BREAD THEME Multicultural Focus I prefer not to focus on one particular culture the way some teachers do but to have some themes which allow children to learn about the similarities and differences of many cultures (hats, transportation, homes, babies). One of my favorites for this is "Bread." Bread Bread Bread (written by Ann Morris, photos by Ken Heyman) and Everybody Bakes Bread (written by Norah Dooley, ill. by Peter J. Thornton) are perfect to introduce this concept. I have a collection of toy breads from a variety of cultures which are kept in our dramatic play area and are used for games ("I'm thinking of a bread that is flat and round."). My class graph for this theme is "Which of these breads do you like the most?" --four or five breads are available for tasting (this year they were bagels, flour tortillas, blue corn tortillas, and bread sticks). How Bread Is Made-Science, Math, Etc. I read the nonfiction book I Wonder How Bread Is Made (Neil Curtis and Peter Greenland) and The Little Red Hen (sometimes a couple of versions), and show the "Breadtime Tales" video. I have baked a few kinds of white bread with my classes over the years, always making a large recipe chart with words and pictures. This past year, we also made soft pretzels after reading Eric Carle's Walter the Baker . We make playdough without any food coloring so children can pretend to bake bread also. And, I have a few types of grains used to make bread available with magnifying glasses for exploration. Going Further-Peanut Butter, Jelly, Sandwiches, Etc. Sometimes, we expand on bread and make peanut butter, which is very simple with a blender. Ken Robbins' Make Me a Peanut Butter Sandwich and a glass of milk, Nadine Bernard Westcott's Peanut Butter and Jelly, A Play Rhyme, The Giant Jam Sandwich (story & pictures by John Vernon Lord, verses by Janet Burroway), and Bread and Jam for Frances (written by Russell Hoban, ill. by Lillian Hoban) can also be read. A fun group art project is to make a giant sandwich collage-I provided my class with two large pieces of paper "bread " and they used mustard "glue" (just put glue tinted yellow in a mustard squeeze container) to add cheese, bologna, pickles, . . . which were cut and colored from scrap paper. More Literature Tortillas (written by Alvin Gordon, ill. By Ted De Grazia, composed by Travis Edmonton),The Tortilla Factory (written Gary Paulsen, ill. by Ruth Wright Paulsen), and Bread Is For Eating (David and Phyllis Gershator, ill. by Emma Shaw-Smith) are other books that my classes have enjoyed with this theme. Link To Another Theme-Pizza Pizza is another type of bread. We have a dramatic play pizza shop for a change, make pizza, and read fictional books like Karen Barbour's Little Nino’s Pizzeria, Curious George And The Pizza, and Dayal Kaur Khalsa's How Pizza Came To Queens. We also read the Marjorie Pillar's nonfiction book Pizza Man and sing the song "I Am A Pizza". A Celebration of Bread, Our Cultures, And Our Learning Families are invited to join us for a bead tasting party. I make a display of photos and text that let everybody know about our bread theme, have the video that we watched playing in the corner of the classroom, and asked that each family bring a sample of bread which is typical of their culture or a favorite of their child. This year, I had an incredible selection of breads--spicy Arabic, Irish soda, cheese, pumpernickel. . . enough that we ended up inviting everybody else around to enjoy our buffet feast. * I also do I week of bread. Here are some individual and group recipes that I use. INDIVIDUAL LOAVES OF BREAD Mix in a bowl: 1/2 cup warm water 1 cup flour (white or whole wheat) 1 t. or 1 package yeast 1/2 t. salt 1 T. sugar 1 t. oil Knead for 5 minutes. Put in a greased mini loaf pan and let rise for 45 minutes. Bake at 350 for 1/2 hour. BISCUITS MIX: 1/3 cup flour and 1/2 t. powdered milk ADD: 1 T. oil and 2 T. water FLOUR HANDS and knead lightly. Form into three biscuits. BALE at 450 for 10 to 15 minutes. PRETZELS 2 cups hot tap water 1/4 cup softened margarine 2 packages yeast 1 egg 1/2 cup sugar 6 1/2 -7 1/2 cups flour 2 t. salt Place hot water in a bowl-sprinkle yeast and stir until dissolved. Add sugar, salt, margarine, egg and 3 cups flour. Beat until smooth. Add the rest of the flour to make a stiff dough. Cover bowl and refrigerate 2-24 hours. Divide dough and shape in pretzels or initials. Let rise for 30 minutes and bake at 450 for 15 minutes. PITA BREAD 1 package dry yeast 2 cups hot water 2 T. honey 5-6 cups all purpose flour 1 T. salt Combine yeast, honey, salt and water in a large mixing bowl. Stir to blend. Add 4 cups flour. Mix well. Add more flour to make dough stiff. Knead on floured surface until smooth. Place dough in greased bowl. Turn greased side of dough up. Cover Let side for one hour. Cut dough into 36 pieces. Roll each piece into a ball. Cover. Let side for 10 minutes. Press and pat each ball to flatten (approximately 1/4 inch thick by 3 inches round. Bake in a preheated oven for 5-6 minutes.