My son has to do a venn diagram. He has chosen fruits and vegetables. The question is for him to explain his strategy? I am not sure what they want - the strategy is putting fruits all in the fruit side and the vegetables all in the one side?

He also has to write a survey question to find out what your classmates like to do on weekends?

Well, both are foods from plants.

Both are foods
Big circle, food
two smaller, non- overlapping areas inside. One is animal, the other is plant.
Inside the plant one you have vegetable and fruit areas. (inside the animal one you might have land animal and sea animal foods)
Now unfortunately I am afraid I do not know of any foods that are both vegetable and fruit. If I could think of one the vegetable and fruit circles would overlap and inside the overlap ("intersection of fruit and vegetable sets") you would have that "banana-spinach" or whatever.)

Since a Venn diagram has two (or more) overlapping circles, he should put the fruits in one circle and the vegetables in the other. In the part where the circles overlap, he can put in the fruits and vegetables that have some similarities. One strategy would be to put tomatoes in this part because although we consider tomatoes as they are vegetables, technically they are fruits. Another strategy might be to put fruits and vegetables of the same color in the overlapping part -- for instance -- only yellow fruits and vegetables such as bananas, pineapple, squash and yellow beans.

Has his teacher given the class any guidelines for the survey question? Can it be as simple as just asking each classmate to name three things s/he likes to do on weekends? Of can it be a checklist that might include, watching cartoons, playing outdoors, playing video games?

Ah, good, thank you for coming up with a vegetable-fruit Ms. Sue!

You're welcome, Damon.

When explaining his strategy for creating a Venn diagram comparing fruits and vegetables, your son can consider the following approach:

1. Start by explaining the purpose of a Venn diagram: A Venn diagram is a graphical representation used to show the relationships between different sets of objects. It consists of overlapping circles or ovals that represent different sets, and the overlapping region represents the elements shared by those sets.

2. Clarify the objective: In this case, the objective is to compare and contrast fruits and vegetables. Your son can explain that he wants to determine what characteristics or qualities are unique to each category and identify any common properties they may share.

3. Discuss categorization: Your son can explain that in order to create a Venn diagram effectively, he needs to categorize the items correctly. For instance, he should place fruits that fall into the "fruit" category and vegetables in the "vegetable" category. It's essential to ensure that each item is classified appropriately.

4. Note shared characteristics: Your son can also mention any characteristics or qualities that both fruits and vegetables share. For example, he can explain that both fruits and vegetables are natural, plant-based food sources that are generally considered healthy and nutritious.

Regarding the survey question about his classmates' weekend activities, a possible question could be:

"What activities do you enjoy doing on weekends?"

This question is simple and open-ended, allowing his classmates to provide a variety of responses. It enables them to express their personal preferences freely, without any specific options limiting their answers.