Lesson Topic/Subject: The tongue/Science and Math
Grade Level: 1 /2
Teacher: Michelle Curtiss

Introduction/Background:

This lesson will work better if taught in smaller groups or as a center.

Objectives:

1. Students will be able to differentiate between the four basic tastes of the tongue. Analysis.
2. Students will be able to record their favorite likes, dislikes, and favorite foods and create a graph. Synthesis.
3. Students will use the graph to compare the tastes of the class. Evaluation.

Materials:

1. 24 copies of the taste worksheet
2. Numbered containers with slices or pieces of (enough for 24):
   • dill pickle
   • lemon
   • bitter chocolate
   • orange
   • potato chip
   • pretzel
   • jelly bean
   • mint candy
3. 96 small pieces of construction paper for students to write their name on for the graph (four cards per each student)
4. Picture cards for bulletin board of all of the foods tasted, including the word cards sour, salty, bitter and sweet
5. Pencils
6. Crayons
7. Thumbtacks or tape

Procedures:

Part I: The Taste Test

1. Prepare the food by making slices and putting them into containers. Number the containers one through eight. Put out in the order of the worksheet.
2. Tell students that they will be trying different foods that have very different and noticeable tastes.
3. Have the students taste the food in container one and record on the worksheet their reaction by coloring the happy face if they like it, or the sad face if they donít like it. Then the students taste the food in container two and record their reaction.
4. Next, have the students choose his/her favorite taste and write an "X" by it in the "My Favorites" column on their worksheet.
5. The students continue taste testing and recording the rest of the foods in order.

Part II: The Graph

1. Prepare the bulletin board for the graph. Make food picture cards with the name of all the foods we tasted and also cards with sour, salty, bitter and sweet.
2. Give the students four pieces of small construction paper and tell them to write their names on the cards.
3. Tell the students to tack or tape (depending if you are putting the graph on a bulleting board or on the chalkboard) his/her cards above their favorite choice in each of the four basic taste groups.
4. After all of the students have finished the graph, ask students to make comparisons. What taste group has the most names by it? Why do you think this? What taste group has the least? And other comparisons that the students can come up with.

Evaluation of student learning:

1. Did all the students participate in the taste test and record their answers?
2. Were the students able to help create the graph?
3. Did the students evaluate the graph and make good comparisons?