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How could you make the biggest fruit in the world?
Fates of Traits Unit | Lesson 1 of 5
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How could you make the biggest fruit in the world?

Fates of Traits Unit | Lesson 1 of 5
Lesson narration:
English Spanish
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DISCUSS:

If you could make a giant version of any fruit or vegetable, which one would you do?

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DISCUSS:

What other traits would you select for? (Remember, traits are things like size, shape, color, flavor, and so on.)

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DISCUSS:

Before we start the activity… take a quick guess! Are there any fruits or vegetables that you think might be varieties of the same thing?

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Anchor Connection In the past lesson, you learned about different kinds of fruit. Discuss. One of the fruits below does not belong in this group. Which fruit does not belong? And why do you think that?
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If you compare all of these fruits, you can see that the blueberry flowers and blueberries are completely different from the other flowers and fruits. The blueberries don’t belong!
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But these all have something in common, and it involves something that ants do. Discuss. What do you think these fruits all have in common?
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Ants love eating fruit! But it isn’t just the fruit. There are ants that will eat nectar and pollen from flowers, too. Discuss. Have you ever seen ants eat something? If so, what was it?
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Some animals can only eat one kind of food. But ants can eat lots and lots of different things. Sometimes they even eat other insects! Discuss. Think like an ant. How do you think it helps ants to survive if they can eat a lot of different kinds of food?
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Step
01/03
Get your Amazing Ants worksheet.
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Step
02/03
Ants eat many different kinds of food, and this helps them survive in many different places. As a class, discuss different ways that you can update your notes with this information. Then, update your notes.
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Step
03/03
Save your Amazing Ants worksheet. You will update it after the next lesson in this unit.
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Look at the "Wonder" column of your class See-Think-Wonder chart. Have any questions been answered by this lesson? You will revisit this chart after the next lesson.
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🎉 That’s it for this lesson! How did it go?
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# Extensions
Below are ideas for extending this topic beyond the activity & exploration which you just completed.
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# Readings:

These Common-Core-aligned readings are free with registration on ReadWorks. All readings include comprehension questions.

  • Growing Melons, Kinds of Melons, Fun with Melons — A set of three readings describing how melons grow, kinds of melons, and contests involving watermelons. (Grades 2 & 3)
  • Magic Tomatoes — In this story, a farm boy learns what you need to grow tomatoes. (Grade 3)
  • Pumpkin Time! — A short, illustrated reading describing the life cycle of a pumpkin. (Grade 2)
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#Three Activities

The Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project offers hands-on lessons that integrate science, reading, and math through their Growing Minds project.

  • Tomato Exploration introduces children to tomato varieties, including heirloom tomatoes of the past.
  • Pumpkins in the Fall focuses on predicting and counting how many seeds are inside a pumpkin.
  • Lettuce Exploration has children grow and taste three varieties of lettuce — writing poems, making observations, and graphing their results.
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trait


1 of 9

something you can observe about a living thing, such as the number of petals on a flower
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inherit


2 of 9

to get a trait from parents
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inherited trait


3 of 9

a trait of a living thing that comes from its parents
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variation


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the different versions of a trait, such as the number of petals on a flower or the size of a pumpkin
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artificial selection


5 of 9

the process of humans choosing certain traits of living things so that they are passed to the offspring
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variety


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a particular type of fruit or flower, such as a ghost pumpkin
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fruit


7 of 9

the part of a plant that contains seeds inside a covering, like apples
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seed


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a part of a plant that can grow into a baby plant
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evidence


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information that can be used to support or reject an idea
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Image & Video Credits

Mystery Science respects the intellectual property rights of the owners of visual assets. We make every effort to use images and videos under appropriate licenses from the owner or by reaching out to the owner to get explicit permission. If you are the owner of a visual and believe we are using it without permission, please contact us—we will reply promptly and make things right.

