About This Lesson
Learning objectives
After finishing this lesson, students will be able to discriminate between the different foods and cooking styles of the following eras: pre-Mesopotamian, Greek -Medieval, Renaissance- Exploration, Industrial Age, and Modern Age.
Introduction
(5 minutes)
· Have your students gather in small group and discuss: How has food changed over the course of history? How has food changed history?
· Have students write down all the ingredient and cooking tools need to make their favorite meal. Tell them that they will use that list later.
Explicit instruction/Teacher modeling
(20 minutes)
· With slides and pictures go through the eras listed below to teach your student about the fascinating history of spices and food:
The Pre-Mesopotamian Age: when people built civilizations around food sources.
Define: nomadic tribes, hunter-gatherer communities, Fertile Crescent
List the ingredients/foods available: salt, meat, eggs, flat bread (tortillas), barley, wheat, fruits, vegetables, beans, potatoes, milk, yogurt, garlic, some spices, honey
Methods: roasting or boiling in a cooking pit
The Greek/Roman/Medieval Age: As empires expanded, people were able to learn the cooking techniques and get the ingredients of other cultures.
Define: the spice trade, the Crusades
List the new ingredients/foods available: olive oil, pickles, oats, peaches, tomatoes, sausage, more spices, pastry breads, rice pudding, lemons, sugar, chocolate, cheese
New tools available: better ovens for cooking breads and sauces, cast iron stoves
Possible added discussion: Did you know that access to the finest foods has been a part of defining class structures since the time of the Egyptians?
The Renaissance/Exploration: World exploration and world trade expands due to the discovery and high demand for foreign spices.
Define: The East India Trading Company, colonialism
List the new ingredients/foods available: pasta, applesauce, jelly/jam, sushi, pie, corned beef, more spices, sweet potatoes, ice cream, cupcakes, hot dogs, coffee
· Possible added video: “Tomatoes Were Once Feared in Europe”
The Industrial Age: Mass production of food in factories gave customers more choices and made food branding important.
Define: Mass production, Agricultural Revolution, Free Market Economy/Capitalism
List the new ingredients/foods available: sandwiches, soda, potato chips, pizza, peanut butter, Jell-O, jellybeans, tea bags, breakfast cereal
New tools available: canned foods, refrigerators
The Modern Age: The need to preserve food for delivery across hundreds of miles has resulted in the preservatives we know today. Also, easier access to ingredients has resulted in a boom in pleasure foods like candies, desserts, and snack food
Define: Preservatives, High Fructose Corn Syrup
List the new ingredients available: peanut butter and jelly, brownies, popsicles, orange juice, frozen foods, fast food, ranch, nachos, instant pudding
New tools available: plastic containers, microwaves, electric cooking tools
Guided practice/Interactive modeling
(5 minutes)
· If possible, provide cards with different eras, foods, and cooking tools on them. Have your student get into small groups and match the foods and tools to the appropriate eras. If no cards are available, do this activity as a class.
· Have your students return to their ingredient lists and try to figure out when would be the soonest era in which they could have eaten their favorite food.
Differentiation
· Enrichment: For students who need a greater challenge, or for a homework assignment, instruct your students to choose one ingredient or dish and do a little research on it’s history/origins. They should turn in a solid paragraph summary with sources.
· Support: For students needing a little extra assistance, consider making this a group project or provide a list of websites that could help with their search.
Assessment
(5 minutes)
· Students can be assessed based on their participation and ability to match the correct ingredients/tools to the right historical era.
· A vocabulary test based off off the highlighted vocabulary from the “Explicit Instruction” section.
· The suggested homework assignment can function as another form of assessment
Review and closing
(5 minutes)
· Call students together.
· Go over the answers to card matching exercise.
· Ask students to share how food has played an important part of their family history or cultural background.
· Finally, ask students to give some examples of other factors/human priorities that have shaped human history.
