Finding Adjectives Using Fried Rice

This week we read the story "The Last Dragon" by Susan Nunes.

 I thought that since my class doesn't get a lot of exposure to other cultures this would be a great opportunity to expose them to a food they may have never tried... fried rice!

Here is the recipe I used. You will also need an electric skillet, a rice cooker, measuring cups, and measuring spoons.

Fried Rice

Instant white rice

Soy sauce

Sausage

1 can of mixed vegetables

2 eggs

I had students help me carry out this recipe. We talked before hand about kitchen safety,

 Step one:  Cook rice according to directions on the box. My helpers measured out the rice and water, added it to our rice cooker, and of course flipped the "cook" switch!

 Step Two: Cut sausage into small pieces. I had my helpers cut the sausage in half length wise and then cut it into smaller pieces.  I made sure to review knife safety with each student before they started!
Side note- When I make this dish at home I use a traditional Asian sausage but since I was trying to appeal to the taste of a fourth grader, I went for a simple Jimmy Dean link sausage.

Step Three: At this point I would normally scramble and cook the eggs but since I have a student with an egg allergy I left this step out.

Step four: Cook sausage

Step Five: Drain vegetables. Add cooked rice to skillet. Add veggies. Add soy sauce to taste. I had students then take turns mixing the rice and veggies.

Our finished product!

Before we were allowed to eat our rice we did a quick activity with adjectives (never miss out on that educational moment!) I am constantly working with my students on including detail in their writing. So we took a moment to brain storm how the rice looked, smelled, and tasted.  I listed these words in a bubble map.

We then talked about  how I could simply say "I helped make the rice. It was good" or I could say " I smelled the delicious rice as I helped make it. It looked lumpy but colorful. As I tasted the first bite, it was amazing and wonderful!"