OBJECTIVE
By researching, harvesting, and cooking grains with a colonial recipe, students will learn where grains come from and feel empowered to cook their own foods.
ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS
Where does food come from? How does food inform identity? How have our relationships to food changed over time and how have they stayed the same? What were the positives and constraints of cooking in early America?
Lesson 1: Introduction to the Colonial Chopped Cooking Challenge
MATERIALS NEEDED
Chopped Challenge Intro PowerPoint
Books on colonial cooking
Laptops
PROCEDURE
Introduction: Welcome to the Colonial Chopped Cooking Challenge! Go through an introductory slideshow and review rules of the competition. Divide students into teams: corn, rice, and barley. Have students read aloud “Colonial Chopped Research Packet.” Take Questions.
Activity: In teams, students begin to research their crop.
Wrap up: Go over the timeline.
Provide a few days for classroom research. In between lessons, check in with teams to go over cooking plans and material needs. Plan to bring necessary materials to school the day before the challenge for students who will prepare dishes at home.
Lesson 2: Grain Harvest
MATERIALS NEEDED
Grain seeds
Grain stalks with seed heads
PROCEDURE
Introduction:
- Hand out grain seeds to each student. Ask students to touch it, smell it, and taste it. What do you think this is? What part of the plants are grains?
- Show grain stalk with seed head. How did colonists get the seeds out of the grain heads? How did colonists process the grains?
Activity: Harvest and thresh grains in the garden
Wrap up: Show traditional and present day harvesting and milling machines
Lesson 3: Colonial Chopped Cooking Challenge Day!
MATERIALS NEEDED
Crockpots or griddles for each team
Ingredients
Chopped Cooking Challenge Competition slideshow
PROCEDURE
Introduction: review rules of the day with “Chopped Cooking Challenge Competition” slideshow
Activity: Students prepare or heat their meals in 25 minutes in the classroom. Each team then presents their research and dish to the judging panel. Judges taste and review dishes and announce the winner at the end.
Wrap up: Students taste each other’s dishes. All teams are congratulated for their hard work.
Resources: