A Greek garden

• Ask students to consider the importance of the family garden in episode six. Encourage students to brainstorm ideas on the importance of a self-sufficient garden.
• Create a PMI chart with the class on self-sufficient gardening:

1. P= Plus: What are the positives in having a self-sufficient home garden?
2. M= Minus: What are the negatives associated with this type of garden?
3. I= Interesting: What are the interesting elements of a self-sufficient garden?

• For more inspiration, search for information on self-sufficient gardens. You could also watch some episodes of Costa's Garden Odyssey that have been screened on SBS television.

• Ask students to research recipes from Greece. Each student should find one recipe for an entrée or starter, one for a main meal and one for a dessert. Once they have the recipes together they can combine them all to make their class recipe book. As a class, celebrate Greek Independence Day (25 March) by having students cook Greek food and bring it to school to share.
• Alternatively, students are encouraged to ask family members about their own traditional recipes. They could investigate the ingredients to see what food groups each represents and complete a chart of these. Students can source images of the food, ingredients and recipes for the chart. Once they have at least two recipes each, they can combine them all to make their own recipe book. Students can choose one recipe from their mini-cookbook and make the meal with a family member at home. Foods can be brought into school and celebrated as part of a multicultural food day.
• Some useful recipe websites include:

1. Taste.com.au, http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/collections/greek+recipes
2. Dairy Australia, http://www.dairyaustralia.com.au/recipes
3. The Heart Foundation, http://www.heartfoundation.org.au/recipes
4. Jamie Oliver, http://www.jamieoliver.com

Student Activity Sheet H6.4: The family cookbook

• As a class, discuss the type of chores Michaelis would be expected to complete around the house. List these and compare them to the chores of other characters in other episodes, such as Victoria, Rowley, Evelyn, Bertie, Bridie and Colum. Ask students to consider how Michaelis would be expected to behave as a child in a Greek family. Compare these expectations to students' lives today.

• Ask students to write a diary entry for a day in the life of Michaelis and explain how they believe he feels about the events in his life. Share these stories with the rest of the class.

Student Activity Sheet H6.5: Weekly chores

• Michaelis's family places great importance on keeping an extensive domestic garden to meet the family's needs. Discuss this with the class, focusing on why having a garden is an important aspect of this story. What relationship does this garden have with Michaelis's family's Greek culture?
• Find out how many students have vegetable gardens at home. These students can tell the class about their garden, what they grow in it and why they have it.
• Explain to the class the concept of the 'kitchen gardens' now found in schools and community areas.

• Have students find out more about the 'Kitchen gardens program' established by Stephanie Alexander. Discuss the possibility of setting up a kitchen garden at the school and have students design their ideal kitchen garden. What would they grow? Why have they made these choices?

• The opening shot in the clip includes a record player playing Greek music in the background. This clip highlights some of the ways in which Michaelis's parents are preserving links with the country of their birth. The clips 'Greek school' and 'A Greek garden' demonstrate two ways family members connect with their old way of life. Discuss this issue with the class.
• Ask students to find examples of Greek culture in this clip, including Michaelis's parents speaking Greek. Have students share their ideas, discuss what they have observed and consider why they think the family continues these practices.
• If there are students in the class or in the school who have recently arrived from another country, ask them to share some of their memories and traditions from their home country. Some suggestions could include music, food, sport and family traditions.
• Have students reflect on, and write a description of, the Australian traditions they would take with them if they were to emigrate to another country.

• Michaelis helps the family in a number of ways. Discuss what is expected of him and the chores he has to do. Have students consider the statement: 'Childhood is for playing and children should not have to do chores.' Ask them to write their arguments 'for' or 'against' this statement in the form of a persuasive text.