Project Overview

2^nd grade students at the Genesee Community Charter School in Rochester, New York created this unusual book which combines recipes and local history as part of a Learning expedition on the early settlements of Rochester.

In this expedition, students studied the history of industry in Rochester, which was largely founded on the production of flour. Students did fieldwork during which they learned about the grist mills, the rivers that generated the energy for the mills and the grinding of the wheat berries. Students also worked alongside a local historian who helped them learn about the different sites they visited.

As a way to combine cooking with this history, students focused on the “ingredients” of history and the “ingredients” of bread recipes. Each student collected a bread recipe from home. Each set of two pages contains a “Recipe for Bread” on the left and the “Recipe for Rochester” on the right-facing page. Each student created one two-page entry, which was overlaid on a scanned copy of handmade paper they he or she made in art class. Also included is a digital photograph of the author - dressed up in a period costume - and a piece of artwork that relates to the slice of history the student wrote about.

Students also learned about making bread by baking all of the 30 kinds of bread in their book!

The structure of this format provides a complex, but informative look at the history of Rochester while also honoring small pieces of each student’s current family history. It can be purchased from the school via their website.