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A different spin on hands-on literacy
The takeaway: How to orchestrate a literacy project for eight year olds by combining cooking and power tools.
As a Grade 3 teacher, I was always on the lookout for interesting ways to promote reasons to read with my students. One of my favourite activities was to have students read a recipe, and one day it occurred to me that it might be a good idea to mix this with power tools. After all, as a teacher, one must be willing to take risks.
Cheese-filled Hotdogs in White Bread with Chocolate Sauce
Ingredients/tools
| hot dogs |
|
1 per student |
| aerosol cheese |
|
3 cans |
| white bread |
|
2 loaves |
| chocolate sauce |
|
2 bottles |
| cordless drills |
|
2 |
3/8” wood drill bits
(washed in a dishwasher) |
|
2 |
protective eyewear
(borrowed from the science lab) |
|
|
| microwave oven |
|
|
|
It was great fun … and chock full of curricular merit.
|
The students read the recipe and answered questions prior to creating the culinary delights. The fun started when students got to use cordless drills to bore holes into their hotdogs, first from one end and then the other. Then the students shot aerosol cheese into the drilled cavity, warmed their dogs in the microwave, wrapped them in the bread and added chocolate sauce to taste. All students had to wear eye protection from the science lab.
When I reflect on this lesson, what stands out the most is the image of eight year olds peering through safety goggles, concentration etched on their faces as they focused on keeping the drill steady while bits of meat by-product flew.
It was great fun … and chock full of curricular merit. The students got hands-on experience with tools. Those who had worked with power tools before demonstrated how to use them safely (this was closely supervised, I can assure you). The students also learned how to read a fun recipe, work at stations, help others and, to a limited extent, clean up. The custodian had some cleaning tips for me when we did our next baking/cooking experiment.
(I could never find a good Grade 3 slab cake recipe that required the use of a chainsaw, so if you have one, please pass it along.)
Got an idea? Maybe you delivered a lesson that totally bombed or were on the receiving end of a lesson that was truly inspiring. Whatever your story, please summarize it in up to 300 words and email it to managing editor Cory Hare at cory.hare@ata.ab.ca.
