Chopsticks are made up of a pair of sticks to pick up food. Some historians think the chopsticks were invented five thousand years ago in China. At that time, the Chinese began cooking in large pots. They left the food in the pots to keep it hot. So, hungry eaters may have broken off tree twigs to grab food from the hot pots.
Other historians think that chopsticks were invented for a different reason. As the towns and cities in China grew bigger, more people needed wood for cooking. To keep from running out of wood, people started cutting their food into small pieces. That way, it cooked more quickly and used less wood. These pieces of food were small enough that people didn’t need to spear them with something sharp to pick them up. A pair of sticks pinched together—chopsticks—easily held the bite-sized pieces of food.
Chinese chopsticks are nine to ten inches long, rectangular in shape, and have flat ends. Now chopsticks are used all over the world every day.
Activities:
1. From this selection, do you think why chopsticks were invented to pick up food? The spoon, knife and fork are also popular eating tools. Compare the different eating utensils. Can you invent a new utensil to make eating easier? Illustrate your ideas.
2. Play a game to explore what shapes you can make with four pairs of chopsticks. Then draw the shapes and write down their names on a piece of paper.
3. Have you ever used chopsticks? Share your first-time experience with a partner. Watch how Caillou used the chopsticks in the following video.
