Archaeo-Tech: Tracing the Roots of Rice
Rice is the most consumed grain in the world, feeding more than 3 billion people every day. Students will learn about rice’s diversity and trace its history from its domestication in China 12,000 years ago to the extensive cultivation of rice across the world today. This lesson will focus on a strain of rice called “Carolina Gold”, which was introduced to South Carolina at the end of the 17th century by European settlers who, used the knowledge and labor of enslaved Africans, to turn Carolina Gold rice into a major commercial crop. After learning about Carolina Gold rice, students will read historical and modern recipes for cooking rice and discuss cultural differences and similarities in rice preparation.
Lesson Created By: MegGaillard
Lesson Partners: South Carolina Department of Natural Resources
Essential Question
How did the global history of rice cultivation and the forced labor of enslaved Africans transform the "Carolina Gold" strain into a major commercial crop, and how does this history influence its preparation today?
Grade(s):
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
- 11
- 12
Recommended Technology:
Other Instructional Materials or Notes:
· Comparing Rice Recipes Handout (1 for each student)
Lesson Progression
1. Begin the lesson by asking your students if they have eaten rice, and if so, how often. Optional: Create a bar graph using data from the class. Draw a bar graph on the board. The x-axis represents how often rice is eaten per week (per year or month if more appropriate) and the y-axis represents the number of students. Ask your students to raise their hand if they eat rice on average less than once a week, 1-2 times a week, 3-4 times a week, or more than five times in a week.
2. Ask you students to share their favorite rice dishes and bring attention to the different ways your students prepare and eat rice. Tell your students that rice is the most important grain in the world, and it forms the basic diet for more than 3 billion people.
3. Give a brief overview of the history of rice cultivation up to its introduction to the Western Hemisphere by European colonizers in the 16th century.
4. Ask your students if they have ever had or heard of Carolina Gold Rice.
5. Show your students Parts 2 through 5 of the SCETV documentary film Between the Waters, linked in the resources tab. You may also use segments from the SCDNR Heritage Trust Program StoryMap “The Last Rice River” linked in the resources tab.
6. Discuss the documentary with your students and trace the history of rice in South Carolina. You can use Hobcaw Barony (the former rice plantation discussed in the Between the Waters documentary) as an example.
7. Emphasize to your students that even though South Carolina’s rice culture comes from a fusion of different traditions and cultures, it is primarily indebted to the enslaved Africans brought to South Carolina to work the rice fields. Their knowledge of rice cultivation and preparation was passed down from generation to generation, forming the foundation of the Carolina Rice Kitchen.
8. Distribute the Comparing Rice Recipes handout. After learning about South Carolina’s rice history and culture, your students will read and compare recipes on how to prepare rice from around the world. Students will answer the questions on their handout individually and then come together to discuss the recipes and their answers as a class.
9. Optional: Students may research and prepare a rice dish at home they are unfamiliar with and give a short presentation on the culture and history around the dish they prepared.
Teacher Notes
differentiate:
extend:
SCDNR Heritage Trust Program StoryMap “The Last Rice River"
View ResourceStandards
- 8.1.P Summarize major events in the development of South Carolina which impacted the economic, political, and social structure of the colony.
- 8.3.CX Evaluate the economic significance of agriculture on South Carolina, the U.S., and the world.
- HG.1.2.PR Explain the cultural, economic, environmental, and political conditions and connections that contribute to human migration patterns.
- HG.1.5.HS Evaluate the cultural, economic, environmental, and political impacts of human migration on human settlements in various regions.
- HG.3.3.PR Analyze and explain the conditions and connections that create ethnic, linguistic, and religious patterns at varying scales.
- HG.3.5.PR Compare and contrast cultural landscapes in various regions, and analyze the human imprint on different landscapes.
- 6.2.CE Explain the impact of global exchanges among world civilizations.
- 6.2.CC Evaluate continuities and changes in cultural and economic interactions between societies in both West Africa and the Americas.
- 6.2.E Analyze multiple perspectives on the increased interactions among and between world societies through a variety of primary and secondary sources.
- 6.3.CE Explain the impact of increased global exchanges on the development of the Atlantic World.
- 6.3.P Summarize the impact of the Transatlantic Slave Trade on ideological, political, and social systems in the Atlantic World.
- 7.1.2.ER Identify climate and vegetation regions of Africa and the spatial distributions and patterns of natural resources, including the impact of their location on human activities.
- 7.2.2.ER Identify climate and vegetation regions of Asia and the spatial distributions and patterns of natural resources, including the impact of their location on human activities.
- 7.4 Analyze the cultural, economic, environmental, physical, political, and population geographies of contemporary Europe.
- 7.5.2.ER Identify climate and vegetation regions and the spatial distributions and patterns of natural resources, including the impact of their location on human activities.
- 8.1.CO Compare the three British North American colonial regions economically, politically, socially, and in regard to labor development.
- 8.1.CE Analyze the factors that contributed to the development of South Carolina’s economic system and the subsequent impacts on different populations within the colony.
- RL.MC Meaning and Context
- RI.RC Range and Complexity
- RI.MC Meaning and Context
- RI.RC Range and Complexity
- RI.MC Meaning and Context
- RI.RC Range and Complexity
- RI.MC.5 Determine meaning and develop logical interpretations by making predictions, inferring, drawing conclusions, analyzing, synthesizing, providing evidence, and investigating multiple interpretations.
- RI.RC Range and Complexity
Assessments
Use the performance task linked in the resources tab to assess student learning outcomes.
