Objectives

The student compares, contrasts, and converts within systems of measurement (both standard and metric).
The student measures quantities in the real world and uses the measures to solve problems.
The student uses electronic technology to create, revise, retrieve, and verify information.

Activities

1. Students will brainstorm with the teacher what skills are necessary in order to follow a recipe. Guided questions: Do you have to know how to read? Do you need to measure food quantities? Do you have to organize your cooking tools and ingredients? If the recipe is in metric, do you have to know how to convert the recipe to standard?

2. Students will watch a cooking show and write down a recipe and/or choose a recipe from a cookbook. They can also log onto  The Cooking Channel and Cookalotamus  in order to locate recipes.

3. They will then use a word processing program like Microsoft Works to write an expository paragraph explaining how to make the item they have chosen. They will pay close attention to sequencing.

4. Next, the students will visit Science Made Simple to convert the existing measurement from their recipes to either metric or standard units of measurement.

5. The class can than assemble their writings along with a copy of their recipes together to create a class cookbook; they will design the cover and table of contents then publish it. Class will choose one recipe to make in class.

6. With help of parents, students will bring ingredients and cooking utensils to class. The students will follow recipe directions and measure ingredients. If dish needs to be cooked, use the school cafeteria kitchen or have a parent cook at home that evening and bring back to class the next day to sample.

Materials

Computer with Internet access, desktop publishing, TV, cookbook, recipe ingredients, cooking utensils

Evaluation

Students will be evaluated on their expository writing as well as their conversions of the measurements in the recipes using the following Cooking Lesson Checklist.

Homework

If students have email at home, they can email a recipe to a friend, key pal or family member. If they do not, they can write a recipe down and mail or give it to friend, pen pal or family member.

Extension Activity: The Food Pyramid

• Students will research the various food groups: milk and cheese (2-3 servings); fats and oils (use sparingly); meat, fish, eggs, nuts (2-3 servings); vegetables ( 3-5 servings); fruit (2-4 servings); and bread, rice, pasta (6-11 servings)
• Students can visit The Food Guide Pyramid
• Students can go on a Nutrition Web Quest at Web Quest
• Students will use a draw/paint application to draw a large pyramid; divide the triangle into the appropriate food groups
• Have students label each section of the pyramid and tell the number of servings suggested for each group; see above
• Students can insert food clip art for their pyramids
  *Tip- teacher can collect food clip art and save to disk or hard drive and/or use a CD-ROM of clip art
• Proof read and print

Guest Speaker

Invite a local chief  or school cafeteria manager to the classroom to explain to students how a restaurant kitchen is run and how he or she orders the correct quantities of produce, meat, dairy, poultry, sugar, flour... to prepare food for customers.

Fieldtrip

Have students visit school cafeteria while they are preparing breakfast or lunch. Interview head cook to lean how he or she orders food for the school and cooks correct amount of food for students.