Minds On

Foods across Canada

Explore this video entitled "Food" to learn more about the types of food grown across Canada.

Use what Bebe and Mo learned about food across Canada to answer the following questions!

For each sentence, select the missing word from the drop-down menu.

Brainstorm

Think about the foods you eat!

  • What are some of the fruits and vegetables grown in Canada?
  • What other fruits or vegetables do you enjoy? Do you know where they are grown?
  • Where do you think food comes from?

Record your ideas in a notebook or a method of your choice.

Action

Task 1: What is agriculture?

Agriculture is another word for farming.

It includes both growing and harvesting crops and raising animals or livestock.

Agriculture provides the food and other materials that humans need to survive.

Check out this video entitled "Food" to learn more about where our food comes from.

What is one new fact that you learned from this video?

Where does our food come from?

Record your ideas in a notebook or another method of your choice.

Agriculture and Haudenosaunee traditions

In the Six Nations of the Grand River, Gabby visits Terry Lynn’s farm where she learns about the traditions of the Haudenosaunee peoples. Terry Lynn shares that they are some of the world’s oldest farmers. Hunting, fishing, foraging and harvesting are very important pieces of the Haudenosaunee ways of life.

Check out this video to learn more about Terry Lynn and the role that she plays on the community farm.

Investigate

Investigate

  • What is a seed keeper?
  • Why are seeds so important to the Haudenosaunee peoples?
  • What is foraging?

Record your answers in a method of your choice.

Task 2: What’s growing where?

Check out the following photos and try to identify the following food.

Which type of climate do each of these foods need to be grown in? Where would each type of food be grown?

Climate means the pattern of weather and rainfall or snowfall over a long period of time. Different kinds of climates include hot and tropical climates, cold and snowy climates, mixed climates with warm and cool weather, or rainy climates.

What is the following food? What type of climate does it grow in? Where would this food be grown?

This long fruit is grown in bunches on a tall tree with large green leaves.

This long fruit is grown in bunches on tall trees with large green leaves.

Press ‘Answer’ to check if you chose the correct climate for this food!

Bananas are grown in hot tropical climates, like in South America and Asia. Check out the following map to explore where bananas are grown. A world map that points out the countries where bananas are grown. Bananas are grown in the following areas: Mexico, South America, India, Southern China.

This is a world map with four arrows that point to Mexico, the northern part of South America, India, and the southern part of China. These places have tropical climates for bananas to grow.

What is the following food? What type of climate does it grow in? Where would this food be grown?

A field of water which grows a small grain. There are people walking with baskets on their backs to store the grain in once they pick it.

This food is grown in a field of water. This food is small and is a grain.

Press ‘Answer’ to check if you chose the correct climate for this food!

Rice grows where there is plenty of water. It is found in warm climates that get a lot of rainfall like many parts of Asia.

A world map which highlights where rice is grown. Rice is grown in the following countries: North west Africa, China, India, Indonesia, and Japan.

This is a world map with five arrows that point to India, China, Japan, Indonesia, and the north-west part of Africa. These places have rainy climates where rice is grown.

What is the following food? What type of climate does it grow in? Where would this food be grown?

A patch of leaves and wines that grows a large ball shaped vegetable on the ground.

This food grows in a patch with large, ball-shaped vegetables growing from the ground. They are attached to vines.

Press ‘Answer’ to check if you chose the correct climate for this food!

Pumpkins can grow in cooler climates, which is why they are often harvested in the fall in North America as well as Russia.

This is a map of the world. Three arrows that point to where pumpkins are grown: Canada, the United States of America, and Russia.

What is the following food? What type of climate does it grow in? Where would this food be grown?

A two rows of short trees and circular fruits that hangs from the branches.

This food grows in an orchard with short trees and circular fruit hanging from the branches.

Press ‘Answer’ to check if you chose the correct climate for this food!

Apple trees need a certain number of winter days in order to grow fruit the following spring. For this reason, apples are grown in cooler climates where there are four seasons, like Canada and areas of Europe.

