How Do Farmers Make Our Food Better? | Plants and People

The corn we eat in tortillas wasn’t always this yummy. Dive into the history of corn and plant breeding to see how it went from practically inedible to delicious thanks to Indigenous people and farmers over thousands of years.

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Questions and Prompts for Educators

Check for Understanding

What is a domesticated plant?
Why do farmers grow new kinds of plants?

Take It Further

Can you think of ways that farmers can control the conditions, such as sunlight or water, in which plants grow?

Create

Draw a timeline of how corn has been bred over time. Trace it from its earliest form to the form we know today.

Make a Personal Connection

What are some ways that we eat corn? What is your favorite way?

Table of contents heading: Questions and Prompts for Educators

Next Generation Science Standards: Disciplinary Core Ideas

LS3.A: INHERITANCE OF TRAITS
How are the characteristics of one generation related to the previous generation?
LS4.B: NATURAL SELECTION
How does genetic variation among organisms affect survival and reproduction?

Table of contents heading: Standards