#1
LET’S READ!
If we had to guess, we’d say you probably eat a lot of your food off a plate. Usually as soon as we’re offered food, we look for a plate to put it on because it’s hard to eat it otherwise!
But did you know that we haven’t always used plates? In fact, the earliest plates people used were large leaves or seashells (which could be plates or bowls). If these weren’t used, food was put on a public surface in the center of the eating area so people could all eat it from there. Sometimes that surface would just be the ground!
All that being said, it wasn’t long before people discovered clay. Once we knew how to use clay to make things we needed, we formed it into almost everything we have today–mainly plates, bowls, cups, jugs, and jars for storing things.
However, individual plates didn’t truly come to popularity until later. Throughout the Medieval Ages, food in Europe was brought to the table on platters and carved, and then people would use their fingers to eat it. No personal plates were used! It wasn’t until the late 1800s that people began to use their own plates each time meals were served.
LET’S TALK!
1. Do you like plates or bowls better? Explain your answer to your child.
2. How many plates do you have in your home? (Give a rough estimate!)
3. Do you think it would be messy and inconvenient to eat without plates, or would it be fun and interesting?
#2
LET’S READ!
Did you know there are many different kinds of plates?
First is the dinner plate. Used for main courses, dinner plates are about a foot long through the center. Most middle and even high-class people typically use dinner plates each day.
Then there are dessert plates, or the luncheon plate. They’re only about seven inches long through the center, and you can often find them at parties like weddings and birthdays.
Third are soup plates! These plates contain soup and keep it from spilling, so they have a dip in the center similar to a bowl. However, they’re shorter than bowls and have a larger lip.
Bread and butter plates, or BnB plates, are used for–you guessed it!–bread and butter. They’re smaller than dessert plates and are usually placed next to someone’s fork.
Salad plates come in two sizes: 22 cm and 20 cm, which measure out to be about 7 ½ to 8 inches. They’re just barely bigger than the dessert and BnB plates, so you can tell them apart.
Finally, appetizer plates are about half a foot long and have a curve, but no indentation. They’re slightly bigger than bread and butter plates!
LET’S TALK!
1. Do you have multiple kinds of plates in your house? Why or why not?
2. Have you ever owned, or known someone who owned, special kinds of plates? What did they look like, and when were they used? Would you ever want to own special occasion plates?
3. Out of all the plates we just talked about, which kind is your favorite? Do you have that kind of plate in your house? Explain your answers to your child!
#3
LET’S READ!
There’s another kind of plate we haven’t talked about yet: tectonic!
Tectonic plates aren’t dishes, and you can’t eat off of them. Tectonic plates are massive and sit deep below the ground, because they’re pieces of the Earth’s crust! Tectonic plates don’t exist in every part of the world; only some. These plates tend to move and shake, and sometimes they even collide with each other! The common theory for how mountain ranges were created is that tectonic plates hit each other so hard, they pushed up through the ground and created mountains.
Tectonic plates are responsible for earthquakes. When they move and run into each other, they shake the ground above them. That’s why some places, like California and Utah, experience more earthquakes than others, such as Florida or New York.
Tectonic movements can also cause other natural disasters, such as volcanic eruptions and tsunamis. That’s because tectonic plates are so huge, their movements create massive ripples throughout the earth’s surface!
LET’S TALK!
1. Have you ever experienced an earthquake, small or large? If yes, what was it like? And if no, is that because you don’t live near tectonic plates?
2. Why are tectonic plates different from eating plates? If your child is old enough, have them explain the answer to you.
3. Do you like Earth’s tectonic plates? Why or why not?
#4
LET’S READ!
Have you heard of MyPlate? Made by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, MyPlate tells people how much food they need to eat from each group of the food pyramid. It’s a great way to learn more about nutrition and healthy eating.
The five different levels of the food pyramid are fruits, vegetables, grains, dairy, and protein. MyPlate has suggestions for people of any age group who are looking to eat healthier. They focus on anyone from infants to seniors to families.
Another good thing to know is that plates are made of lots of different materials. Not only can you buy plates made of sturdy, durable plastic, but you can also buy ceramic, wooden, and glass plates! And for those who want to throw away a plate after it’s been used, paper plates are a great option. Then you don’t have to do tons of dishes!
And did you know that psychologically, our brains are wired to eat everything on our plates? Some companies serve bigger plates and platters so those eating them are tempted to eat more, because our brains automatically want to clear off the plate. So don’t feel too pressured next time you’re thinking of leaving some empty room on your plate; that’s fine!
LET’S TALK!
1. Have you ever used or heard of MyPlate? What do you think about it?
2. Do you like paper plates? Explain your answer to your child.
3. Do you usually fill your plate up all the way? Why or why not?
VOCABULARY WORDS:
plate, food, eat, tectonic, shake, Earth, leaf, seashell, clay, wood, glass, ceramic, plastic, paper, dinner, dessert, lunch, breakfast, salad, bread, butter, soup, salad, appetizer, MyPlate, nutrition, earthquake, tsunami, volcano, meal
ACTIVITIES:
• How many plates do you have in your home? Go around and count! Make sure you don’t miss any of them! Talk about what kinds of plates they are and why you chose them as you count them.
• Design your own homemade plate. This could either be cut out of paper or out of a cardboard box. Decorate it with whatever you want; make it cute!
• Look up the MyPlate recommendations for everyone in your family (they’re split up by age group). Then pick a meal that lines up with the nutritional recommendations from MyPlate and eat it for dinner… or lunch… or breakfast!
• Go to the store and look at plates with your child. There are probably lots of different sizes and materials! Discuss them as you and your child look at and hold them.
RESOURCES:
1. Food Groups & MyPlate (YouTube Video)
2. The 5 Fabulous Food Groups (YouTube Video)
3. Tectonic Plates for Kids (YouTube Video)
4. Plate Tectonics for Kids (YouTube Video)
5. Play With Your Plate (A Mix-and-Match Play Book) by Judith Rossell (Abrams Appleseed, 2020)
6. Fruits On MyPlate by Mari Schuh (Capstone Press, 2013)
7. I Am Not a Paper Plate! By Emily Kington (Hungry Tomato, 2019)
8. Why Do Tectonic Plates Crash and Slip? Geology Book for Kids by Baby Professor (Baby Professor, 2017)
9. Earthquakes! – An Earthshaking Book on the Science of Plate Tectonics by Prodigy Wizard (Prodigy Wizard, 2016)
