Exploring the world’s unity and diversity through bread lesson plan
Lesson planEvery country has one: an essential "daily bread" that speaks volumes about the country's culture, natural resources, and history. In this project, students learn about the variety and unity of our world by exploring in depth the "bread" of different nations and then reporting their findings to the class in a PowerPoint presentation.
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Lesson plan information
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School level | |
Curriculum areas | | • | Social studies | | • | Language arts |
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Class time | |
Software required | | • | Microsoft Internet Explorer | | • | Microsoft Encarta Reference | | • | Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia | | • | Microsoft Office PowerPoint |
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Materials needed | | • | List of Web sites for students (Web access) | | • | Microsoft Office XP Bread Template (Web access) | | • | World Map |
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Teacher guide
Goals
| • | Students will grasp both the diversity and the unity of our world. |
| • | Students will explore a culture through its staple food. |
| • | Students will use technology tools to research and communicate the above. |
Objectives
| • | Students will research one culture or country and its essential bread. |
| • | Students will create an Office PowerPoint presentation based on their research and present it to the class. |
Lesson procedure
Introduction
Your peanut butter sandwich has a lot in common with what a kid your age might have for lunch in India, Nigeria, or Chile! It's all in the bread.
Bread comes in many forms. Some breads are called leavened breads. [Write “Leavened Bread” on the board.] ] Leavened breads are made with yeast or leavening, which makes them cushiony, like the sandwich bread we use here in the United States, or French baguettes). Can you name any other kinds of leavened or yeast breads?
Other breads are called unleavened, because they have no leavening or yeast in them. [Write “Unleavened Bread” on the board.] Another name for them is flatbreads, like tortillas. Can you give some other examples of flatbreads?
Let’s name all the different kinds of breads you can think of, both leavened and unleavened. [It is not necessary at this point for them to know the national origins of each kind of bread. Generate a list of at least 10 kinds of bread.]
Now let’s see if we can name the country where each of these breads is eaten every day. [Use the following list as a guideline for jump-starting the students’ thinking and research.]
Bagel | United States; originated in Eastern Europe |
Pita | Middle East |
Baguette | France |
Croissant | France |
Semolina | Italy |
Whole grain/wheat loaf | Europe/Americas |
Nan | India |
Pumpernickel | Germany |
Soda bread | Ireland |
Fry bread | Native American |
Tortilla | Mexico |
In this activity, each of you is going to research and create a PowerPoint report on one particular type of bread and the country or region it comes from. You can find the PowerPoint template and all the other resources you need in the class folder marked Breads Around the World. You will start by researching one country. Then you will discover what kind of bread people there eat every day and research that kind of bread. [By beginning with a country, instead of a bread, your class will discover a greater variety of breads.]
When you have done your research, you will enter your information in a PowerPoint presentation that looks like this. [Preview the PowerPoint presentation with them.] You will use this PowerPoint you create to present your research to the class.
With this project, you'll discover how bread, in all its many different forms, brings our world together.
Main activity
Step 1: Choose a country
| • | Software: Microsoft Encarta, Microsoft Internet Explorer 5 or later |
| • | What to do |
1. | If you could have supper anywhere in the world, where would you go? | • | Think about countries that interest you, including those where your family might have roots or where the sights and sounds seem especially appealing. | | • | Make a short list of no more than three countries to consider for this project. | | • | If you choose the United States, pick a region of the country other than where you live. Explore a little! |
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2. | Now dig into the facts about those countries. | • | Start Internet Explorer, and go to the Encarta Online Encyclopedia. In the Encarta Enquire search box, type the name of your first country. Encarta will provide an encyclopedia article (with maps) and Web links, among other resources.
| | • | Read through the article about the country, look at the pictures, and explore the map. Pay close attention to sections about culture, people, and everyday life. There's usually good food information there. | | • | Open the PowerPoint template that your teacher set aside for this project. Go to the first blank "Country Name" slide, and fill in the information―including the rating chart—for this country. Save your work under your name. | | • | Repeat these steps for each of your other countries. |
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3. | Based on your research and the results of the rating charts, choose a country to focus on for the rest of the project. 
