Celebrating Our Heritage, One Bite at a Time

(This entry was submitted by Ms. Cadorette, 5th grade teacher at West End.)

During our first literacy theme, the 5th grade learned about how families work together, how families discuss their heritage, and how families share their traditions. As a culminating activity, each student created a Family Shield. Students completed family history surveys and questionnaires to gather information about the importance of their name, details of their family heritage and history, a special recipe their family enjoys, and created a timeline of important family milestones. As each student presented their family shield to the class, students discussed the similarities of their family history and respected their differences.

In addition, on Tuesday, November 25th students had the chance to sample the tasty family recipes. Over 25 dishes were prepared by our amazing West End families.

The students enjoyed Spanish Rice and Beans, Jamaican Curry Chicken, Matzo Ball Soup, Pumpkin Bread and Grandma Wanda’s Apple Sauce Spice Cake, just to name a few. The food tasting celebration was a first-hand experience for each student to discover the ethnic diversity which makes the city of Woodbury unique.