Maize

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/maize

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?Zea mays
2. What is the center of origin and domestication?Mesoamerica, approximately 9,000 years ago
3. What is maize and why is it important?Maize is a big plant that gives us corn, used for food, fuel, and many products. It helps feed people and animals and makes things like starch and syrup.
4. Where did maize come from and how old is it?Maize started in Mesoamerica about 9,000 years ago when farmers grew a wild grass called teosinte into the corn we know today.

Domestication: The process by which humans selectively breed wild plants or animals for desirable traits over generations.
Inflorescence: The complete flower head of a plant, including stems, branches, flowers, and bracts.
Biofuel: Fuel derived directly from living matter, such as maize, used for energy.
Monoculture: The agricultural practice of growing a single crop, plant, or livestock species in a field or farming system at a time.