LEARNING ACTIVITY
Growing your own pizza
Category: Food Production
Climate Region: Arid | Temperate | Tropical
State or Territory: ACT | NSW | NT | QLD | SA | TAS | VIC | WA
Age Range: 7-13

STORY

To celebrate the end of term, Ms Gorman decided that the Junior Landcare group could organise a “make your own pizza party.” Ms Gorman knew the students loved to eat pizza, but she also wanted the children to learn about the different ingredients so they could understand where their food came from. Ms Gorman knew that most families at the school purchased frozen pizza from the supermarket or the local pizza shop, but did they know how to make their own pizza and how they could find the ingredients?

The Junior Landcare group had a meeting in the playground near their food garden to discuss the ingredients they wanted on their pizza. As Beth, Hayley, Eliza and the rest of the group shared their favourite ingredient, Ms Gorman took the opportunity to explain where the ingredients came from. The children asked her how long the ingredients took to grow and how far the food had travelled before they could buy it from the supermarket. Beth wondered if there were any ingredients in their school garden they could harvest for the pizza, then they would really be growing their own pizza!

ACTIVITY OVERVIEW

We’re going to investigate where our food comes from. In this hypothetical exercise, young learners will explore what they would need to establish if they were to grow their own pizza, from scratch.

Outcomes

For children to:

  • investigate where and how food is produced
  • appreciate the complexities of food manufacturing
  • expand their knowledge of food production
  • appreciate that ingredients may come from different geographic locations
  • challenge their understanding of the origins of food
  • understand the timeframes required to produce food.
SEASONAL NOTES

This activity can be undertaken at any time of year.

Did you know?

Pizza comes from Italy, from Neapolitan cuisine. It has become popular in many parts of the world.

Did you know?

The popularity of pizza surged following World War 2, when returning troops came home, bringing their love of pizza with them.

Did you know?

The United States of America consumes 350 slices of pizza every second.

Did you know?

When ingredients travel they are called ‘food miles’.  Some ingredients can come from the other side of the world and require fossil fuels for the travel.

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Why not try one of our other Junior Landcare learning activities?

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