Introduction

Have you ever wondered where this tasty snack comes from? Here is your chance to learn all about how Cheez-Its are made. Farmers work really hard to provide us with the foods we love.

Task

Be able to describe how farmers produce the two main ingredients of Cheez-Its. Draw a picture of someone enjoying a Cheez-It somewhere in the world.

Process

Step 1

Watch these two Cheez-It commercials with your class about how Cheez-Its are made.

These two ways are not right, but they are funny. Talk about how you really think Cheez-Its are made with your class.

What are the main ingredients in a Cheez-It?

There are two main ingredients in Cheez-Its: cheese and wheat. Where do these come from, and how do they get to the Cheez-It factory?

Step 2

Follow the interactive tours in these two processes. Click on the pictures.

Click on the cow to see how Click on the farm to see how

farmers get milk from cows. farmers in Virginia plant wheat.

Click on the tractor to see how

farmers harvest the wheat from

the field.

Click on the cheese to see how

farmers can make cheese from

the cow’s milk.

Click on the flour to see how farmers

mill wheat into flour (the 2^nd link).

Cheese goes to the Cheez-It factory! Flour goes to the Cheez-It factory!

Step 3

Now that you know how Cheez-Its are made, it’s time to take a closer look at them.

Your teacher has some Cheez-its for you to describe. Use all of your senses and describe the Cheez-it. But, don’t taste the crackers yet!

What dose it look like?

What does it feel like?

What does it smell like?

What does it sound like?

Fill out your answers on your Cheez-It investigation sheet.

Step 4

Before you taste it, what do you need to do?

Wash your hands!

Why is it important to wash your hands? Think of everything you’ve done today. Don’t you think that if you were to eat after you’ve done all those activities, you might get sick from all of the germs?

Here is how you should wash your hands. Follow these 6 steps! Look at the poster.

When you wash your hands, it’s important to do it for about 30 seconds. Sing the song, “Old McDonald Had a Farm” while you lather up with soap. You can choose any animal you want in the song.

Old McDonald had a farm…

And on his farm he had a cow…

With a MOO MOO here, and a MOO MOO there –

Here a MOO, there a MOO – everywhere a MOO MOO!

Old McDonald had a farm...

Sometimes we wash our food, too, to make sure it’s clean to eat. What kind of food should we wash? Should we wash Cheez-its?

Step 5

Now that your hands are clean, you can use your sense of taste to eat the Cheez-It. Write down your descriptive words on the page provided.

Conclusion

The Cheez-It factory makes Cheez-Its and sends them all over the world for lots of people to eat. Draw a cartoon of someone eating a Cheez-It somewhere in the world. Your pictures can include you sharing the snack with your friends or family. Draw them in the square.

Then, write a couple of sentences of how Cheez-Its are made. Make sure that you include both the steps of wheat and milk.

Evaluation

Please see the teacher page for rubrics, grading, and other notes.

Credits

This WebQuest was created by Kelly Henaghan for Virginia’s Agriculture in the Classroom. AITC WebQuests have been made possible through a grant from Monsanto.

www.agintheclass.org

Last revised: September, 2008