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Edible Lessons













































One of the things we enjoy most about our recently-renovated classroom is the kitchen area. A sink, stove, refrigerator, and cabinets enable us to prepare a simple snack or a multi-course feast. At Miquon, we often include food in our celebrations and in our social studies units as well as finding ways to make it a part of math, science, and language arts. Reading recipes and being allowed to make mistakes is an important part of learning. Discovering that things can be made "from scratch" with healthy ingredients is knowledge we can all use. Finding out about the chemistry of bread is a highly-engaging science lesson.
 
Recently, Tony did basic bread making with our class (and all of the students from third grade on up). On two different days, half of our group made bread dough in the science room, brought it up to keep in our refrigerator overnight, and watched it rise and get ready for baking in class the next day. While those students were making their dough in the science room, the other half made apple crisp from apples that we had gotten as part of our school-provided snack but weren't eating quickly enough. In one group, we added raisins along with the apples. The other half-group added fresh cranberries. We baked one batch and served it to everyone at the end of each of the two days. In both cases, some students enjoyed the fruit additions, and some meticulously picked out each unwanted bit until only the apples and the cinnamon-oatmeal-sugar topping was left. It was a good exercise in careful measuring and -- for some -- a first experience with using peelers efficiently.

Tony has published recipes for basic bread and variations on his supplemental classroom website. You can navigate there through the school website and choose "Science You Can Eat" on his classroom page, or you can go directly by clicking on the link below.

Click here to go to Tony's supplemental website.






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Bread ready to go into the oven.

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Cutting apples into small slices.

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Getting cranberries and apples ready to bake.




























copyright 2009 Lynn Hughes / The Miquon School