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Young children have a natural curiosity about their
physical, social and technological world. They have a
strong desire to make sense of their world...
They construct and review their understandings through
interaction with others, direct and vicarious experiences...
It is important that learning experiences build upon each
child's understandings, skills, values and experiences
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Children have frequent opportunities
to listen to, view and read a wide variety of stories,
poems, films and other texts for enjoyment.
Teachers read a wide range of texts to students to develop
an understanding of story, conventions of print, imagination
and critical literacy skills. |
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With students in Early Childhood begin
with the familiar by talking about feasts as special
celebrations, with a delicious meal often accompanied by entertainment,
in honour of some event or person. Discuss feasts within the
children's experience, for example birthdays, anniversaries,
Christmas, Easter, Passover, Chinese New Year, depending on
the cultural and social composition of the class.
Stimulate children's thinking, listening, speaking, writing,
viewing and artistic skills, and expand their literary experiences
through the sharing of a feast of modern and traditional
stories, poems/rhymes that incorporate celebrations or special
foods.
Click on the approaches listed below
for learning ideas and fiction titles to get you started.
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| Students respond to texts
in many different ways. These provide the
means through which students can demonstrate
understanding and interpretation of texts. |
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Students could reflect on their own experiences
of feasts and compare them to those in the texts
through talking, drawing, role-play, dramatising
and writing thus developing their reading, viewing,
speaking, listening, writing and thinking skills.
For example students could:
- Make a classroom mural using
multi-media, depicting characters from stories
or nursery rhymes at a feast eating appropriate
food, for example vegemite sandwiches or lamingtons
for Grandma Poss and Hush, porridge for Goldilocks,
curds and whey for Miss Muffet, brown bread
and honey for the king.
- Brainstorm a list of stories
with food in the title. Make a classroom chart.
Write a sentence about their favourite story.
- Dramatise Pumpkin
Soup.
- Write and illustrate their
own story about an unusual or especially memorable
birthday party, after reading Meltdown.
- Conduct a survey of favourite
party foods and present results on simple bar
graphs.
- Present a short talk about
a special feast in their family after reading
The Friday
Nights of Nana or
What's Cooking
Jamela? Or, compile a
class Big Book of children's stories and artwork
about special meals in their family.
- Brainstorm a list of of Aussie
foods after reading Possum
Magic and Pigs
and Honey. Then in small groups list other
foods eaten in their family and categorise them
into countries of origin.
- Find recipes for the foods mentioned
in Possum
Magic. Choose one (or more) recipe/s to
cook in class with parental assistance.
- Show Grandma Poss and Hush's
journey on a large map of Australia, illustrated
with pictures of the food eaten at each location.
- Retell a traditional tale which
features food, using felt board characters or
puppets, for example The Gingerbread Man,
Goldilocks and the Three Bears, Hansel
and Gretel, Jack and the Bean Stalk,
The Little Red Hen, The Magic Porridge
Pot.
- Investigate where the ingredients
for foods mentioned in literature come from
and in small groups construct simple flow charts
to illustrate the process.
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ADAMS, Jeanie Pigs
and Honey
Omnibus Books, 1989
Picture Book. Set in the Cape North Peninsula in North Queensland,
Pigs and Honey is a delightful tale about an Aboriginal
hunting and picnic party in the bush. In very natural and matter-of-fact
language, a young boy describes the fun weekend enjoyed by his
extended family.
CBC Book of the Year: Younger Readers 1990
COOPER, Helen Pumpkin
Soup
Picture Corgi, 1999
Paperback Picture Book. A story focusing on friendship
and sharing. Duck, Cat and Squirrel live happily together sharing
the daily chores. However, one day they have a disagreement
about the cooking of their favourite meal, Pumpkin soup.
Winner Kate Greenaway Medal 1998
DALY, Nicki What's
Cooking, Jamela?
Frances Lincoln, 2001
Hardback Illustrated Story. Jamela befriends the chicken her
mother has planned for Christmas lunch and, horrified with the
idea of eating it, runs away with the chicken under her arm,
leaving a trail of chaos. Large colourful illustrations are
delightful, bringing the characters to life and portraying African
culture.
FOX, Mem and VIVAS, Julie Possum
Magic
Omnibus, 1991
Picture Book first published in 1983. This timeless favourite
tells the story of Grandma Poss and young Hush who live together.
Grandma Poss is an expert in bush magic and is able to make
Hush invisible to protect her from snakes. However, when Hush
wants to know what she looks like the pair have to travel around
Australia to eat people foods such as Anzac biscuits and pavlova,
in order to restore Hush to normal.
Honour Book CBC Picture Book of the Year, 1984
Also Available:
The Grandma Poss Cookbook
Recipes for twenty-two popular party foods such as cheese straws
and chocolate crackles which also provide an excellent example
of how to write procedures.
HEST, Amy and NIVOLA, Claire. The
Friday Nights of Nana
Candlewick, 2001
Hardback Picture Book. Jennie spends Friday with her
Nana, preparing for the Sabbath by cleaning, cooking and setting
the table for the evening meal. The detailed illustrations are
most appealing, whilst the text is written in easy-to-understand
language. This is a wonderful, memorable resource to use with
younger students when studying culture and it is a great way
of introducing religious celebrations and family traditions.
WILSON, Barbara Kerr and COX, David. Meltdown
Margaret Hamilton, 1999
Hardback Picture Book. Andy travels in the car with his
family on a hot day to pick up his birthday surprise, an enormous,
multi-coloured ice-cream cake. On the way home on the freeway,
the family begin to get very worried when they are stuck in
a traffic jam and the cake begins to melt. Andy's quick-thinking
mum ensures that his magnificent birthday cake is enjoyed by
the family, plus a few additional guests.
Notable
Book CBC Picture Book of the Year 2000
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