Scott Foresman Reading Street

Social Studies
in Reading

Examine features of expository nonfiction.
Practice a test-taking strategy.
Compare and contrast across texts.

PREVIEW/USE TEXT FEATURES

As students preview "Foods of Mexico," have them look at the photographs and read the headings. After they preview, ask:

What specific information do the photographs give the reader? (They tell the reader what different Mexican foods look like.)
What kind of foods might be discussed in the second section, according to its heading? (foods that originated in Spain)

Link to Social Studies

Before students do their research, have them choose a culture or country on which to focus. Suggest that students further limit their research topics by choosing subtopics such as vegetables or breads.

Whole Group Discuss the Question of the Day.

Group Time
Differentiated Instruction

"Foods of Mexico." See
pp. 220f–220g for the small
group lesson plan.

Reading

Language Arts
Use pp. 243e–243h and
243k–243m.

Whole Group Use pp. 243a
and 243j.

Grouping Options

EXPOSITORY NONFICTION

Use the sidebar on p. 240 to guide discussion.

Explain that the main purpose of expository nonfiction is to provide information on a particular subject.
Tell students that expository texts often use pictures, details, and facts to communicate information.
Have students look at each section heading, along with the photograph in that section. Discuss with students how each photograph illustrates certain facts and details that can be found in the text.

AudioText

Possible response: Many of
Mexico's native foods are vegetables or are the products of plants.

Access Content Have students preview the text by reading the title and looking at the photographs. Ask them what the main topic of the article is. (food) Next, have students read the photograph labels aloud. If students recognize a word, have them share what they know about it.

From Viva Mexico! The Foods
by George Ancona

pumpkins, sweet potatoes,
and squash. They also raised
avocados and amaranth, a
nutritious grain that was ground
into flour for tortillas and bread.
Fields and forests supplied
fruits, peanuts, cacao (cocoa)
beans, honey, and mushrooms.

The early people of Mexico
developed maize (corn) from
a small wild plant. They grew
many varieties of maize: white,
red, yellow, black, and other
color combinations.
Between rows of corn they
planted tomatoes, beans, chiles,

Use the library or the
Internet to learn about
foods from other cultures.
Create a poster telling
about the foods you
learned about.

Link to Social
Studies

Sections of the article
are labeled with
headings to introduce
the information.

In this article, vivid
photographs show the
fruits, vegetables, and
spices of Mexico.

Text Features

Expository nonfiction
gives details and facts
about a subject.

Expository nonfiction
uses text and pictures
to provide information.

Genre

Expository
Nonfiction

Guayaba

Amaranth

Peanuts

Chayote

Tomatoes

Sweet
potatoes

Honey

Squash

Avocado

Jiotilla

Beans

Cacao
beans

Nopal

Tuna

Chiles

Draw Conclusions

Draw a conclusion about the native foods of Mexico.

colonized	established settlements in
native	grown or produced in a certain place
status symbol	sign of a person's standing in society

Cultures: Change

Some changes in a culture's diet occur over long
periods of time. Others happen rapidly. Take frozen foods,
for example. Prior to 1930, they were almost unheard of in the United States. But when a New Yorker named Clarence Birdseye observed people in the Arctic freezing fish in frozen sea water, he had an idea. Why couldn't fresh vegetables and fruits, as well as meats, be frozen at very low temperatures, packaged, and then later thawed and cooked? In 1923, at a cost of $7.00, Birdseye pursued his idea using an electric fan, buckets of salt water, and blocks of ice. Seven years later, the first frozen foods were sold in grocery stores under the name Birds Eye Frosted Foods. Thanks to Mr. Birdseye, people around the world can enjoy healthy, good-tasting foods year round—not just when they're in season.