Just as our nation is experiencing a major fat attack, millions of viewers tune in to food-centric TV shows. There may be some irony in this phenomenon. Think about it. In fact, there’s a show called “The Man Against Food,” in which a fairly fat individual seeks to eat as much as he can in a variety of locations across the country. This show plays even as the Centers for Disease Control issues a wake-up call about the obesity epidemic and movies like forks over knives present the scientific evidence that our diets are killing us. Unfortunately, Michael Pollan (The omnivore’s dilemma) has, in all likelihood, fewer followers than Adam Richman, the host of “Man Versus Food.” There’s not much political correctness on food shows.

Teachers can turn food crazes into effective lesson plans with assignments that students won’t object to. Students can learn something, exercise their writing skills, and possibly develop some career interests while being entertained by shows like “Iron Chef,” “Chopped,” “No Reservations,” “Restaurant Impossible,” or “Diners, Drive-ins, and dives”.

I attempted such an assignment in both a freshman and senior class last year. Children’s opinions on which shows are the best are strong; their loyalties are deeply set and they have no problem following the plot lines and characterizations of various personalities. They are attentive to the nature of the competition and become adept at predicting which judge will appreciate a particular chef and which of the prepared foods will win praise. They learn about spices, herbs, and how to select a particular ingredient for a particular recipe or how to substitute one for another when the occasion calls for some creativity.

Youngsters who watch these food shows quickly become food critics, even without having the opportunity to try the exotic foods prepared. They even become aware of the metaphorical value of what these shows call “presentation.” I’ve had kids talk bad handwriting in terms of weak presentation and job interviews in terms of presenting yourself as a worthy candidate for employment. Hmmmmmm. What could this mean?

It means teachers can use cooking shows as teaching tools in their ELA lesson plans. I created a worksheet that I distributed to my students asking them to identify elements similar to those found in literature, such as conflict, complication, and resolution, and to rate the show for its pacing, drama, suspense, emotional appeal, and themes. Extra credit, I said, when I started using the worksheet. Pretty soon, virtually every kid was writing essays, reviews, and even formatting their own shows with their age-based themes. Some children created a program based on veganism in which they suggested using live animals to increase the element of compassion that is so important for people who refuse to participate in the killing of animals for food. Homework was no longer for extra credit, but an important part of my effort to meet standards and exercise writing skills.

Some children even put on their own shows. One was in the making of fried bread. The students were reading Sherman Alexie’s novel, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian and decided to have a fry bread contest. Everyone loved it, although some of the results were better used as frisbees than food. The judges played their roles beautifully and the reviews written by the audience, their classmates, were brilliant. With the right lesson plan, education can often be fun.