Date: June 22, 2000

Grade Level(s): 5

Subject(s):

• Foreign Language/Spanish

Description: This is one of several lessons about food vocabulary. This lesson introduces Mexican food and the history behind it. The main objective of this lesson is to introduce new food vocabulary to the students. In addition, the students will also participate in classroom activities, make a menu of their own, take quizzes, and use the Internet to practice vocabulary. The students will apply what they learn in a Mexican restaurant, by ordering their own meal in Spanish.

Goals: Following a lecture on the history of Mexican food, grade five students will be able to recognize and order Mexican cuisine, with 100% accuracy.

Objectives:

1. Identify the foods associated with Mexico.
2. Compare and contrast these foods with the foods associated with the United States.
3. Recognize that many of the foods used in the world today were developed in Mexico.
4. Describe the typical foods that come from Mexico.
5. Recall that Mexican meals have similarities and differences from the meals in America.
6. Be familiar with and be able to order food from a Mexican menu.

Materials:

• At least one computer.
• A set of art supplies, for each student.
• Construction paper.
• Pictures of various kinds of Mexican foods.

Introduction:

The teacher will ask the students what kinds of food they think that people in Mexico eat. The teacher will ask the class to pick a particular type of food that is not common for Mexicans to eat. The teacher will ask the class if they know any of the Spanish names for the food. after the question and answer portion of the class is finished, the teacher will tell the class that they will be making a Mexican menu of their own, in Spanish, and that they will be going to a Mexican restaurant to order their lunch in Spanish.

Lesson Body:

The teacher will start discussing the history of corn in Mexico. the teacher will ask the students the following questions:

1. Why do you think corn is so important in Mexico?
2. Are these foods similar to the ones that we eat?
3. What do they eat at home that similar/dissimilar?
4. What foods are typical in the American diet?
5. Which of these foods would people in other countries eat, as well?

The teacher will now discuss about how to make a menu, using the new words they just learned. They can be creative as they like, but they must use the new words learned in this lesson. The teacher will tell the class that they will be sharing their menus' with the rest of the class. the class will become acquainted with the vocabulary for two class periods, using their menu's, playing memory games, bingo, and having quizzes. At the beginning of the third class, the class will take a trip to the local Mexican restaurant and order their lunch in Spanish.

Assessment: The students' understanding of the vocabulary will be informally assessed through large group participation in a class discussion. Teacher observation of individual participation in the class discussion will also be evaluated. The students' understanding will also be assessed in playing various games, such as memory, flash cards, word searches, and bingo. The quizzes and the ordering of lunch in a Mexican restaurant will be the formal evaluation.

Useful Internet Resources:

La Cocina Mexicana
A site dedicated to Mexican food that provides a sample Mexican restaurant menu, recipes, and more.
http://cocinamexicana.com.mx/cocinamex.html