Every 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.
Students will grasp both the diversity and the unity of our world.
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Students will explore a culture through its staple foods.
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Students will use technology tools to research and communicate the above.
Prerequisite skills
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Ability to do basic Internet research using Microsoft Internet Explorer 5 or 5.5
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Introduction to Microsoft Internet Explorer, Microsoft Office PowerPoint, and Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia
How to begin
1.
Preview the Web sites listed in Resources, and modify the list as needed to suit your students. Add the sites to your Favorites for easy access.
2.
Download the PowerPoint template in the Resources section. 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.
3.
Launch the project with a class brainstorming session. Have students list all the different kinds of breads they can think of; it's not necessary at this point for them to know the national origins of each kind of bread, but encourage them to think broadly enough to include both leavened breads (those that use yeast to become cushiony, like the sandwich bread we use in the United States, or French baguettes) and flatbreads (such as tortillas and pitas). Generate a list of at least 10 kinds of bread to help guide and inspire students' own research. You might jump-start their thinking with examples like these:
Bread
Country/Region
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
4.
Preview the PowerPoint template, and explain that each student will be responsible for researching and reporting about one particular type of bread. Students may start with the bread and then explore its country/culture of origin, or they may start with a country and discover its bread. The more students that begin with a country, the greater variety of breads your class will discover!
5.
Make sure students understand where to find the Resources links and PowerPoint template on your classroom computers.
6.
Distribute the Student Activity pages and begin the project.
7.
While your students are working, arrange for a digital projector or a large monitor for them to use in presenting their final "bread reports" to the class.
8.
If possible, you should also 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.
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. With this project, you'll discover how bread, in all its many forms, brings our world together.
Step 1: Choose a country
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Software: Microsoft Encarta, Microsoft Internet Explorer
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What to do
1.
If you could have supper anywhere in the world, where would you go?
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Think about countries that interest you, including those where your family might have roots or where the sights and sounds seem especially appealing.
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Make a short list of no more than three countries to consider for this project.
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If you choose the United States, pick a region of the country other than where you live. Explore a little!
2.
Now dig into the facts about those countries.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Repeat these steps for each of your other countries.
3.
Based on your research and the results of the rating charts, choose a country to focus on for the rest of the project.
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
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Software: Office PowerPoint 2002, Microsoft Internet Explorer, Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia
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What to do
Now that you've chosen a country, focus on its bread.
1.
Open your 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:
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The name of the bread
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What it is made of
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Where the ingredients are grown
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Who makes the bread
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How the bread is made
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How people usually eat the bread
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A map of your country, showing where the bread ingredients are grown (if they are not grown everywhere)
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A picture of the bread
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A "sense sentence" or two about how you think the bread might smell, taste, look, feel, or sound
2.
If you have not already identified the favorite bread of people in your chosen country, do it now.
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In Internet Explorer, go to a favorite search engine and explore the Internet for bread clues.
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Type in the name of your country and the word "bread".
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If that does not give take you to Web sites that name the country's bread, try the country name and the word "food" instead.
3.
Once you have identified the bread, use the Internet and your school library to gather all the information you need about it.
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Look up the bread by name using the encyclopedia and Internet search tools in Encarta Online Encyclopedia.
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Check out the bread sites that your teacher set up as Favorites in Internet Explorer for your class.
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Use the library card catalog to find books about your country or about food. Don't forget cookbooks!
4.
Fill in your PowerPoint slides as you work. Be sure to save often!
Step 3: Break (virtual) bread together!
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Software: Microsoft PowerPoint 2002
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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:
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Carefully edit your slides for spelling, grammar, and accuracy.
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You might also change the font or add design elements (such as graphics or borders) that capture the spirit of your country.
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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.
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Save your work.
2.
When you present your slides, you will talk about them at the same time—but you should not just read them 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.
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. After the presentations are over, talk together about what breads around the world have in common and how they are different.
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.
7.
As a grand finale, your teacher may ask the class to combine presentations into one big slide show. Think about the best way to organize all the slides: By region of the world? By bread ingredient? By slide topic? Soon you'll see even more connecting points among the many breads of the world.
![PowerPoint intro slide (“The Bread of [Country]”).](/library/media/1033/business/images/education/screenshotimages/PTBaguette1.gif)
