Mexican Food Brings a Real-Life Experience to Learning Mexican Culture

Teaching students about cultures from around the world can be a rather challenging job. One way that teachers can help students to experience different cultures is to allow them to taste the food from those cultures. For people who live in Visalia, bringing the Mexican culture to children is fairly easy since you can take a field trip that includes a Mexican restaurant. This is an ideal enrichment activity for Spanish classes or social studies classes that involve studying cultures around the world.

Prepare for the Mexican feast

When you are making plans for a field trip, or even if you plan on just picking up takeout to bring to the class, make sure that you choose an authentic Mexican restaurant in Visalia, CA like Alejandra’s Restaurant. Fast food restaurants won’t have food that is appropriate for this type of learning experience.

Before you head out on the field trip or before you bring the food to the class, you can discuss the Mexican culture with the children. Discuss the rural communities and how those have given way in some areas to bustling cities. You can discuss how tortillas are made and how fresh salsa is a treat, for example.

Field trips or in-class learning

If you are able to bring the children to the restaurant, the children get to experience some of the colorfulness that is associated with the Mexican culture because of the vibrant murals and authentic items that Mexican restaurants use for decor. A children’s menu at a Mexican restaurant ensures that the children will order Mexican food in Visalia, CA that isn’t too spicy for their palates.

Bringing food into the classroom can also provide students with an enriching activity. You can decorate the classroom in a Mexican theme. Grab some colorful paper plates from a dollar store so that you can dish out samples of various Mexican dishes. This option might be a better choice for lower elementary grades since you would have more control over what experience.

Continue the lesson

Whether you take the children to the restaurant or bring the food to the classroom, you can continue the learning experience after the food event. Bring some Mexican music into the classroom, have the children learn about Mexican landmarks, and discuss traditional dress. By giving the children a hands-on learning experience, you are more likely to present your lesson in an effective manner.

Sources: (Mexican Culture: Customs & Traditions, livescience.com)

(Ideas for E.L.L.s | Teaching About Food, learning.blogs.nytimes.com)