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A taste of different cultures for Edgar third-graders

A taste of different cultures for Edgar third-graders A taste of different cultures for Edgar third-graders

Every spring, third-graders at Edgar Elementary School get a taste of international cultures. A literal taste, that is.

Making and sampling an assortment of foods from countries around the world at a cultural fair is the culmination of an interdisciplinary study that includes lessons in English and language arts, social studies and technology.

“It’s a highlight of third grade,” says Jessica Ristow, the teacher who coordinates the project. “It’s something they really remember and love.”

Ristow began the unit 11 years ago. This year, the project included 10 countries.

Students begin by being assigned to teams, one team for each country. Each student is then given a particular facet of their country to research – climate or holidays for example. The students create a Google slide to illustrate their findings and also prepare an oral presentation. The final preparations involve the food.

Ristow works in collaboration with Kris Federwitz and her high school culinary students. They select recipes for each country and, starting a few days before the fair, the third-graders work with the high schoolers to make the dishes.

They start with the basics of food preparation and learn about sanitation and food safety. Federwitz assigns tasks based on each student’s familiarity with the kitchen. They get to measure ingredients, roll out cookies, mix the batter for cakes and help fill the pastries. The older students do the more dangerous tasks such as using knives or putting things in and taking them out of the oven.

“We want (the third-graders) to do as much of the other things as possible,” Federwitz said.

This year’s menu includes: kolaczki cookies from Poland; mini chocolate covered cream puffs from France; biscotti from Italy; marble cake from Germany; nankhatai cookies from India; cheese bread from Brazil; fried sweet dumplings from Kenya; sesame seed noodles from China, tres leches cake from Mexico; and lefse from Norway.

Parents are invited to the cultural fair to sample the food and review the students’ presentations. They are encouraged to ask the students questions about what they have learned. But the food is the highlight of the day.

“It’s so much fun, the kids love it,” said Federwitz. “Who doesn’t like to eat their homework?”

LITTLE DUMPLINGS - From left to right, Edgar third-graders Izzabella Hamann, Mackenzie Rettinger, and Shyanne Pospyhalla display a dish of sweet dumplings at their school’s recent cultural fair.

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