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Curriculum Resources for the Alaskan Environment
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Subject Areas: math,
social studies, geography, home economics,
nutrition
Timeline: two
weeks/repeated
Grade Levels:
9-12
Purpose: to give students
an opportunity to explore cultural differences
culminating with a dinner representative of the
area studied
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J. and V. Lewis,
G. Shriver, T. Gillespie, and D. Werneke
Ethnic
Dinners
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Activities
- Study a preselected country or
geographical area.
- Learn which foods are prevalent
and why.
- Learn behavior patterns of the
local population, including food preparation, art, and
music.
- Prepare a menu and set up an
environment to simulate the area studied.
Resources
- student fund; money earned from
the Halloween carnival
- hot lunch program; school cooks;
home economics teacher
- travel agencies (materials on
cultures/areas to be studied)
- international
cookbooks
- film resources (universities,
libraries, etc.)
- regional food
resources
- Cooperative Extension
Service
- city or village offices, for a
list of elders
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Variations
- To help fund the event, include the entire village
at $10 per plate.
- On the occasion of the dinner, present a program
depicting the culture.
- Develop a menu with local, traditional food:
gather food: students might set snare one
afternoon for ptarmigan and rabbit; check snares a few days later;
use whatever is caught; or
recruit community members to teach trapping
and hunting
butcher the meat; tan the hides; collect tundra
greens
prepare food; serve for the entire school
village involvement could lead to a complete
potlatch
rewrite the entire school menu using food
which would be available around the village
send off samples of Native food for nutritional
analysis to USDA.
- Provide village elders a feast on Thanksgiving
or other occasions:
pick and freeze berries ahead of time for
cranberry pudding and Eskimo ice cream
plan a balanced meal; order food that must
be shipped; write invitations
prepare and serve food; provide entertainment
deliver hot food to any elders who are homebound.
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