cereal

Everyday

1. A breakfast food made from grains, such as cornflakes, oats or puffed rice, often eaten with milk. tree →
2. A cereal is a grass plant whose seeds (grains) we eat, like wheat, rice, maize (corn), oats, barley and rye. tree →

In the lessons

In science and food lessons, cereals are important crops: bread, pasta, rice and porridge come from them, and they give carbohydrates for energy and fibre. Wholegrain cereals are healthier than sugary ones; check labels. In everyday life, many children eat cereal for breakfast. In maths, cereal boxes appear in nets, volume and weight problems: a 500 g box with 30 g servings has 500 ÷ 30 ≈ 16 servings. Phrases: "a bowl of cereal", "breakfast cereal", "cereal box", "cereal crops", "wholegrain cereal".

Examples

• I have a bowl of cereal for breakfast. tree →
• Wheat and rice are cereals. tree →
• This cereal is very sugary, so I only have it on Saturdays. tree →
• The farmer grows cereal crops like barley. tree →
• We made a net of a cereal box in maths. tree →
• Pour the milk on your cereal. tree →
• Oats are a cereal used to make porridge. tree →
• The cereal box says 30 g is one serving. tree →

Note

Homophone trap: "cereal" (food) sounds the same as "serial" (in a series, like a serial number or a story in parts). The word comes from Ceres, the Roman goddess of grain. Usually uncountable for breakfast food: "some cereal", "a bowl of cereal".