Assignment IV: Kitchen and Catering

The kitchen and catering project-based learning assignment is to research an area other than your own and compare and contrast their culture and food practices to yours. The research will be done by writing to their pen pals in that area and by computer research done by our fourth graders. In the beginning our class will be randomly split into four groups and each group will be assigned a location to study. At the end of the project the students will present the information they learned to their families and friends and will prepare a traditional meal from their area of study.

Who are the students your students will communicate with (specific location, grade level)?

Our students will communicate with other fourth grade classes in China, Mexico, Italy, and Louisiana. The class will be split into four groups and each group will be assigned one of the countries to communicate with.

When would your students contact these other students (at what point in their project work)?

The students in our classroom will communicate with their pen pals at multiple points in their project. The first time they will write their pen pals is in the very beginning of the project before the students do any research. Our students will tell their pen pal what their first impressions are of that particular country and their food practices. They will include places in their own community that they believe represent that region of food, for example they might believe that Taco Bell is Mexican food. They will also inquire about more information that their pen pal can share with them. They will then communicate with their pen pals at the end of the project when they have learned information that they can share with their pen pal.

What kinds of questions would they ask each other and what kinds of information would they share?

We would want our students to inquire information from their pen pal but we also want them to share information about their own culture and food practices so that it is a learning experience for both parties. Some of the information that they can share with each other are

1. What is your favorite type of food?
2. What types of restaurants are in your community?
3. What meals are served in your school, if any?
4. What types of cultures are represented in your school (race, religion, class...)?
5. Do adults and children eat the same types of food?
6. What are meals like in your household?
7. Do different groups in your community eat different foods, if so what kinds?
8. What meals are a staple in your household?

What will they do with the information they get from the other students?

When the students receive information from their pen pals they can use that information and apply it to their project-based learning assignment. For the assignment the students will be learning about a culture other than their own and discovering what types of food this group of people eat and if it is different then what they see presented in their own community. The students will use what they learn from their pen pals and the information they learn from their own research and apply it by creating a traditional meal from their location and presenting it to their peers and families at a parents night. The students will share with their family and friends a little information about their location and will demonstrate what goes into making their dish.