Fun Week Lesson Plan #2 by Lindsay D'Agostini

Objectives:

*    The students will acquire information by reading, listening, and

      viewing.

*    The students will be encouraged to develop respect and appreciation for

      the ways in which people in China satisfy basic needs.

*   The students will be encouraged to develop objectivity by examining

      one’s own ideas about what is a better way of meeting basic needs.

Materials:

Parent volunteers, transportation to a Dim Sum Restaurant (many locations within Edmonton), learning logs, pencils, white board and markers, and a menu from the restaurant

Anticipatory set:

Explain to the students that today we will be going on a fieldtrip to a Chinese restaurant. Have a discussion about what kinds of Chinese food students have already eaten and go over the menu for the restaurant with the class. Brainstorm ideas on the board about what the food will be like, what dishes are traditional and which ones are more modern, and how the students should act in the Chinese restaurant (i.e. manners, using chopsticks, etc…).

Procedure:

The students will have already brought in their permission slips to go to the restaurant along with fifteen dollars for the bus and meal expenses. A list of students with food allergies will be kept with the teacher and given to the restaurant in order to make sure no foods the children eat will contain any of the allergy foods in them. The students will take a bus to one of the many Dim Sum restaurants in Edmonton.

When the students arrive, they will be seated and a parent volunteer will sit with each student table. At the Dim Sum restaurant, the students can pick and choose their Chinese dishes from a cart that goes around. The students can eat a maximum of five dishes. The waitress will explain the Chinese name for the dishes and what it is made of. After the students eat their meals, they will receive a fortune cookie. At this time, the teacher will provide some historical background of the fortune cookie (see fortune cookie at the end of this lesson). The students will enjoy an afternoon of experiencing authentic Chinese food.

Closing:

After the students have finished their meals and have come back to the classroom, they will be given an opportunity to reflect on their experience in their learning logs. The students should reflect on what they ate, how it differs from Canadian food, and their favourite food of the day.

 Assessment:

The students will be assessed on their behaviour at the restaurant where the teacher will write down any inappropriate behaviours the students display. The formal assessment for this lesson is the learning log entries. The students will be assessed on their critical thinking about their experience and whether they are moving toward attitude objectives. At this point in the unit, the students should be making connections and tying everything they have learned so far into their experience. This will show whether or not the students are engaging themselves fully into the unit and the experience they just had.

Modifications:

Special needs students will have a parent volunteer or the teacher with them throughout the field trip. These students can write a few sentences about their experience and illustrate their writing for reflection.

Fortune Cookie:

“Indeed, the original inspiration for fortune cookies may date back to the 13th Century, when Chinese soldiers slipped rice paper messages into mooncakes to help coordinate their defense against Mongolian invaders.  And yet, for all of the mystery and seemingly exotic allure, fortune cookies are strictly an invention of the Untied States… Until recently, fortune cookies were virtually unknown in China.  In 1993, Wonton Food Company began producing the treats in China.  Since most of the cookies are consumed in tourist areas, fortunes are printed in both English and Chinese.  However, sales in the region have not been as high as expected, perhaps because baked goods in China are generally lower in sugar, in accordance with the belief that excess sugar dulls the palate.  Nevertheless, it is fitting that the product has finally had the good fortune to make its way to the country with which it has so long been associated.”

-taken from http://modelminority.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=69

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