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4. | Print out your PowerPoint country slides, mark the country you've chosen, and turn in the printouts to your teacher. |
Step 2: Discover its bread
| • | Software: Office PowerPoint 2002, Microsoft Internet Explorer, Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia |
| • | What to do |
Now that you've chosen a country, focus on its bread.
1. | Open the PowerPoint template and go to slide 5. Review the next few slides so you will know what kinds of information you need to find. These include: | • | The name of the bread | | • | What it is made of | | • | Where the ingredients are grown 
| | • | Who makes the bread | | • | How the bread is made | | • | How people usually eat the bread | | • | A map of your country, showing where the bread ingredients are grown (if they are not grown everywhere) | | • | A picture of the bread | | • | A "sense sentence" or two about how you think the bread might smell, taste, look, feel, or sound |
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2. | If you have not already identified the favorite bread of people in your chosen country, do it now. | • | In Internet Explorer, go to a favorite search engine and explore the Internet for bread clues. | | • | Type in the name of your country and the word "bread". | | • | If that does not take you to Web sites that name the country's bread, try the country name and the word "food" instead. |
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3. | Once you have identified the bread, use the Internet and your school library to gather all the information you need about it. | • | Look up the bread by name using the encyclopedia and Internet search tools in Encarta Online Encyclopedia. | | • | Check out the bread Web sites that your teacher set up as Favorites in Internet Explorer for your class. | | • | Use the library card catalog to find books about your country or about food. Don't forget cookbooks! |
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4. | Fill in your PowerPoint slides as you work. Be sure to save often! 
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Step 3: Break (virtual) bread together!
| • | Software: Microsoft PowerPoint 2002 |
| • | What to do |
Now it's time to share the bounty.
1. | Take time to fine-tune your PowerPoint slides before you present them. Here's how: | • | Carefully edit your slides for spelling, grammar, and accuracy. Are all your facts correct? | | • | You might also change the font or add design elements (such as graphics, colors, or borders) that capture the spirit of your country. | | • | If you still have slides about the countries that you chose not to explore, you can hide them by clicking Slide Sorter on the View menu, selecting the slides, and then clicking Hide Slide on the Slide Show menu. | | • | Save your work. 
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2. | When you present your slides to the class, you will talk about them as you show them — but you should not just read the slides aloud. Use the Notes view in PowerPoint to remind yourself of additional details you'd like talk to your classmates about when you show each slide. You will see the notes, but the class will not. |
3. | Practice your presentation several times before giving it. |
4. | Present! And have fun doing so. If you find your topic interesting, so will your audience. |
5. | As each of your classmates presents, listen for similarities and differences in your material and theirs. Your teacher will ask you to name some of these in the class discussion when all the presentations are done. |
6. | Print out your presentation, and post the slides you like best in the right place on the world map that your teacher has set up. |
Conclusion
| • | After all students have made their presentations, discuss together what breads around the world have in common and how they are different. |
| • | As a grand finale, ask the class to combine presentations into one big slide show. Discuss with them the best way to organize all the slides: By region of the world? By bread ingredient? By slide topic? The discussion will highlight even more connecting points among the many breads of the world. |
| • | You can assess the students on: | • | The accuracy and thoroughness of their research both about the country and the bread. | | • | The creativity and design of their PowerPoint. | | • | Their oral presentation to the class. |
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Materials needed
| • | List of Web sites for students to use. Preview the following Web sites and modify the list as needed to suit your students. Add the sites to your Internet Explorer Favorites menu for easy access. |
| • | Microsoft Office XP   Bread Template (78 KB PowerPoint file). Download this file and make any necessary adaptations to the template to suit the needs of your class. For example, you might add information categories for older students or simplify the template for younger ones. Save the template on your class network or on a floppy disk for students to use on any computer. ![PowerPoint intro slide (The Bread of [Country]).](/library/media/1033/business/images/education/screenshotimages/PTBaguette1.gif)
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| • | World map. If possible, set up a large world map on one wall, with space for your students to post key slides from their presentations near the countries they are focusing on. |
