Y2 How the World Works - Peeling a Pomelo

The central idea of this unit of inquiry is how all living things go through a process of change in the natural world.  Nearing the end of this unit with a focus on plants and their life cycle, I decided to cut a pomelo in front of the students.  Afterall, a fruit is a final phase of seed.  

None of the students had peeled a pomelo, and the few that had eaten one had bought it only in plastic. The purpose of this activity was to show students how this was done and in the process reflect on the following connections to their UOI:

• how the peel protects the fruit and from what
• how the seeds are spread and fertilised
• why the pomelo seeds we see today are so tiny while the pomelo seeds I saw as a child were so large
• how does eating and peeling a pomelo compare to an orange or grapefruit, especially where the pith and segment skin is concerned
• a pomelo is a citrus fruit - what does this mean and what are other examples of a citrus fruit

In relation to mathematics, I asked the students:

• to compare the diameter of the fruit before I peeled it to after it was peeled to estimate its thickness

• if I cut scored the peel in quarters twice, how many pieces is that in total
• after peeling the pomelo, I told students that half of the plates costs $8.00.  So how much money do I save when I pay $4.00 for an unpeeled pomelo?

Finally, students are learning about instructional writing and "how to" books.  We videotaped this activity so that students could write their own how to book on peeling pomelo. However before I began, I asked them:

• what tools and materials I needed (knife, pomelo, plate, newspaper)
• what preparation should I do before starting (wash my hands, wash the fruit, ensure ripeness, spread newspaper, have plate ready and nearby)
• why you need to have an adult do the cutting (the knife is sharp)

To give them some idea how to do this, I showed a video to them so they could give me some instructions as I did it.  Several students were eager to try, but were not strong or coordinated enough to peel it. 

However in the end, it was peeled and many students tasted it.   Kudos to those students who were risk-takers and tried a new food.  Every Y2 students was engaged and enthusiastic during this lesson and it was great to see them eating healthy fresh food.

Y2s trying out a freshly cut pomelo.

Photo slideshow of Y2