So You Want to Grow a Taco?

Activity Overview

While cooking, students have the opportunity to explore with their senses and build descriptive vocabulary. In this activity, students will read about how ingredients are sourced, grown, and ultimately become incorporated into a recipe. Further, students will also experience what makes a meal truly special: sharing it with your community!

Please note that this is a cooking activity and we ask you to be aware of food allergies.

What You Need

• So You Want to Grow a Taco? on Epic

• Blank paper

• Markers, colored pencils, or crayons

• Your favorite taco ingredients

• Guests from your community (family or pod members suggested)

Steps

1. Read So You Want to Grow a Taco? on Epic.

2. While reading, discuss how corn is planted and grown, and think about how this relates to other parts of the curriculum that you may have recently studied. Also, discuss the importance of the tacos to the boy’s family and community – he learns to make tortillas from a grown up that takes the time to carefully teach him the skills to do each step, and at the end, he has a celebration with many members of his community. Making and sharing tacos is a special part of his relationship with them.

3. Draw or write a picture of your taco recipe – be as creative as you like.

4. Gather taco ingredients and make tacos to share with your community!

Guiding Questions

• How are meals important to you and your community? Possible discussion points may include:

  • Energy and nutritional value

  • Cultural significance and traditions

  • Sharing food and spending time together

  • Preparing food as acts of kindness for family, friends, and those in need

• Where does food come from?

• How is food made? Consider exploring other specific examples of family favorites.

Extensions

• Consider growing some ingredients that you can eat in a garden. Refer to other activities like the Five Senses Garden Book, Caring for Plants, How You Bean?, One Little Lot, and My Little Lot for other fun ideas to start your garden!

• Explore So You Want to Grow a Pizza?, So You Want to Grow a Salad? and So You Want to Grow a Pie? on Epic and try other recipes to share!