This is a world map with three arrows that point to Canada, Europe, and Japan. These places have cooler climates for apples to grow.

Task 3: Fruits of the world

If tropical fruits grow only in tropical climates, how can we buy them in Ontario?

Here are some popular fruits found in each continent of the world. Are there any climates where fruit cannot grow?

Record your ideas in a notebook or a method of your choice.

Press ‘Answer’ to learn where fruit is not grown.

Antarctica cannot grow fruit because of the climate there.

Fruit by continent

  • Antarctica

    • no fruit

  • Africa

    • pineapples
    • dates
    • olives
    • apples
    • peaches

  • Australia and Oceania

    • bananas
    • mangoes
    • kiwis
    • papayas
    • coconuts

  • Asia

    • pomelos
    • jackfruits
    • lychees
    • Asian pears
    • dragon fruits
    • mandarins
    • tangerines

  • Europe

    • apples
    • peaches
    • nectarines
    • pears
    • plums
    • lemons

  • North America

    • apples
    • strawberries
    • pumpkins
    • oranges (south)
    • cranberries
    • avocados (south)

  • South America

    • passionfruit
    • gooseberries
    • bananas
    • acai berries
    • guava

Now that we have explored a list of popular fruit from our continents, let’s match the following fruit to the continent where it is grown!

Fruits grown in several continents

Explore the previous lists and choose one fruit that is grown in two continents. Answer the following questions and record on a map where your chosen fruit is found using the following Fruits of the World activity.

  • Where in the world is this fruit grown?
  • Why is this fruit grown in this area of the world?

Press ‘Hint’ to consider how you can describe where your chosen fruit is found.

Think of the images and descriptions you explored. What was the climate like where those fruits were grown?

Complete the following Fruits of the World activity in your notebook or use the following fillable and printable document. You can also use another method of your choice.

Fruits of the World

Press the Activity button to access the Fruits of the World.

Activity(Opens in a new tab)

Task 4: Climate in Nunavut

A map of Canada that highlights the different regions in Nunavut. The regions are Kitikmeot, Kivalliq, and Qikiqtaaluk.

There are more than 20 different Inuit communities that live in the 3 regions of the territory of Nunavut.

The climate in Nunavut in northern areas of Canada is snow and ice most of the year. The soil is frozen and there are no trees in the area. Animals such as polar bear, walrus, seals, narwhale, beluga whales and muskox live in this region. In this climate, Inuit communities have lived and thrived for thousands of years.

An image of Apex,Nunavut. There is a smal snow hill with many homes in front of it.

What do you think are the local foods in this area?

How do you think Inuit communities get fruits and vegetables in this climate?

Record your ideas in a method of your choice.

Press the Answer button to check your understanding.

Fruits and vegetables cannot grow because of the snow and ice most of the year. To get fruits and vegetables, these foods have to be shipped to areas of Nunavut. It costs a lot of money to get these foods here. It can be challenging for many to afford to eat fruits and vegetables often but there will be some people who can afford to eat them more often.

The local foods for Inuit to eat include seals, fish, whale and caribou. These are important foods for Inuit. They hunt these animals for their food. Hunting is an important part of their culture.

Check out the following video of Shina Novalinga. She is preparing raw caribou meat and raw beluga whale with her mom.

Brainstorm

Brainstorm

  • Where in Canada is Nunavut?
  • Why is hunting important to Inuit culture?
  • How does the climate in Nunavut affect the food that Inuit communities eat?

Record your answer in a method of your choice.

Consolidation

Exploring farming

There are seven children harvesting sweet potatoes from the soil.

Brainstorm

What do you think?

Respond to the following questions:

  • If you could be a farmer, what kind of food would you grow?
  • Which part of the world would your farm have to be in to grow the food you chose?
  • What two questions do you have about being a farmer?/li>

Record your ideas in a notebook or another method of your choice.

Reflection

How do you feel about what you have learned in this activity? Which of the next four sentences best matches how you are feeling about your learning? Press the button that is beside this sentence.

I feel...

Now, record your ideas about your feelings using a voice recorder, speech-to-text, or writing tool.