Taste of History
Throughout human history there have been many things that serve to connect us and foster a sense of belonging within our communities. Food is one of the things that brings us together. What we eat and how we eat is part of our identity. It can connect us to our culture and traditions. It can remind us of home when we are living in a new place, or remind us of a specific time in our lives. Each dish has a history that goes with it, but few people actually know where their favorite dishes came to be. This is the first project in the series. Students explore the origins and history of some of their favorite things to eat. Many students use this as an opportunity to learn more about some of the traditional cuisine from their own cultural backgrounds. The purpose of this is to emphasize the importance of students own personal history, and to show them just one of the many ways we indirectly express identity. While this project will serve to show the diversity of cultures represented in our classroom, it will also serve to show just how connected those cultures are. We use food to highlight the stories of perseverance and culture that bring life to various countries’ cuisines.
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Essential Questions
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What is Food Culture?
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What can we learn about the past by looking at what and how they ate?
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Learning Goals
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Students will understand that history is everywhere.
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Students will understand that we can learn things about people and cultures by looking at what and how they eat.
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Common Core Standards
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11.8 Students analyze the economic boom and social transformation of post–World War II America.
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2. Describe the significance of Mexican immigration and its relationship to the agricultural economy, especially in California.
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Activities
- I start this unit off with a Think-Pair-Share activity to define the term "food culture." For many students this may be a new concept, so this gives them an opportunity to define the term on their own. Students then work with a partner to co-construct a working definition that will help guide their learning over the course of the unit. This also provides EML students get a chance to further develop their knowledge of new terms through interaction with their peers before being given the definition.
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Final Product
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Using two class periods, students will research their dish and complete the a research document that provides them with questions to get them thinking. Student will then prep and give a brief presentation about what they found. Students are also encouraged, but not required to bring in the dish to share with the class. This project is a great one to start the year off. It allows students to adjust back to school after the summer, and get practice researching and presenting.
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