POTATOES GALORE: Please Tell Me More!!!!

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POTATOES GALOREPlease Tell Me More!!!!

• Plants, Food, and Cooking
• By
• Carmin Gregory
• Shana Harness
• Shelley Mullane

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Biology of a Potato

• A tuber or underground stem with stored food.
• Potatoes are a perennial plant when growing in
  the wild and annuals when cultivated.
• Cultivated potatoes have 48 chromosomes. Wild
  Potatoes have 24 chromosomes.

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Parts of a Potato

• Eyebrow is a leaf scar on the potato and faces
  the apical end.
• Eye eyes on a potato ate the growing points for
  new plants.
• Stem (basal) end the stem end is the attachment
  point between the tuber and the plant.
• Lenticle lenticles are tiny openings that allow
  moisture into the tuber.
• Flower The flower is perfect and contains both
  male and female parts. The flower has 5 petals
  and can be white, purple, lilac, or violet
  depending on variety.

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Activity 1KWL

• Have students draw what they think a potato plant
  looks like.
• Have students name the parts of a potato.
• This is a good way of introducing the potato
  plant and parts of a potato.
• This activity also makes you aware of the
  students knowledge of the subject.
• Students could each grow a plant with a potato in
  water to see the plant and its parts.

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Activity 2Potato Soup

• The students would be able to learn measuring and
  the process involved in making potato soup.
• Students would be able to try a product they
  have made from the plant they would be studying.
  
• They may be tasting a new food
• This could also allow for discussion of all the
  varieties of potatoes.

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Activity 3Spineless Potatoes

• This allows students to see how potatoes change
  in different solutions.
• Allows students to see how the texture and form
  of potatoes change when introduced to other
  elements.

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Activity 3Checking for Starch

• What happens when iodine is placed on a potato
  and comes in contact with starch?
• Iodine changes color to blue or black.
• Have students explain how this could be important
  or how they could check different parts for
  starch.

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Activity 5 Potato Prints

• Give students ½ of a potato and allow them to
  create a design in the middle by cutting a shape
  out of the fleshy part of the potato.
• They can then paint around the design and use the
  potato as a stamp.

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Activity 6Potato Clock

• Clocks can be purchased that operate off of
  potatoes or you can make your own.
• By sticking copper and zinc electrodes into the
  potato and hook up to the clock.
• Kids will enjoy the electrolyte power of the
  potatoes.

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Potato Activity Sheet

• Prepare booklets in advance with ½ sheet size
  paper and stapled together. Students may put
  their potato stamp on the pages to design and
  decorate their book
• 1.Title Page Spud Stuff by _________
• 2. Draw a picture of your spud. Give your spud a
  name.
• 3. Measure your spud.
• My spud is ______ inches long.
• My spud is ______ inches wide.
• 4. Draw a cute potato on this page
• My spud has _________ eyes/
• _______s spud has the most number of eyes.
• _______s spud has the least number of
  eyes.
• My spud weighs _________.
• ________s spud weighs the most.
• ________s spud weighs the least.
• 5. Draw a Scale
• How many squares will your spud cover.
• __________ my guess.
• __________my count.
• 6. Draw a graph

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Activity Sheet Continued

1. My spud weighs _________.
2. ________s spud weighs the most.
3. ________s spud weighs the least.
4. 5. Draw a Scale
5. How many squares will your spud cover.
6. __________ my guess.
7. __________my count.
8. 6. Draw a graph