Day of the Dead cooking primary resource

Decorate a vegetable pizza to look like a Mexican sugar skull

This primary resource gives children an opportunity to practise handling different ingredients and getting creative with food to help them learn about Mexico’s Day of the Dead celebrations.

Pupils will be challenged to make and decorate a vegetable pizza to look like a Mexican sugar skull in our National Geographic Kids’ Culture primary resource sheet.

The teaching resource is ideal for use on Halloween (31 October) and Mexico’s Day of the Dead (2 November). It can be used as a printed handout for instruction in class time, or for display on the interactive whiteboard.

Activity: Before following the cooking instructions in the resource, discuss with children the history of Halloween and how it compares to Latin American celebrations for All Saints’ Eve, All Saints’ Day, and All Souls’ Day (Day of the Dead), using the fact box on the resource sheet to help you. Ask children to complete the task on the page and/or adapt the instructions for their own creativity (i.e. creating different designs, using different types of vegetables for different colours, etc.).

N.B. The following information for mapping the resource documents to the school curriculum is specifically tailored to the English National Curriculum and Scottish Curriculum for Excellence. We are currently working to bring specifically tailored curriculum resource links for our other territories; including South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. If you have any queries about our upcoming curriculum resource links, please email: [email protected]

This Culture primary resource assists with teaching the following Key Stage 1 Cooking and Nutrition (Design and Technology) objectives from the National Curriculum:

Pupils should be taught:

To use the basic principles of a healthy and varied diet to prepare dishes.

Understand where food comes from.

National Curriculum Key Stage 2 Cooking and nutrition (Design and technology) objective:

To understand and apply the principles of a healthy and varied diet.

This Food primary resource assists with teaching the following Health and wellbeing Early level objectives from the Scottish Curriculum for Excellence:

I enjoy eating a diversity of foods in a range of social situations.

Together we enjoy handling, tasting, talking and learning about different foods, discovering ways in which eating and drinking may help us to grow and keep healthy.

I explore and discover where foods come from as I choose, prepare and taste different foods.

Scottish Curriculum for Excellence First level Health and wellbeing objectives:

I experience a sense of enjoyment and achievement when preparing simple healthy foods and drinks.

When preparing and cooking a variety of foods, I am becoming aware of the journeys which foods make from source to consumer, their seasonality, their local availability and their sustainability.

Scottish Curriculum for Excellence Second level Health and wellbeing objectives:

Through exploration and discussion, I can understand that food practices and preferences are influenced by factors such as food sources, finance, culture and religion.

When preparing and cooking a variety of foods, I am becoming aware of the journeys which foods make from source to consumer, their seasonality, their local availability and their sustainability.

Scottish Curriculum for Excellence Third level Health and wellbeing objectives:

By taking part in practical food activities and taking account of current healthy eating advice, I can prepare healthy foods to meet identified needs.

Through practical activities using different foods and drinks, I can identify key nutrients, their sources and functions, and demonstrate the links between energy, nutrients and health.

I can apply food safety principles when buying, storing, preparing, cooking and consuming food.

Scottish Curriculum for Excellence Fourth level Health and wellbeing objectives:

I can apply my knowledge and understanding of nutrition, current healthy eating advice and the needs of different groups in the community when planning, choosing, cooking and evaluating dishes.