What Am I?

Can you guess what I am?

I am sour (when I am green).

I am also sweet (when I am ripe).

People like to eat me with salt. (I am sometimes salty and spicy at the same time.)

I am full of Vitamin* C.

If you eat too much of me, your teeth will feel strange. 

I am very cheap to buy. 

You like to eat me in your break times. 

I am found everywhere in Bangladesh, especially in the summertime...

Did you guess my name? 

In English, I am sometimes called a ‘hog plum,’ but in Bangla, people call me…

…Amra!            

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Why Eating Amra is Good for your Health

Amra has more vitamins than apples, so instead of paying more money for apples, you can sometimes buy Amra and get many more vitamins for your money.

First of all, Amra has vitamin C. This vitamin is very good for your teeth. Vitamin C also helps you to get well again when you suffer from a cold or a cough.

Secondly, eating Amra makes you want to eat more and helps you to enjoy the taste of your food. Sometimes you do not feel hungry and do not like eating your meals. In those cases, Amra can greatly help, because it makes your mouth watery when you eat it. The watery juice in your mouth helps your body to use your food well, so eating Amra is good for your stomach. That’s the third reason why eating Amra is good for your health!

The fourth reason is that Amra helps to make antioxidants* in your body. Antioxidants help your body to fight against any diseases you suffer from.

Lastly, Amra provides you with calcium*. Your body needs calcium to grow properly. Calcium can also make your bones stronger. So, you can now see that there are many good reasons to eat Amra. In fact, there are more reasons than you can even think of! If you want to stay healthy, you should sometimes try this cheap, but very special fruit.
 

Glossary

*Antioxidants = substances in the body that fight against disease.

*Calcium = a mineral that we need for life. It helps to make strong bones, healthy blood and muscles, and we need it to make our heart work well. About 99% of the calcium in our bodies is in our bones and teeth. https://www.nof.org/patients/treatment/calciumvitamin-d/   

*Vitamin = a small substance found in different kinds of food, that is needed for our bodies to grow and stay well.

 https://healthy-kids.com.au/food-nutrition/nutrients-in-food/vitamins-minerals/

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Learning Activities

Vocabulary

1. Words from the second 1000 General high frequency word list. (These words are very common in English, so you should learn them if they are new to you.)

2. Off-list words. (These words are not so common in English, so it is less important to know them.)

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Questions to talk about in English, and activities to do with your classmates. 

(Note to teachers: feel free to choose the activities and questions you wish your students to use. It is not necessary to use them all.)

1. When do you like to eat Amra? 

a) When it is my school break time

b) When I am stuck in a traffic jam

c) When I am on a trip with my friends or family

d) All of the above

e) I don’t like to eat Amra at all. (Say why.)

2. How much do you want to pay to eat Amra? (Say why.)

a) five taka

b) eight taka

c) ten taka

d) More! I love it! I will pay anything!

e) Nothing.

3. What do you like more? (Say why.)

a) Amra fruit  

b) Amra pickle (Which kind of pickle do you like better, sweet pickle or sour pickle? Why?)

4. Why do we need Vitamin C? What other fruits have a lot of Vitamin C?

5. Look at the photo again. Do you know how to make this way of eating Amra? What do you need to do? Other than Amra fruit, what else do you need to use? Write down your answers in English. Share your writing with a classmate. Do you have the same information or is it different in some way?

6. Try to find out where Amra fruit first came from. Also try to find out where, in Bangladesh, Amra comes from today. Write your answers down and share them with a classmate. Is your information the same or different?

7. What other kinds of fruit do people in Bangladesh like to eat? Work with a partner. Choose one kind of fruit that people in Bangladesh enjoy eating and make a colourful poster about it. Your poster should include…

• the name of the fruit in Bangla and in English (if it is different)
• what time of the year this fruit is available
• how people use it, cook it and like to eat it
• What vitamins people get from that fruit 
• a drawing or photo of the fruit
• your source of information 
• your name

Remember to practice using English as you work with your partner. Share your poster with your classmates and tell them about your information in English. Put your posters on the walls of your classroom so that everyone can enjoy them

8. Have a fruit party one day. Bring a piece of fruit to school on that day and share it with your classmates. Use the vocabulary from the reading to talk about it as you eat it.