The Great British Baking Show

Introduction

Get ready to show off your cooking skills in this British themed cooking class! We will be exploring British colonization by tasting and testing different recipes that represent colonized lands. How did colonization affect British cuisine, and how did expansion and trade rewrite the menus across the globe? We will study British baking technique, as well as understand how it impacted colonies, such as India, Africa and the Caribbean. Students will experience hands-on cooking sessions, experimenting with traditional recipes which will be a springboard for creating their own. Will will explore how cultural exchanges affected culinary traditions. Each week, we will focus on one colonized culture, cook a traditional dish, and research important historical events that occurred during British Colonization. Students will have the opportunity to create their own unique recipe that is reflective of the history we learn, the cooking techniques we try and the cultural traditions that evolved from this transformative time in history.

Important Information: This expedition is the Cycle 1 ELA/US History Pathway expedition option

Essential Questions

• Why did the British colonize “the new world?”

• Why did the Witch Trials happen?

• How did geography affect the development of colonial America?

• What are the origins of racial conflict?

• Why is it important to learn about and cook indigenous recipes? 

• Was colonialism a direct result of capitalism?

• How did the colonial class system suppress lower-class/slave revolt?

• Can we trace racial, gender or economic inequalities back to British Colonization? In what ways are they connected and in which ways are they not? 

• How does understanding the past help us deal with and improve the present? 

• What were the pros and cons of British Colonization?

Learning Objectives

• Demonstrate their understanding of how the Americas were affected by colonization through creating a recipe.

• Form inquiry based questions around British Colonization.

• Demonstrate understanding of how food is a symbol of cultural values and struggles.

• Develop their script writing and film editing skills.

• Work together in a group to collaborate and support one another using growth mindsets.

• Develop understanding of how colonization affects present day struggles of racism, classism and sexism.