OBJECTIVE

Students will explore the process of seed to fork through the lens of corn.

Students will understand the cultural significance of corn, while learning new Spanish vocabulary.

ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS

Where does my food come from?

How do the foods I eat affect the world?

MATERIALS NEEDED

• La Tortilleria, by Gary Paulsen and Ruth Wright Paulsen (Spanish or English version)
• La Tortilleria text print-out copies (one per student)
• La Tortilleria sentence strips
• Poster board (optional)
• Glue
• Scissors
• Crayons, colored pencils

PROCEDURE

Introduction: Today we are going to learn about the traditional process of growing corn and making it into tortillas that began with the Maya, and is still done in Mexico today.

Activity 1:
Read La Tortilleria, by Gary Paulsen and Ruth Wright Paulsen. Pass out photocopies of book print outs to each student to follow along.

Discuss the story, and the process of making tortillas. What does this story tell you about Mexican culture?

Ask students to identify the new vocabulary and have them circle unfamiliar words in their text print outs. Ask students to highlight the verbs on their text print-out

Pair students to work through the new vocabulary together

Assessment:
In pairs, have students sequence La Tortilleria by pasting the sentences in order, and decorating with their own illustrations of the different steps of the process.

FOLLOW UP & EXTENSIONS

Lesson: Tortilla Factory- Part 2