Pizza Project Marshall University Early Education STEM Center Spring 2011

1. Pizza Project Marshall University Early Education STEM Center Spring 2011 The topic for the pizza project first started with the children pretending to cook and create restaurants in the housekeeping area. The children then showed particular interest in pizza after looking at several different menus that were added to the area. The children decided they wanted to make their own pizza. Discussion was sparked about what kinds of materials to use to make the pizza and what kinds of pizza we would make. The children made pizzas out of construction paper to create different parts of a pizza and used yellow and white yarn for cheese. Children decided the pizza shop would be called Pizza Planet. Questions were raised about what kind of menus pizza places have, what the workers wear, and how they deliver the pizzas. The children continued to create pizzas. They began to pretend to call others in the classroom for pizza orders. The children decided they needed a pizza delivery truck. There were also pizza boxes available for the children to use. The children would place the pizzas they made inside the boxes and make deliveries around the room. A cash register was added to the area. The children became interested in making their own money and discussing the difference in coins and bills. The children would create a pizza shop by taking orders, making pizzas, taking money and making receipts, and creating signs and menus. The children would search for pizza menus and what workers looked like. They were mainly interested in making the pizza and putting different types of toppings on the pizza. To conclude the project, the children took a field trip to the Twin Towers Cafeteria on Marshall University’s campus. Before going, the children discussed what they wanted to see and what questions they wanted to ask the workers. On the field trip, the children were able to see all the steps that it took to make a pizza. They also sampled a piece of pizza while at the cafeteria.