Seed to Read is designed around several components that have been shown to increase vocabulary development and promote preference for and consumption of fruits and vegetables. Each book is read to the children multiple times during a week (Wasik, Bond, & Hindman, 2006; Wasik, Hindman, & Snell, 2016), vocabulary words are defined and highlighted before and during reading (Wasik & Hindman, 2014) and open-ended questions are used during reading to encourage conversation and the use of vocabulary words (Gonzalez et al., 2014; Wasik et al., 2016). Fruit and vegetable preference and consumption are encouraged through the use of repeated exposure (Anzman-Frasca, Savage, Marini, Fisher, & Birch, 2012; Johnson, 2016; Nekitsing, Blundell-Birtill, Cockroft, & Hetherington, 2018) and opportunities to interact with fruits and vegetables in several ways, not just through tasting (e.g. opportunities to touch and smell them; Coulthard & Sealy, 2017).

Each of the eight lessons contain:

• A lesson summary that includes the featured fruit or vegetable and vocabulary words for the lesson and summary of all shared book readings and activities, four detailed

• Separate activity sheets for each of the four Shared Book Readings, step-by-step instructions for each of the Taste Test, Movement, Gardening, and Craft activities.

• Picture Cards for all of the featured vocabulary words

• Photo Appendix that includes a high quality photograph of all fruits and vegetables and other foods mentioned in the curriculum.

• Seed to Read at Home newsletters for each lesson to send to parents and caregivers (available in English and Spanish).

• An Arizona Early Learning Standards Chart for each lesson to highlight which standards each activity meets.

Selection Criteria for Featured Books

• Developmentally appropriate for children ages 3-5 years.

• Features one or more fruits and vegetables.

• Has positive health messages.

• Has no negative messages about food, body size or health.

• Contains a minimum of 10 vocabulary words preschool children are unlikely to know (Biemiller, 2010).

• Diverse characters (very challenging to meet this criteria with the limited selection of children's books currently in print)

Selection Criteria for Featured Fruits or Vegetables

• A good (10 to 19 percent of Recommended Daily Value; RDV) or excellent source (>20 percent of RDV) of at least one key micronutrient (vitamin or mineral).

• Grown in Arizona.

• Inexpensive and widely available.

• Can be consumed raw for classroom taste tests.

Each lesson is composed of four shared-book readings that are paired with four extension activities all of which reinforce targeted vocabulary words and promote fruit and vegetable consumption:

Fruit or vegetable taste test: Increases young children’s exposure to fruits and vegetables; taste tests allow children to experience the featured fruit or vegetable with all of their senses, see the fruit or vegetable in its whole form, and taste a small sample.

Movement-based activity: Promotes development of gross-motor skills and promotes physical activity in creative ways while exposing children to fruits and vegetables and providing opportunities for children to use the vocabulary words.

Gardening activity: Connects children with how fruits and vegetables are grown; it also provides hands-on learning experiences that meet science and mathematics standards among others.

Craft activity: Promotes development of fine-motor skills and allows children to be creative and make choices with their creations while practicing vocabulary words and using all of their sense to interact with fruits and vegetables.