What they used to eat: Quick Homeschool History Lesson

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This is an exerpt from Foodtimeline.org's webpage on school lunches in the 20th century. You can find more menu ideas at the website. These are examples of what kids used to eat in the 1920s. Try to make some for your family.

[1905] Some of Margaret's school luncheons

1. "Two Boston brown bread cream cheese, and nut sandwiches, and two white bread and jam; a little round cake; a pear.
2. Two chopped ham sandwiches, two with whole wheat bread an peanut-butter; a piece of gingerbread; a peach.
3. Two whole wheat-bread and chopped egg sandwiches with French dressing; two crackers spread with jam; three thin slices of cold meat, salted; a cup custard; and apple.
4. Two whole wheat sandwiches spread with chopped celery and French dressing, two of white bread and sardines; three gingersnaps; three figs.
5. Three sandwiches of white bread filled with cooked oysters, chopped fine, one of whole wheat with orange marmelade; a few pieces of celery, salted, a spice cake; a handful of nuts.
6. Four sandwiches, two of minced chicken moistened with cream, two of whole wheat and chopped olives; a little jar of apple-sauce; gingerbread.
7. Two date sandwiches, two of chopped cold meat; sugar cookies; three olives; and orange.
8. Two fig sandwiches, two whole wheat with chopped celery and French dressing; a devilled egg; a little scalloped cake; an apple.
9. Three lettuce sandwiches, one with brown sugar and butter; three tiny sweet pickles; ginger cookies; fresh plums."

Cooking from the Past: FREE Homeschool History Lesson Plan Grades 5-9

Here is the lesson plan for the "Food from the Past" activity in the previous blog post.

This lesson will help students get a historical understanding of home economics and the resources available back then for families to make meals.

CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL LESSON PLAN.

Homeschool History Lesson Plan ~ Making Food From the Past

As your students learn about history and home economics, a great way to combine the two is to develop a lesson plan involving cooking meals that people used to prepare for their families, school lunch meals, and for restaurant menus.

Students will learn a bit about the economics of that time and what resources were available at that time. For example, in the 1920s, during the Depression, many people had to come up with meals without using the essentials such as bread, milk or even eggs. Some of these meals that were made out of necessity have become unique meals that we still enjoy today.

Start the lesson by choosing a time period and researching menus from that era. Foodtimeline.org is a great website to start with. Prepare all of the ingredients, aid your students in cooking their meals, and get your studentts to serve it at dinner time.

After clean-up or for the next day's assignment create a worksheet identifying what historical inferences the students learned during their activity. You can also tie the time period that your students chose, with a historical event of that time and ask your students questions on why they think the food may be different from the way it is cooked and prepared today (e.g. the advancement of technology, the economy, cultural influences) to help your students better understand the objectives of the history activity.

Keep the graded worksheet in your portfolio for record keeping. For a free worksheet for this activity click here.