Provide children with the nutritional information of a variety of fruits and vegetables. Choose one nutritional element, such as the amount of fiber, and ask students to create a bar graph representing this information. Have students present their bar graph to classmates and explain which fruits and vegetables have more or less of that nutritional element than carrots. Display the bar graphs in your classroom or in the hallway so that other students can view the information. This activity is appropriate for young elementary students.
Read, "The Carrot Seed" by Ruth Krauss, to your preschool students. The small boy in the story waits patiently for his carrot seed to grow and the book teaches young children that good things come to those who wait. Provide students with gardening gloves, tools, and carrot seeds and plant a vegetable garden at your school. Enlist the help of other classes to maintain and care for the garden. Document the growth of the seeds, and discuss the growth of the carrots throughout the school year.
Discuss the growth of carrots with your students. Ask them to imagine they are a carrot and write a story from the perspective of the vegetable. The story should detail the stages of growth from seed to carrot. Encourage students to be creative with their storyline and plot as long as they include these lifecycle components. Allow them to share their carrot stories with the class. This activity is most appropriate for first through third grade students.
Gather your class together and discuss the health benefits of carrots. Make a list of these benefits and write them on the chalkboard. Ask students to compose a letter to your local school board requesting that carrots be served more often in the school cafeteria. Provide students with examples of how to write a proper formal letter. They should include at least two reasons why they feel it is important to serve more carrots to students. Send the letters to your local school board and share any responses you receive from the school board with the class.