Exploration
ferry-morse pumpkin packet by Eliza Cross
pumpkin seeds by Shawn Campbell , used under CC BY-SA
wood background by Petr Kovar , used under CC BY-SA
pumpkin vine by furtwangl , used under CC BY-SA
hand holding cup/plant by UWyoExtension , used under CC BY-SA
large pumpkin by Christian Ude , used under CC BY-SA
celestia: north america by NASA , used under Public Domain
pumpkin patch by Sweet Posy Dreams
patch with sign by Sycamore Pumpkin Festival / we cropped the Sycamore flag from an image
giant pumpkins by Yourcsd , used under CC BY-SA
tree by Public Domain Images
pumpkin in hand by Olichel
giant pumpkins + cowboy by Mike Mozart , used under CC BY-SA
frame by Alvaro , used under CC BY-SA
swirly watermelon by Alvaro , used under CC BY-SA
modern watermelon by Stefan Schweihofer , used under Public Domain
fruit stall by Daderot , used under CC BY-SA
peach evolution by James Kennedy
full size peach by PublicDomainPictures , used under Public Domain
hand by Niek Verlaan
corn evolution: small by Paul Ransome
ear of corn by U.S. Department of Agriculture , used under CC BY-SA
three shovels by Lothar Wandtner
plethora of fruit by Olearys , used under CC BY-SA
pink roses by StockSnap , used under Public Domain
wild pink rose by Efraimstochter , used under Public Domain
pink rose by Carla Nunziata , used under CC BY-SA
pumpkin isolated by PublicDomainImages , used under Public Domain
family genetics by Manuel Corpas , used under Public Domain
gardener pruning by Image used under license from Shutterstock.com: Fresnel
fresh vegetables by Mary LaFrance
pumpkin patch by liz west , used under CC BY-SA
citrouille blanche by Chef Simon
yellow & blue gourds by Michael Schwarzenberger , used under Public Domain
yellow gourd by Efraimstochter , used under Public Domain
gourd with bumps by Robert Couse-Baker , used under CC BY-SA
orange pumpking with streaks by Jim Linwood , used under CC BY-SA
gourd & pumpkin exhibition by Kathastrophal
gourds & pumpkins by blickpixel , used under Public Domain
orange pumpkin vs. by Petr Kratochvil , used under Public Domain
orange pumpkin guts by Denise Torres
white pumpkin guts by Mirko Erakovic
pumpkin flower by PublicDomainPictures , used under Public Domain
pumpkin flowers by Toshiyuki IMAI , used under CC BY-SA
butternut squash by PublicDomainIssues , used under Public Domain
cucurbita maxima by J.M.Garg , used under CC BY-SA
granny smith by Steve Buissinne , used under Public Domain
red delicious by Apple and Pear Australia Ltd. , used under CC BY-SA
decorative squash by Hans , used under Public Domain
Activity
pumpkin face off by William Warby , used under CC BY-SA
cherry by Amanda Slater , used under CC BY-SA
grape by Andrew McFarlane , used under CC BY-SA
plum by Alan Levine , used under CC BY-SA
cherry blossom by James Petts , used under CC BY-SA
cherry interior by Nova , used under CC BY-SA
cherry leaf by Rosser1954 , used under Public Domain
grape blossom by Jckowal , used under CC BY-SA
grape interior by Yelkrokoyade , used under CC BY-SA
grape leaf by Forest and Kim Starr , used under CC BY-SA
plum blossom by Christopher Pluta , used under Public Domain
plum interior by Evan Amos , used under Public Domain
plum leaf by Plum leaves , used under CC BY-SA
cucumber by Rasbak , used under CC BY-SA
dosakai by Jamain , used under CC BY-SA
lemon by fir0002
cucumber blossom by Petr Kratochvil , used under Public Domain
cucumber interior by viZZZual.com , used under CC BY-SA
cucumber leaf by Bincymb , used under CC BY-SA
doaskai blossom by Bicanski , used under Public Domain
doaskai interior by helsesenteret
doaskai leaf by Scot Nelson , used under CC BY-SA
lemon blossom by Jessica Johnson , used under Public Domain
lemon interior by aleksandra85foto , used under Public Domain
lemon leaf by Tony Buser , used under CC BY-SA
tomato by tooony , used under CC BY-SA
watermelon by Shu Suehiro , used under CC BY-SA
zebra fruit by Pirate Alice , used under CC BY-SA
tomato blossom by Earth100 , used under CC BY-SA
tomato interior by Rasbak , used under CC BY-SA
tomato leaf by Jerry Nettik , used under Public Domain
watermelon blossom by Pinus , used under CC BY-SA
watermelon interior by liz west , used under CC BY-SA
watermelon leaf by TonyCasanova33 , used under CC BY-SA
zebra fruit blossom by Niek Willems , used under CC BY-SA
zebra fruit interior by Dan , used under CC BY-SA
zebra fruit leaf by Jerry Nettik , used under Public Domain
Credits
Lesson narration:
English Spanish

Grade 3

Heredity, Survival, & Selection

Trait Variation, Inheritance, & Artificial Selection

3-LS3-1

13891 reviews

Activity Prep

Print Prep
In this lesson, students explore how human beings have modified plants based on our knowledge of how plants inherit their traits. In the activity, Odd One Out, students play a game where they guess which fruits are related to each other based on traits of leaves, flowers, and arrangement of seeds. They use this information to understand how humans create fruit varieties by selecting certain traits.
Preview activity
Number of students:

I have a Mystery Pack

Fruit Cards printout Print 15 copies
Odd One Out worksheet 30 copies
Odd One Out & Fruit Cards Answer Key teacher-only resource 1 copy
Scissors
30 pairs
Prep Instructions

We suggest students work in pairs. Homeschool students can work on their own.

Exploration

20 mins

Hands-On Activity

35 mins

Grade 3

Heredity, Survival, & Selection

Trait Variation, Inheritance, & Artificial Selection

3-LS3-1

13891 reviews
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Credits