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Consider creating
a print or online cookbook that features culturally important dishes
(or just favorite recipes) from youngsters' families or from community
residents whom students interviewed. Have small groups discuss what
types of recipes they'd like to include and how they might organize
them. For instance, they might decide to create a cookbook of family
holiday recipes or dishes from the garden, or have a "flavors
of the community" theme. Recipes could be organized by meal
course (e.g., salads, main dishes) or by regional or ethnic group.
Once teams share their ideas with the class, have students try to
reach an agreement on how to proceed. Invite students
to explore the countless ways in which people across the globe,
past and present, have celebrated the food that sustains them.
In parts of India, for instance, the 10-day Onam festival
in September finds flowers adorning every home and a procession
of elephants, fireworks, and dances to celebrate the harvest.
In Japan's event, which focuses on the rice harvest, people offer
the first fruits of the harvest to the gods, and floats carrying
symbolic gods are paraded through the streets. Also consider having
students research the multiple versions of the American Thanksgiving
story and the points of view represented. Where
in the World? (Food Plant Origins) By focusing on the origins and travel tales of plant-based foods, students will have an intriguing lens for studying geography and cultures. You might begin such a study by challenging students to identify the origin and history of each plant (e.g., wheat) or plant-based ingredient (flour) in one of the recipes they gathered. Here are some questions they can pursue:
The
Seeds of Change Garden Web site has a great list of the origins
of food crops and links to historical information and interesting
tidbits.
Copyright© 2003 National Gardening Association Growing Ideas Classroom Projects is a benefit for NGA's Education Members |
Pg. 1: Food and Culture Background Conducting
Community Products
for Exploring Ethnobotany:
The People/ Cultivating,
Cross-Culturally  Teachers
are raving about this book filled with actual school garden plans,
stories of how students participated in the design process, how-to
information, and resources.
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