Discussion: Are tomatoes fruits or vegetables?

Objective:

At the end of discussion, learners will understand:

• “Common sense” knowledge may not always be based on facts.
• Determining facts could get tricky.
• Defining words is essential when assessing claims.
• Identifying credible sources of information is crucial in fact-checking.

Steps:

• Ask students if this statement is true or false: 'Tomatoes are fruits.'
• Class discussion (5 minutes)
• Then ask about the following statement: 'Strawberries are vegetables.'
• Have them fact-check the two statements using the internet (10-15 minutes)
• Have them discuss their findings in small groups (5-10 minutes)
• Class discussion (10-15 minutes)

Teacher’s note

• Definitions of "fruits" and "vegetables" could be different for different people (e.g. botanical scientists, nutritionists, supermarket owners, farmers, tax (tariff) officers, chefs, etc.).
• Context surrounding claims needs to be taken into consideration. Are we talking about tomatoes and strawberries scientifically? Or are we talking about them in terms of display arrangement in a supermarket? Or tariff rates for agricultural products?
• We need to evaluate the knowledge source. Are dictionary definitions of fruit and vegetable sufficient to fact-check the statement? Or should we look for more academic sources?
• Fact-checking even a simple statement (like the one in this activity) can get really complicated and time-consuming.
• A rather funny example of this (how a definition differs in a different context) can be the following news article: 
  California bees can legally be fish and have the same protections, a court has ruled (CNN)