11-14 year olds

Starter activity

You could engage students in a discussion about the important part food plays in our celebrations. Encourage them to think about food from other cultures which they have tried. Now extend their thinking to food used for celebration in other cultures.

Main activity/plenary

There is no main lesson plan or Resources section for this topic – it will depend which recipes you choose and how much of the information about different celebrations/cultures you decide to cover.

All the ingredients and equipment needed are listed within each recipe, and the recipes can be printed out. You may also need facilities to show a video if your recipe has a supporting video showing how it is made.

As part of the main activity, students could research the significance of bread/other foods in religious festivals and celebrations across the world, giving particular attention to religions and cultures represented in the class. If possible, you could include an opportunity to taste different types of bread used in such celebrations and festivals.

As a follow-up, students could consider some or all of the following questions.

Why does bread rise? What is the role of yeast in bread-making? What hygiene and safety rules do we need to follow when preparing and cooking food? Why is food (including bread) so important in religious and cultural festivals?

 Homework or extension ideas

For homework, students could identify how many different cultures are catered for in the local supermarket. As an extension activity, students could find out more about the reasons behind particular celebrations/festivals in other cultures, e.g. the significance of particular foods used.

Students could try out recipe/s from 'Super snacks' or 'Breakfast boosters' and write an advertisement to promote their favourite snack or breakfast.

Important notes

Refer to Running a cooking session: guidance for teachers before you start.

Health and safety: Don't forget to cover all the points about kitchen health and safety and food hygiene before students begin working with food. The key points are given in IP 'Before you start: food and safety'.

Health and safety: If students are making recipes in class, or tasting samples of bread, you need to be absolutely sure (depending on the recipe) that no-one in your class has a nut or gluten allergy, e.g. by writing a letter to parents to ensure that all your students may take part.

It is a valuable experience for students to make bread, to smell and feel rising dough, and to compare it with unleavened bread. The time taken for bread to rise may require a sample of dough to be prepared ahead of the lesson and left to rise/prove. An alternative approach is for recipes to be issued so that bread can be made at home and then brought to school for comparison. This could provide an opportunity, for example, for students to compare the dough for leavened and unleavened bread, to feel the texture and smell the gases given off. The role of yeast in bread making could be discussed, and science classes may want to consider the concepts of aerobic and anaerobic respiration at this point.

However, please be aware of health and safety issues when making bread. Bread-making should be carried out under the supervision of a properly trained technology (or science) teacher, in the technology environment and with the assistance of technician support. COSHH Hazard cards should be referred to:

Beware of wheat allergies and intolerance. Ensure hygiene is considered throughout.

Resources
	Before you start: food and safety
	Brush up on food hygiene and safety before you begin
	Happy New Year
	Celebrate New Year with recipes from around the globe
	Harvest celebrations
	Get some flour and get stuck into our tasty recipes
	Special occasions
	Treat someone on their special day – we've got lots of ideas here!
	Super snacks
	Easy-but-tasty snacks to make and enjoy
	Breakfast boosters
	Kick start your day with an energy boost