Searching for an idea for a final project related to our geography unit, I started brainstorming about things that are global in nature or have a geography component to them. This led me to think about the geography of food. While Farmers' Markets and "Eat Local" campaigns have raised our collective awareness about our food and where it comes from, many students still know very little about this topic, so I designed a research project based on food.
Our project is based upon the How Did That Get Here? series of nonfiction picture books. Each book is titled The Biography of ... and features a different food or agricultural product. One library in our public library system hosts a collection of about 15 different titles for students to choose from. Book selecting day is always highly anticipated, and students gain additional 'buy-in' by selecting their favorite item to study.
I also use this series to reinforce the basics of nonfiction text structure, including modeling about how to use the Table of Contents, Index, and Glossary. The books follow a generally similar format and chapter outline, making it easy for me to help guide students to the necessary chapters.
The series is written at a later elementary school reading level and contains far more information than my students need for this project. We talk about some of the ways that reading nonfiction is different from reading fiction, and students practice skills like skimming and summarizing to find relevant information.
The final product is a short oral presentation to the class. Students use a world map to take notes about where different foods were originally grown and grow today, which helps reinforce the geography connections. The kids enjoy learning cool food facts and history information from each other, and it is a great beginning of the year intro to research.
Do you teach about food or the geography of food with your students? Do you have other favorite resources?
Nonfiction Picture Book Wednesday Challenge is hosted by Kid Lit Frenzy and is a weekly roundup of educator blogs that are sharing nonfiction picture books.
Our project is based upon the How Did That Get Here? series of nonfiction picture books. Each book is titled The Biography of ... and features a different food or agricultural product. One library in our public library system hosts a collection of about 15 different titles for students to choose from. Book selecting day is always highly anticipated, and students gain additional 'buy-in' by selecting their favorite item to study.
I also use this series to reinforce the basics of nonfiction text structure, including modeling about how to use the Table of Contents, Index, and Glossary. The books follow a generally similar format and chapter outline, making it easy for me to help guide students to the necessary chapters.
The series is written at a later elementary school reading level and contains far more information than my students need for this project. We talk about some of the ways that reading nonfiction is different from reading fiction, and students practice skills like skimming and summarizing to find relevant information.
The final product is a short oral presentation to the class. Students use a world map to take notes about where different foods were originally grown and grow today, which helps reinforce the geography connections. The kids enjoy learning cool food facts and history information from each other, and it is a great beginning of the year intro to research.
Do you teach about food or the geography of food with your students? Do you have other favorite resources?
Nonfiction Picture Book Wednesday Challenge is hosted by Kid Lit Frenzy and is a weekly roundup of educator blogs that are sharing nonfiction picture books.
