Pizza Lesson Plan
Learning about Michigan Agriculture
One Slice at a Time
Grade Levels:
Upper Elementary and Middle School
MEAP/content Standards & Draft Benchmarks
Geographic Perspective:
Human/Environment Interaction
Regions, Patterns and Processes
Economic Perspective:
Individual and Household Choices
Business Choices
Focus Questions:
What is pizza?
Which of its ingredients are grown in Michigan?
How is it made?
Objectives
| 1. |
Students will discuss different foods grown in Michigan |
| 2. |
Students will find out about processing of food and the production of food "from farm to fork." |
| 3. |
Students will discover the interesting and complex history behind one of their most commonly shared items |
| 4. |
Students can practice math, social studies, history and writing skills, using pizza as the centerpiece. |
| 5. |
Students will become familiar with a county map of Michigan and where certain crops are grown. |
Time needed:
One week (one lesson per day)
Connections:
Social studies (how things are grown in Michigan); social studies linking with science and nutrition, language arts, writing
Materials needed:
Map of Michigan showing counties.
Unit Outline:
Pizza—a farm food. Have you ever seen a pizza tree? A pizza bush? Slices of pizza planted in a garden? Yet pizza is a food made up of products grown in Michigan. Your students will learn about the history of a food they care about. They will find out how each of its ingredients can be grown on Michigan’s farms. What we see in the field ends up as steaming hot slices of a food that almost everyone loves. Students will learn about the diversity of Michigan crops and how crops are produced, processed, delivered and made into the ingredients of pizza. They will learn about the geographic area crops are grown in. They will learn about the profession of farming. This unit introduces the importance of agriculture in Michigan.
Lesson Sequence:
Lesson 1: Students will learn the history of pizza and identify ingredients on pizza. They will learn how Michigan is suited to grow certain crops, which are used on pizza.
Lesson 2: Students locate the state’s counties and will identify which agricultural products used in pizza are grown in Michigan.
Lesson 3: Students will learn about nutritional aspects of pizza and will determine caloric and nutritional value of pizza. They will discuss making pizza at home. They will discuss food preferences and choices and determine how pizza fits on the nutritional pyramid. They will discuss cultural traditions and what ingredients are used on pizza in different cultures.
Lesson 4: Students will discuss processing food and the "farm to fork" concept of pizza. They will learn about food safety.
Lesson 5: Celebrate pizza! Facts about pizza will be shared.
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