When I want to confound and amaze kids I often use food as the vehicle.
One of my favorites is "Where Does it Come From?" A world map, laminated photos of various food items like: rice, sugar, chocolate, tomatoes, potatoes, corn, chiles, cows, chickens, pigs, etc, and some sticky tack are all you need for an hour-plus long lesson in world geography, trade, and lunch.
Another favorite is "WHEN did it Come From?" to get kids thinking about dates of when things were invented or patented.
For example, Thomas Jefferson designed a macaroni machine in 1787.
When was Campbell's Soup patented?
1897 -- though it had been invented in 1869!
Turns out that 1897 was a very good year for convenience foods.
Jell-O was also trademarked that year, having been invented in 1895 (see below for 1895 milestones). The Jell-O Gallery Museum has some WONDERFUL trivia, puns, and history that your students will slurp up!
https://www.loc.gov/item/2023638978/
A brand of Gelatine was trademarked in 1881, but, as we are reminded -- it is not Jell-O!
Knox trademarked theirs in 1890
1895 was ALSO a landmark year in food.
Shredded Wheat was patented in 1895
Coca-Cola was officially being sold in every American state, having been invented less than 10 years earlier by Dr. John Pemberton.
And, the FIRST shipment of CANNED pineapple left Hawai'i -- a trademark soon followed
Dr. John Harvey Kellogg, famous for the Battle Creek Diet System, patented a way to grind peanuts to more efficiently make peanut butter -- a basis for his fake meat diet plan.
This is just a sampling of the possible foods to spark inquiry (and hunger) among students. Discussions of geography, nutrition, perceived health benefits of fad diets, and so much more can be drawn from just one year's food inventions.
What year will your students choose to explore?
Pre K - 2 3 - 5 6 - 8 9 - 12 13+ Social Studies/History Technology Food history
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Edited
Food is always a great way to engage both students & adults!
This 'Battle Creek-ite' also appreciated the references to Dr. John Harvey Kellogg and the Biologic Living Health treatment that was provided through the Sanitarium - lots of fascinating history in my hometown :-)
Edited
Food is definitely reliable as a way to engage, amaze and confound. The presentation of your album is terrific and I hope to use it as a guideline for my future albums. The 38 page recipe catalog embedded in the Jell-O image with the children is extraordinary, and maple syrup Jell-O is a new recipe to me. I am intrigued by the concern that one should not confuse Jell-O ice cream powder (never heard of it before) with Jell-O. The ice cream powder, it seems, was one of Jell-O's many products and had its own book. I am intrigued by the distinction and I recall the advertising campaign for Jello along with the jingle in the days of early television. What a delightful collection with all the elements of surprise.
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