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| By George Levenson Photography by Shmuel Thaler |
Bread Comes to Life: A Garden of Wheat and a Loaf to Eat was a generous gift from Agriculture in the Classroom. This Richmond based organization bases its philosophy on educating students in Virginia about where the food on their lunch plate comes from. Agriculture, commerce, and natural resources are just several of the primary teaching objectives of Ag in the Class. In this book, the children are first introduced to the different types of bread that potentially show up at their home or in their school lunches. White, black, small, tall, thin, twin, dinner, and hard day-old bread a listed with photographs. The next several pages provide photographs that detail the process of wheat cultivation accompanied by words. "This baker makes his bread from scratch by sowing wheat in his backyard patch." The use of rhyme is continued throughout the text to include younger students. The beautiful pictures provide specific documentation of the wheat process. I must admit as a 24 year old man with a passion for food, I have never seen the process in its entirety. The process includes grinding the seeds after they have been differentiated from the chaff. At the close of the picture book, bread is made from yeast, honey, water, and flour. The last pages include several recipes to try at home with adult supervision. There is even a recipe for old-fashioned farmers gum (made from hard red winter wheat).
I believe that the value of such literature is imperative for our student's health. Many students are unaware of the processes responsible for the food that they eat everyday. By introducing students to these events, they become aware of their food surroundings. The classroom that I student teach in would be curious about the various techniques involved in bread making. I look forward to sharing this book in the spring.
Why the Brown Bean was Blue, written by Susan M. Pankey another book received from the Agriculture in the Classroom conference. This book begins much like Bread Comes to Life, yet this book documents the cultivation of soy from start to finish.
"A soybean is a seed, you know,
that farmers plant down in the ground....
But first they must prepare the soil.
And make rows in the fields up and down. "
Like in the other text, photography is used by the author to capture the process of growing soybeans. After the seeds are planted, they flourish into small green plants. From the plants, soy pods are picked. According to the author, the journey of the soil bean just begins after cultivation. Next, a two-page spread appears with an image containing several cosmetic and food products. Through the rest of the book, the author displays images of other products made from soy. In the back, a glossary and "fun-facts" section provides an opportunity for formative assessment of student comprehension. Like the book on bread, these informative non-fiction texts are important tools for the classroom. Awareness of these practices may contribute to increased student health. There is a potential that by introducing these materials to a classroom, students may begin to question some of the foods that they eat at home based upon the nutritional facts learned about soy beans and whole wheat bread.
Agriculture in the classroom offers many resources to Virginia educators, many of which contain materials to enrich students' understanding of natural resources.
http://www.agintheclass.org/Pages/default.aspx
"A soybean is a seed, you know,
that farmers plant down in the ground....
But first they must prepare the soil.
And make rows in the fields up and down. "
Like in the other text, photography is used by the author to capture the process of growing soybeans. After the seeds are planted, they flourish into small green plants. From the plants, soy pods are picked. According to the author, the journey of the soil bean just begins after cultivation. Next, a two-page spread appears with an image containing several cosmetic and food products. Through the rest of the book, the author displays images of other products made from soy. In the back, a glossary and "fun-facts" section provides an opportunity for formative assessment of student comprehension. Like the book on bread, these informative non-fiction texts are important tools for the classroom. Awareness of these practices may contribute to increased student health. There is a potential that by introducing these materials to a classroom, students may begin to question some of the foods that they eat at home based upon the nutritional facts learned about soy beans and whole wheat bread.
Agriculture in the classroom offers many resources to Virginia educators, many of which contain materials to enrich students' understanding of natural resources.
http://www.agintheclass.org/Pages/default.aspx
Bread comes to life! When I first saw the picture of the cover of this book, I laughed out loud at the thought and had to read Jeff's review. I think it's wonderful that you were able to incorporate your book that you received from the Ag in the Class lecture as a non-fiction picture book. I had no idea there were so many types of bread that could end up on your plate--not even types really, more like textures and sizes of everyday bread. I would love to hear how Jeff's Kindergarteners respond to his sharing of this book in the spring.
ReplyDeleteAs for the second book, I would be very interested to read it since I don't know much about soy beans, and I feel that they are becoming increasingly prevalent in our society today. It's great that these non-fiction picture books could lead to healthier eating habits for children!