Family and Consumer Sciences Lesson Plans
Teaching about pizza to culinary arts and FACS students can be very engaging because most kids love pizza!
We live in Buffalo, N.Y. so pizza is very important to us! Buffalo-style pepperoni usually has a cup and char pepperoni, a slim, almost non-existent crust edge, a sweeter sauce, and plenty of cheese! Our kid’s favorite nights are “pizza nights” but it has to be from our favorite pizza place, Maria’s or homemade.
⭐ Teaching about pizza in Culinary Arts and FACS classes is fun because most students love pizza and there is such a variety of pizzas around the country…and the world. Once you have a good dough recipe, the possibilities are endless!
The types of pizza we teach about are:
- Chicago Deep Dish
- New York Thin Crust
- Detroit Style
- Buffalo Style
- California Style
Some cooking techniques that we discuss are:
- Brick Oven
- Coal fire
- Deck oven
Here is our tried and true pizza dough recipe that Chris has been perfecting for years now.
⭐ Did you know that in Italy, pizza was originally eaten in Naples and only by the poor out of necessity? It was this way because the ingredients (flatbread, tomatoes, olive oil and cheese) were the cheapest foods in the region. It wasn’t until it became popular in the United States after Italian Immigration that it grew in popularity in Italy. The original Italian pizza was the Margherita pizza and included Tipo Italian wheat flour for the dough, mozzarella, tomato sauce and basil.
This video below shows how authentic Margherita (Neopolitan) pizza is made!
⭐ We have a pizza lesson pack that will help you when teaching about pizza with an about pizza slideshow, guided notes, and student questions that you can print or assign in Google Classroom! This is a great way to introduce the history of pizza and includes many different types of pizza. Students answer questions after reading and researching a pizza of their choice!
We also have a bread and pizza bundle of lessons for your bread unit if you would like slideshows, guided notes and questions ready to go for your week.
What is nice about making pizza in class is the ingredients are not super pricey and you can cut the slices small so everyone can have a taste! It is also a great skill for students to know how to make pizza for themselves and their family!
Calzones are another great way to incorporate pizza making into your classroom, students can even make mini calzones and get creative! Here is an easy recipe that uses store bought dough. If you would rather use homemade dough, try ours!
More FCS Teaching Ideas for International Foods
If you are trying to incorporate international foods into your culinary curriculum, we have tons of ideas! Check out our global foods blog post for inspiration.
