Rice on the menu

Sujata C

paddy-stalk There is a saying that goes: “Tell me and I forget, show me and I remember, involve me and I understand.” Projects do just that. They promote students’ critical-thinking and ensure personalized learning. Through projects, children get an idea of interdisciplinary learning, which is the key to innovative thinking and the very foundation of a knowledge-based society.

An interesting way of getting the class to do a project could be to divide them into teams and assign the project to them. Appoint a project leader, set goals, and create a plan. Let the students see the project work as meaningful to them. It is very exciting to involve children in Project rice because rice is connected with every aspect of our lives. In fact, it is life, so students’ engagement is easy and learning is likely to be long-lasting.

Rice is the staple food for more than half the world. More than 2.5 billion people of the world survive on it. India, China, and most of Asia are rice-based societies. One could say that 90 per cent of the world’s rice is grown in Asia. This white grain has shaped economies and cultures around the world.

Scientifically known as Oryza sativa, rice is the thirstiest among all cereals. About 5000 litres of water is required to grow one kilogram of rice. Rice belongs to the grass family and the rice seed is monocotyledon. The International Rice Gene Bank has some 90,000 varieties of rice stored for future use, but nearly 1.4 lakh varieties of rice are thought to be in existence. The deltas of the Krishna and Godavari rivers are together known as the rice bowl of India. Samba Masuri and Sona Masuri are the common varieties in the South. The sweet scented long grained Basmati rice is grown in Punjab and Haryana.

The author is a freelance writer based in Hyderabad. She can be reached at sujata117@yahoo.co.uk.

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