Fun vegetable creatures

Activity

Get creative and make characters from fresh fruit and vegetables.This could be used as a starting point for discussing healthy eating.

  • Estimated time: 30 minutes
  • Location: Outdoors & Indoors
  • School term: All year round
  • Level of experience: No experience needed
  • Subject(s): English, PSHE, Art&DT

Learning objectives

  • Create a character from a variety of grown produce
  • Inspire use of the outdoors for imaginative writing
  • Use senses to investigate properties of fruit and veg
  • Discuss the principles of a healthy and varied diet

Preparation

Make up fruit and veg boxes for each group (with at least six assorted pieces per box).

Equipment

  • A variety of vegetables and fruit
  • Sticky notelets
  • Cream cheese
  • Toothpicks
  • Paper plates
  • Blindfolds
  • Healthy eating recipes to include your selection of produce
  • Camera or tablet device

Additional information

  • Giving learners the opportunity to take their own photos gives them ownership of the activity and will increase their engagement.
  • Ask group members to volunteer for roles to guarantee their enthusiasm.
  • Use digital sound bite recorders for reluctant writers. 

Step by step

  1. Working in small groups, blindfold one person and pass them a vegetable or piece of fruit to describe using touch alone. Ask other members of group write down the description on sticky notelets, then swap roles.
  2. As a whole group, build a ‘veg (or fruit) creature’ (head, body and legs)  Cream cheese could be used as glue, or toothpicks to attach different parts together. 
  3. Stick the descriptive notelets next to appropriate parts.
  4. Photograph and name the creature.
  5. Take additional photos of selected outdoor areas and create the environment where the creature lives.
  6. Using these photos, describe the setting for your creature’s story.
  7. Introduce the creature and where it lives, using the descriptive words previously compiled.
  8. Produce a group story. Is your character a villain or a hero?

Hints & tips

  • Discuss the benefits of working in a group.
  • Discuss the benefits of using senses to help with descriptive language.
  • Vegetable creatures make a great theme for a competition at school or a community village show.
  • Dismantle creatures and use in the preparation of a class healthy eating recipe.