Lettuce

High school (ages 12+)
Food & Cooking

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/lettuce

1. What is the scientific name?
2. What is the geographic origin?
3. What is lettuce and where did it come from?
4. Why do we have different kinds of lettuce like iceberg, romaine, butterhead, and leaf?

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the scientific name?Lactuca sativa
2. What is the geographic origin?Believed to have originated in the Eastern Mediterranean and Middle East regions
3. What is lettuce and where did it come from?Lettuce is a crunchy leafy vegetable that people have eaten for thousands of years. It started in the Eastern Mediterranean and Middle East and was first gathered from wild plants.
4. Why do we have different kinds of lettuce like iceberg, romaine, butterhead, and leaf?Farmers picked and bred lettuce plants with different shapes and flavors. This made the crisp, soft, or loose‑leaf varieties we see today.

Cultivar: A plant variety that has been produced in cultivation by selective breeding.
Phytochemicals: Naturally occurring compounds in plants that can have beneficial effects on health.
Hydroponics: A method of growing plants without soil, using mineral nutrient solutions in water.