If you’re anything like me, those few short weeks between fall and winter breaks are nothing short of an anxiety inducing shopping/baking/grading/wrapping/tying-up-loose-ends extravaganza. Each year, the time sandwiched between breaks seems like too little or not quite enough.
But a few years ago, I cooked up a new dish called Food Lit. Food Lit was inspired by the Navajo Kentuckians, one of the best sessions I’ve ever attended at NCTE . To offer you the Happy Meal version of this session, teachers in two regions educated their students on “good food.” Students learned about topics such as food insecurity, obesity rates, and food integrity. Students grew gardens, educated their communities, and even prepared meals with food they harvested. Some even studied food and nature-centric literature like Mark Twain’s “The Bee.”
After attending this session, I began cultivating an inquiry into food in my own classroom and savoring the delicacy of “between breaks” learning.
One assignment that fires up my students’ brains is the food memory narrative task. You can read more about what we’ve been up to in Food Lit here and from years past, here and here.
Food is such an important, driving force in our lives. We share and create some of our most important stories surrounded by food. It comforts us, nourishes us, and heals us. So far, I haven’t met a student who didn’t have one special dish or fond food memory to look back on.
That’s what the food memory narrative is about.
I first ask students to examine these mentor texts:
Savoring Memories of Sunday Dinner from NPR
Memories of Meals Past from The New York Times
Jeruselem: A Love Letter to Food from NPR
I remind them that they are reading (and listening) to expand their understanding of “good food” but also to read as writers who are sharing their connections to a special dish.
This year, I asked students to share their mentor text noticings in a Google Form. Here’s some of what they came up with:
What I’ve found is that food is an easy sell with students – it is relatable, its appeal universal, and my students enjoy reflecting on their “memories of meals past.” Here’s an example of how one student made this writing her own:
But the cherry on top? Our Food Lit Family Dinner, the day everyone brings in their favorite, most meaningful dish to share with the class.
Some of the biggest hits this year? Pizelles (or as one student called them: “cookie waffles”), King’s cake (somebody gifted me the baby), “brookies” (a delightful brownie/cookie duo), pepperoni rolls (a unique West Virginia snack and my contribution), tried and true homemade mac and cheese (what’s not to love), and West Indian curry (which you can read about below).
For me, this assignment does at least two things: it encourages a different bite of the narrative apple, and most importantly it continues to build and strengthen classroom culture. And that’s one recipe that can’t go wrong.
What works for you in your classrooms in the weeks between breaks? What activities inspire student writing and build classroom culture? I’d love to hear from you!
Leave a comment below, find me on Twitter @karlahilliard, or connect with us on Facebook!
-Karla
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I LOVE this. I think I may give it a try with my seniors who tend to not get invested in much in terms of writing. This very personal connection (and a food feast!) may draw them in. Thanks for sharing!
Did you ever have an actual rubric and explanation of the Food Narrative? I didn’t see it in your links.
Hi Jennifer!
I don’t have a rubric. This assignment was squeezed into the end of our term before exams, and while we were guided by the mentor texts, I assigned completion points if students included a recipe, a narrative telling the recipe’s story, and included a photo.
If I’d had more time that week, I would’ve asked students to generate a rubric based on their mentor text findings.
As far as explanation of assignment, I think I’ve called it Food Memories Recipe Task in the links. It was one of those assignments that took shape with classroom discussion. The basic instructions are to determine a special recipe and tell its story.
Hope this info helps a bit!