Discover the joy of cooking ethnic recipes! Compile a multicultural class cookbook using metric measurements.

• 1.

  Ask your family to help you choose a family recipe that reflects your ethnic background or is a long-time family favorite. Share the recipe with your class. Locate its origins, and the sources of its ingredients, on a world map.

• 2.

  Use a metric conversion chart to determine the metric measurements of quantities for each ingredient. For example, 2 cups of water is .48 liters or 473.6 mL. Write the equivalent measures on paper with Crayola® Erasable Colored Pencils. Check each other’s calculations and make corrections by erasing.

• 3.

  For a class book, write the entire recipe with metric measurements. If you make a mistake, just erase. With Crayola Scissors, cut construciton paper to make a frame page for your recipe. Use a Crayola Glue Stick to attach your recipe to the frame. Decorate the borders.

• 4.

  Work in small groups to design possible covers. As a class, discuss the merits of each cover and choose the final design. Prepare the cover for the book. Punch holes in each page. Bind your book with raffia, ribbon, or other materials.

• 5.

  If possible, prepare the recipes to share with classmates, either at home or school. Invite family members and the principal to share your delicious recipes. Why not contribute the book to your school library?

Standards

• LA: Read with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support comprehension.
• LA: Read and comprehend informational texts, including history/social studies, science, and technical texts, at the high end of the grade level text complexity band independently and proficiently.
• LA: Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases based on grade level reading and content, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies.
• LA: Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners about grade level topics and texts with peers and adults in small and larger groups.
• LA: Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of discipline-specific tasks, purposes, and audiences.
• MATH: Convert like measurement units within a given measurement system.
• VA: Select and use the qualities of structures and functions of art to improve communication of ideas.

Adaptations

• Students research the country of origin for their recipes. Plan to present the information to classmates, including identifying the location of the country on a world map. Students may also wish to include a sketch of the country on their recipe page.
• Ask each student to create an original recipe book cover. Use the student's cover for the copy of the recipe book that the student gets to keep.
• Interview family members to discover their personal favorite ethnic food. Prior to the interview, students work as a class to compose questions for the interviews. After the interviews, students discover similarities and differences in family preferences.
• Students investigate the history of the Metric system. Organize research into an electronic format for presentation to classmates.
• Individually, students investigate the country that their recipes originate from. Does that country use the Metric system or the Customary System, as does the United States? If they use the Metric system, investigate ways in which it shows up in everyday life in the country. Provide several examples for classmates.