The educational landscape is currently undergoing a major change in the form of the new Common Core State Standards (CCSS), a standards-based curriculum which has been adopted by 45 states, including New York. This standards-based curriculum does not prescribe any particular novels, poems, or pieces of non-fiction that students must read. Rather, it outlines skills and abilities that students must master. In this way, the Food Writing Project is a wonderful complement to classroom learning, and provides an opportunity for students to work on general skills outlined by the CCSS.
The hope is to eventually create a curriculum guide for the Food Writing Project, which will explicitly cite all of the standards used. For now, here are some of the Standards and the ways in which this project will reinforce them.
The above standards can easily be worked into a discussion and analysis of restaurant reviews. Contemporary food criticism, particularly in publications such as the New York Times, is a sophisticated form of writing that involves a serious look into objectivity versus subjectivity, values, and aesthetic appreciation.
Writing standards also figure prominently in the porject. Chronicling a trip to a restaurant most definitely requires a narrative of an experience in which the writer must paint a picture, choose details, and defend or explain a point of view.
It should be noted that food writing can encompass much more than reviewing a restaurant. It can take the form of memoir, trend analysis, or history, to name just a few. Therefore, the possibilities for hitting many of the standards in many different ways are rich and expansive.
Although the hope for the Food Writing Project is that it will be fun, there are real opportunities for important academic growth.
The hope is to eventually create a curriculum guide for the Food Writing Project, which will explicitly cite all of the standards used. For now, here are some of the Standards and the ways in which this project will reinforce them.
| Reading Standards for Informational Texts Grade 8 3. Analyze how a text makes connections among and distinctions between individuals, ideas, or events (e.g., through comparisons, analogies, or categories). 6. Determine an author’s point of view or purpose in a text and analyze how the author acknowledges and responds to conflicting evidence or viewpoints. 7. Evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of using different mediums (e.g., print or digital text, video, multimedia) to present a particular topic or idea. 8. Delineate and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, assessing whether the reasoning is sound and the evidence is relevant and sufficient; recognize when irrelevant evidence is introduced. |
The above standards can easily be worked into a discussion and analysis of restaurant reviews. Contemporary food criticism, particularly in publications such as the New York Times, is a sophisticated form of writing that involves a serious look into objectivity versus subjectivity, values, and aesthetic appreciation.
| Writing Standards Grades 9-10 3. Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, well-chosen details, and well-structured event sequences. a. Engage and orient the reader by setting out a problem, situation, or observation, establishing one or multiple point(s) of view, and introducing a narrator and/or characters; create a smooth progression of experiences or events. b. Use narrative techniques, such as dialogue, pacing, description, reflection, and multiple plot lines, to develop experiences, events, and/or characters. c. Use a variety of techniques to sequence events so that they build on one another to create a coherent whole. d. Use precise words and phrases, telling details, and sensory language to convey a vivid picture of the experiences, events, setting, and/or characters. e. Provide a conclusion that follows from and reflects on what is experienced, observed, or resolved over the course of the narrative. |
Writing standards also figure prominently in the porject. Chronicling a trip to a restaurant most definitely requires a narrative of an experience in which the writer must paint a picture, choose details, and defend or explain a point of view.
It should be noted that food writing can encompass much more than reviewing a restaurant. It can take the form of memoir, trend analysis, or history, to name just a few. Therefore, the possibilities for hitting many of the standards in many different ways are rich and expansive.
Although the hope for the Food Writing Project is that it will be fun, there are real opportunities for important academic growth.
