his luck by leaving the table to eat,
so he asked that some roasted meats and cheeses be brought to him between
two slices of bread so that he could hold his food in one hand and his
cards in the other. The new food, the sandwich, was named for him, the
Earl of Sandwich.
Montague's time-saving nourishment idea caught on quickly and changed the
eating habits of people forever.
Sandwich Song
Tune: "Old MacDonald Had a Farm"
Let’s all make a big sandwich--
Yummy, yummy, yum!
And on it we will put some cheese--
Yummy, yummy, yum!
With a little cheese here,
And a little cheese there,
Here cheese, there cheese, everywhere cheese, cheese!
Let’s all make a big sandwich--
Yummy, yummy, yum
Substitute mustard, ketchup, pickles, lettuce, ham, chicken, etc. for cheese in other verses.
Sandwich Booklets
- Read aloud Shel Silverstein’s "Recipe For A Hippopotamus Sandwich," from Where the Sidewalk Ends.
- Provide each student with a sandwich-shaped booklet containing six or more blank cutouts. (See Rooftop Sandwich for a pattern.)
- The student will write the title, "A One-Of-A-Kind Sandwich" and his/her name on the top cutout.
- On each of the following cutouts, the student will describe and illustrates a different sandwich stuffer. Encourage students to describe traditional and nontraditional ingredients.
- When the booklet pages are completed, the student will decorate the front and back of the booklet as desired.
Punctuation Practice
- Using a permanent marker, write punctuation marks as desired.
- Cut out several cards cut to look like bread slices.
- On each card, write a sentence and omit one punctuation mark.
- Write the answers on the backs of the cutouts for self-checking.
- Laminate the cutouts for durability.
- Store the cutouts and bags in a lunchbox.
- Students will read the sentences, identify the missing punctuation mark, and pack the cutout in the correct sandwich bag.
I’m Making a Sandwich
- Students will sit in a circle.
- The leader begins by saying "I’m making a sandwich, and I need a slice of bread."
- The next person repeats what has been said and adds something else to the sandwich - mayonnaise, mustard, ketchup, peanut butter, ham, lettuce, etc.
- The next person lists both items and adds another sandwich filling.
- Creativity should be encouraged and duplication avoided.
- The teacher may have to prompt class members every now and then as the sandwich grows.
Sandwich Feast
- As a class, students will brainstorm to list possible sandwich ingredients.
- Students will list all the possible combinations of the ingredients in groups of 3-5.
- Students will each design an unusal sandwich from 3-5 of the ingredients listed.
- Students will name their sandwiches.
- Students will write detailed directions for making their sandwiches.
- Students will work in groups to create menus of the sandwiches.
- Students will write advertisements for their sandwiches in poem, song, or paragraph form.
- Students will share their advertisements with the class.
- Students will bring ingredients to class for a sandwich feast.
- Students will wash their hands and put on food handling gloves.
- Each student will follow the directions written by another student to make one of the sandwiches on the menu.
- Students will determine how many pieces they would have if they cut the sandwiches into halve, quarters, etc.
- Students will decide how to cut the sandwiches for sampling.
- Students will cut sandwiches into sample sizes.
- Students will sample the sandwiches.
- Students will record their impressions of the sandwiches based on sight, smell and taste.
- Students will vote by secret ballot to decide which sandwich is the favorite.
- Students will develop appropriate graphs to analyze the results of their vote.
The First Thanksgiving Meal: What? No Sweet Potatoes?
Edward Winslow's account: Our corn [what the colonists called wheat back then] did prove well, and God be praised, we had a good increase of Indian corn, and our barley indifferent good, but our peas not worth the gathering, for we feared they were too late sown. They came up very well, and blossomed, but the sun parched them in the blossom. Our harvest being gotten in, our governor sent four men on fowling, that so we might after a special manner rejoice together after we had gathered the fruit of our labors. They four in one day killed as much fowl as, with a little help beside, served the company almost a week. At which time, amongst other recreations, we exercised our arms, many of the Indians coming amongst us, and among the rest their greatest king Massasoit, with some ninety men, whom for three days we entertained and feasted, and they went out and killed five deer, which they brought to the plantation and bestowed on our governor, and upon the captain and others. And although it be not always so plentiful as it was at this time with us, yet by the goodness of God, we are so far from want that we often wish you partakers of our plenty.
William Bradford's account: They began now to gather in the small harvest they had, and to fit up their houses and dwellings against winter, being all well recovered in health and strength and had all things in good plenty. For as some were thus employed in affairs abroad, others were exercising in fishing, about cod and bass and other fish, of which they took good store, of which every family had their portion. All the summer there was no want; and now began to come in store of fowl, as winter approached, of which this place did abound when they came first (but afterward decreased by degrees). And besides waterfowl there was great store of wild turkeys, of which they took many, besides venison, etc. Besides they had about a peck of meal a week to a person, or now since harvest, Indian corn to that proportion. Which made many afterwards write so largely of their plenty here to their friends in England, which were not feigned but true reports.
