February 24 National Tortilla Chip Day #NationalTortillaChipDay which would be a naci snack this morning. I’ve created a Lesson Plan you can use if your #Homeschooling your children and shared facts about Tortilla’s with you. Along with a kid-friendly recipe for Homemade Baked Tortilla Chips families can make during class or for dinner this evening.
Kid-Friendly Recipe: Homemade Baked Tortilla Chips.
Homemade Baked Tortilla Chips
Prep 5 min Cook 12 min Serves 4
Ingredients 8
corn tortillas 2 tbsp
olive oil (or spray oil) 1/2 tsp
salt 1/2 tsp paprika or chili powder (optional)
1/4 tsp garlic powder (optional)
Instructions
1 Prep: Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment.
2 Cut: Stack tortillas and cut into 6 wedges (like a pizza).
3 Season: Brush or spray lightly with oil. Sprinkle with salt and optional seasonings.
4 Bake: Spread in a single layer and bake 10–12 minutes until crisp and lightly golden.
5 Cool: Let cool completely — they crisp up even more as they cool.
Homeschool Lesson Plan
Theme: Tortilla Chips — History, Math, Science & Culture Ages: K–6 Time: 45–60 minutes
1. History & Culture (Reading + Social Studies)
- Read: A short passage about the origin of tortilla chips (invented in the 1940s by Rebecca Webb Carranza) and discuss what you learned.
- Discuss: how corn is an important crop in Mexican and Indigenous cultures.
- Activity: Locate Mexico on a map and color a corn plant illustration.
. Math: Chip Fractions & Graphing
- Give kids a handful of tortilla chips.
- Practice:
- Counting & grouping by 5s and 10s
- Fractions using chip shapes (½, ⅓, ¼ wedges)
- Simple graphing: “Which dip do we like best?” (salsa, queso, guacamole)
3. Science: Crispiness Experiment
- Compare baked vs. fried tortilla chips.
- Predict which will be crispier.
- Observe texture, color, and sound when snapped.
- Record findings in a simple chart.
4. Cooking (Life Skills)
- Make the baked tortilla chip recipe above.
- Discuss kitchen safety and measuring ingredients.
5. Writing Prompt
- “If I could invent a new chip flavor, it would be…”
- Kids draw the bag and describe the flavor.
Fun Facts for Your Blog
- Did you know Tortilla chips were created as a way to use leftover tortillas? A zero‑waste idea ahead of its time.
- Tortilla Chips are traditionally made from masa harina, a special corn flour treated with lime.
- The average American eats over 4 pounds of tortilla chips per year.
- Tortilla chips became widely popular thanks to the rise of Tex‑Mex cuisine.
- Blue corn chips get their color from natural anthocyanins — the same antioxidants found in blueberries
Thank you,
Glenda, Charlie and David Cates
