Bento Boxes and Onigiri. An introduction toJapanese cuisine

 

Day 2

Preschool-Kindergarten

Subjects:

Social Studies, Arts, Language Arts, Technology, Math, Science and Nutrition

 

Japan-Onigiri

Purpose:

Many traditional foods from different countries have become foods that we eat in the United States. In this kindergarten lesson plan from the Food Around the World Unit, students learn about foods around the world, about food groups using "My Pyramid", and how geography affects food consumption. Students will also be introduced to the concept of staple foods around the world.

 

Duration:

Two Hours 

 

Materials:

My Pyramid for Kids poster.

Pizza, California roll, Taco

Small paper cut-outs of a pizza, california roll, and taco

World map

Japanese food prep items (bamboo sushi mat, chopsticks, rice cooker)

Food prep items for pizza (rolling pin) and taco (tortilla maker)

Pictures of food items around the world: Picture 1 (onigiri), Picture 2(gomen with injera), Picture 3 (tabouli)

Bento box and lunch box to compare

iPad

Japanese writing poster

 

Objectives

Learners will:

Understand food groups in "MyPyramid"

Identify foods and countries of origin.

Make connections to food and culture.

Make connections to food, its consumption, and food customs.

 

Circle Time:

Begin with song: There Are Seven Continents

 

Ask about students' favorite foods. Discuss color, size, shape, and texture of those foods. Once several students have shared, bring in three food items (Pizza, California roll, and taco). Ask students to notice what ingredients make up the food items you brought in.

 

Using the "MyPyramid for Kids” poster and cut outs of food items, place the cut-outs on the pyramid to show what food groups they come from (e.g. a California roll could be in grain and vegetable). Once the three food items have been placed on the pyramid, talk about their origin.

 

Using a world map, place a cut-out of each food in the appropriate region. Talk about children in different parts of the world. Ask students if children in other parts of the world eat the same kinds of foods we eat. Using the three different examples (pizza, sushi, and taco) discuss the kinds of food they eat and how they prepare it. If possible, bring in food prep items such as a sushi mat, a rolling pin, and a tortilla maker. Using pictures or actual food items, introduce food that are not as popularized in American culture and notice what ingredients make up the food items (onigiri with furikake, injera with gomen, tabouleh).

 

Song:

There Are Seven Continents http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=NVrN-0aQV1o



Small group instruction:

Bring in a bento box for students to explore. Explain that students in Japan, children bring bento boxes to school, very much like American children bring lunch boxes. A typical bento box might include onigiri, traditional rice balls with special treat inside, coated in sesame seeds or strips of nori. Compare and contrast a bento box to a lunch box. Notice size and compartments. Notice utensils tucked in (chopsticks). Have they ever used chopsticks? Notice the writing on the bento box. Do they look like letters? Bring up how some different countries have their own ways of writing. Use the Japanese writing poster to display some Japanese words. Using an iPad, visit the suggested site that displays typical bento lunches for children. Compare and contrast their lunches to bento lunches.

Watch this video about a Japanese elementary school lunch.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hL5mKE4e4uU

How is having lunch at this Japanese elementary school the same as having lunch at your school? How is it different? 
 

Cooking class:

Making Onigiri

Developing Skills:

math concepts, literacy skills, science concepts, social awareness

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Recipe print out: 

 

 

Objectives

The Learner Will:

Read and follow the recipe.

Measure ingredients.

Work collaboratively with classmates to create a finished product. Understand the concept of multiple spoken and written languages.

 

Recipe:

1 c. sushi rice

2 tbsp. rice wine vinegar

1 tsp. Sugar

½ a cucumber, chopped

Sesame seeds

 

 

Directions

Bring 2 cups of lightly-salted water to boil and then invite your fourth-grader to measure the sushi rice and gently pour it into the water. Cover the pot and let it simmer for 30 minutes.

It’s time to get rolling! Invite your child to place the cooked rice in a large bowl and cover with the rice wine vinegar and sugar. Working with a spatula, encourage your child to mix the rice, helping to incorporate the ingredients as well as cool the rice.

Now your child can carefully chop the cucumber into small chunks to place in the center of the rice balls.

Invite her to gather a handful of rice and make a hole in the center to place a couple of the cucumber pieces. Now she can carefully squeeze the rice ball together and then roll in the sesame seeds.

The rice balls can be eaten on their own or dipped in soy sauce!

 

Centers:

ART: Student make onigiri out of paper. http://tangrila.blogspot.com/2012/02/origami-rice-ball- onigiri-craft.html

WRITING: Students will draw a picture of their cooking experience and write onigiri in English and Japanese

MATH: Sort and count different types of beans in groups of ten. Then, practice counting by tens.

DRAMATIC PLAY: Provide children with Japanese style utensils and cooking equipment in kitchen area such as chopsticks, sushi mats, and empty Japanese food containers.

SCIENCE: Observe how dehydrated foods react when mixed with water. Provide a variety of dried foods, water, cups, spoons and paper for recording observations.

 

Read Aloud:

Let’s Eat! What Children Eat Around the World by Beatrice Hollyer. This book will need to be paraphrased for kindergarten reading and comprehension level.

 

Assessment:

Observation of play and discussion.

 

Interactive Parent / Student Homework:

Notice Asian produce in supermarket. Wegmans has a wonderful selection of Japanese food items. Walk around the isle and see what there is to see. Notice the food and writing. Try something new.

 

National Curriculum Standards for Social Studies

CULTURE

Social studies programs should include experiences that provide for the study of culture and cultural diversity.

Human beings create, learn, share, and adapt to culture. Cultures are dynamic and change over time.

TIME, CONTINUITY, AND CHANGE

Social studies programs should include experiences that provide for the study of the past and its legacy.

PEOPLE, PLACES, AND ENVIRONMENTS

Social studies programs should include experiences that provide for the study of people, places, and environments.

The study of people, places, and environments enables us to understand the relationship between human populations and the physical world.

During their studies, learners develop an understanding of spatial perspectives, and examine changes in the relationship between peoples, places and environments.

INDIVIDUAL DEVELOPMENT AND IDENTITY

Social studies programs should include experiences that provide for the study of individual development and identity.

Personal identity is shaped by an individual’s culture, by groups, by institutional influences, and by lived experiences shared with people inside and outside the individual’s own culture throughout her or his development.

PRODUCTION, DISTRIBUTION, AND CONSUMPTION

Social studies programs should include experiences that provide for the study of how people organize for the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services.

In exploring this theme, students confront such questions as: What factors influence decision-making on issues of the production, distribution and consumption of goods? What are the best ways to deal with market failures? How does interdependence brought on by globalization impact local economies and social systems?

SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, AND SOCIETY

Social studies programs should include experiences that provide for the study of relationships among science, technology, and society.

Science, and its practical application, technology, have had a major influence on social and cultural change, and on the ways people interact with the world.

GLOBAL CONNECTIONS

Social studies programs should include experiences that provide for the study of global connections and interdependence.

In exploring this theme, students confront questions such as: What are the different types of global connections? What global connections have existed in the past, exist currently, and are likely in the future? How do ideas spread between societies in today’s interconnected world? How does this result in change in those societies? What are the other consequences of global connections?

 

References:

http://justbento.com/bentos-lunches-and-shokuiku-food-education-japanese-kindergarten

http://www.education.com/activity/article/rice-balls-for-chinese-new-year/