The Really Big Food Project
This large-format, full-colour project book for primary school students centres on an investigation of rice. Two students, Emma and Thomas, undertake a class project and along the way they discover that rice has a fascinating history and brings many surprising connections to the countries of Asia.
Through a series of interviews with people in their community, and explorations in libraries and on the internet, Emma and Thomas collect Fact Bites, Did You Know information, stories, recipes and anecdotes about rice and its history. In the process they gain a greater understanding of the cultural richness to be found within their own community.
The Really Big Food Project is a useful resource in SOSE/HSIE, English and Health classrooms, and has been written with the help of award-winning author and illustrator Sally Rippin.
The Really Big Food Project Lesson Plans
Nine lesson plans support The Really Big Food Project, providing teaching strategies for primary classrooms in the areas of Literacy, Health, Numeracy and Geography.
Middle primary
Responding to Rice (English - Reading)
Rani and the Greedy Raja (English, Mathematics)
More than just Rice! (English)
Postcards from the Paddies (English, SOSE/HSIE)
A Bowlful of Rice (Mathematics - Number, Measurement)
A Local Food Project (SOSE/HSIE)
Making Healthy Choices (Health)
Middle and Upper primary
Where in the world? (SOSE/HSIE)
Familiarity Breeds Connectedness (SOSE/HSIE)
Further reading
Miracle of Rice
The article Miracle of Rice looks at rice as a staple food throughout Asia and an important cultural symbol. It argues that the increasing population may in the near future exhaust rice supplies and the work that scientists are doing to engineer crops to meet consumer and cultural demand.
Further resources
Access The Really Big Projects unit.
The Really Big Projects Unit. (English)
