Classroom-Ready Lesson Plans
The North Carolina SweetPotato Commission collaborated with North Carolina Ag in the Classroom to develop classroom-ready lesson plans featuring sweetpotatoes for grades K-12 including a section focusing on Family and Consumer Sciences (FCS). Our curriculum was written for elementary, middle and high school students and each lesson meets standards set forth by the US Department of Education. Lesson plans include links to videos from the sweetpotato growing season, posters depicting “A Year in the Life of a North Carolina Sweetpotato” as well as links to the story book and activity guide, Digging for North Carolina Sweetpotatoes. Lesson plans have also been submitted to National Ag in the Classroom for approval and dissemination on their website. This collaboration was funded through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service through Specialty Crop Block Grant 17-182-2001. Content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the USDA or Farm Bureau.
K–2
Learning the Life Cycle of a Sweetpotato
The purpose of this unit is to encourage the understanding of the sweetpotato plant, its life cycle, and the sweetpotato as a healthy vegetable. Students will be exposed to the parts of a sweetpotato plant, understand how sweetpotatoes are grown, describe the importance of sweetpotatoes as a nutritious food, and discover other sweetpotato uses.
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3-5
Knowledge of Knowing North Carolina Sweetpotatoes
The purpose of this unit is to encourage the understanding of the sweetpotato plant, its life cycle, the importance of a sweetpotato to North Carolina agriculture, and its nutritional value as a vegetable. Students will be exposed to the parts of a sweetpotato plant, understand how sweetpotatoes are grown, describe the importance of sweetpotatoes as a nutritious food, and its purpose as an exported commodity.
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Biotechnology in the North Carolina Sweetpotato Industry
The purpose of this unit is for students to explore agricultural biotechnology methods and careers as it applies to sweetpotatoes and GMO crops.
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North Carolina Sweetpotatoes’ Historical Journey
The purpose of this unit is for students to understand the economical and historical impact of sweetpotatoes on North Carolina.
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Sweetpotatoes: It’s What’s for Dinner
The purpose of this unit is for students to explore the importance of eating a healthy, balanced diet including foods they consume daily and adding sweetpotatoes for improving their nutritional intake.
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The Journey of a Sweetpotato after Harvest
The purpose of this unit is for students to identify scientific relatable content within the curing and processing of sweetpotatoes as the final stages of farm to plate.
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The Science of Growing North Carolina Sweetpotatoes
The purpose of this unit is for students to identify scientifically relatable content to the process of planting, transplanting, growing, cultivating, and harvesting sweetpotatoes. Students will examine how abiotic and biotic factors, photosynthesis, soil, and fertilizer affect sweetpotato production in North Carolina.
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9-12
The Science of Growing North Carolina Sweetpotatoes
The purpose of this unit is for students to understand the cell structure and function by investigating the sweetpotato life cycle. Students will understand how the processes of photosynthesis, environmental factors, and biotechnology determine the success of sweetpotato production in North Carolina.
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Biology
This middle school lesson will incorporate botany, horticulture, and general biology, into the Family and Consumer Sciences classroom and facilitate a planting/growing project. Students will be able to: *explain how a sweetpotato grows *grow a sweetpotato slip.
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Nutrition
This middle school lesson will incorporate botany, horticulture, and general biology, into the Family and Consumer Sciences classroom and facilitate a planting/growing project.
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Snacks
This middle school lesson will provide some hands-on lab experiences for students to
prepare healthy sweetpotato snacks
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Microwave Safety
This middle school lesson will help students identify a sweetpotato, provide microwave safety, how to wash a sweetpotato, and how to follow a simple microwave recipe.
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Food Science | FCS 9-12 Lesson Plan: From Farm to Fork
The purpose of this unit is for students to understand and exemplify the steps of the food system, and develop a product concept that progresses through each step of the food system.
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Culinary | FCS 9-12 Lesson Plan: Culinary Trends
How are sweetpotatoes used in restaurants? This lesson will answer this question and explore how sweetpotatoes can be leveraged with today’s top flavor and menu trends.
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Plant Science | FCS 9-12 Lesson Plan: From Soil To Sustenance
This lesson will introduce the plant science of sweetpotatoes to family and consumer sciences students, incorporating biology and botany into the classroom and providing foundational knowledge about how the sweetpotato grows, matures, and is harvested.
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Food Science & Technology / Food and Nutrition II | FCS 9-12 Lesson Plan: Food Labeling
This lesson will use sweetpotatoes to explore such labeling options as conventional, organic, GMO, and gluten-free.
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Nutrition | FCS 9-12 Lesson Plan Sweetpotatoes: Fuel for Athletes
Do you ever wonder how extreme endurance athletes fuel their performance? In this lesson, students will explore sports nutrition and fueling endurance athletes. In small groups, students will develop a product to fuel endurance athletes that uses sweetpotatoes as an ingredient. This lesson is a great way to review carbohydrates, sports nutrition, and product design.
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Nutrition | FCS 9-12 Lesson Plan: Pretty Sweet Product Development
Students explore product development, marketing, and food science and innovation through North Carolina business case studies.
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