The last two years I've focused my project-based learning around the theme of food. Called "Cooking the Core", the goal of the projects is to teach Common Core State Standards in a hands-on, engaging way. Below are three examples of student projects:
The culminating project for the 2015 school year was Pizza making with Seattle chef Brandon Pettit of Delancey, Brandon and his wife Molly Wizenberg, author of the memoirs A Homemade Life and Delancey spent a week in May with the class teaching them about the fine art of pizza making as well as writing.
We had spent the past several weeks learning about the history and science of pizza which had us learning about the Maillard Reaction and the centuries old debate about the very origin of pizza itself. We also use are prior knowledge of acids and bases from our fermention project (See Below) to understand how the acidity of tomato sauce interacts with the the dough to create balance.
The entire hallway spelled like pizza and we were the envy of the school.
The culminating project for the 2015 school year was Pizza making with Seattle chef Brandon Pettit of Delancey, Brandon and his wife Molly Wizenberg, author of the memoirs A Homemade Life and Delancey spent a week in May with the class teaching them about the fine art of pizza making as well as writing.
We had spent the past several weeks learning about the history and science of pizza which had us learning about the Maillard Reaction and the centuries old debate about the very origin of pizza itself. We also use are prior knowledge of acids and bases from our fermention project (See Below) to understand how the acidity of tomato sauce interacts with the the dough to create balance.
The entire hallway spelled like pizza and we were the envy of the school.
As mentioned above, in our Cabbages & Chemistry unit we learned about acids, bases, and neutrals using cabbage juice as an indicator. While our exploration was engaging and educational, our experiments rendered the cabbage completely inedible. We wanted to eat our veggies and learn about pH at the same time, so we decided to try our hand at fermentation.
With the help of the amazing Fermentista Kirsten Shockey, who walked us through the process over Skype, we sliced, salted, massaged, and packed our way through several heads of cabbage, and after a few weeks of fermenting, had some delicious kraut ready to top the hot dogs of our choice.
With the help of the amazing Fermentista Kirsten Shockey, who walked us through the process over Skype, we sliced, salted, massaged, and packed our way through several heads of cabbage, and after a few weeks of fermenting, had some delicious kraut ready to top the hot dogs of our choice.
Finally, for the last five years, Room 28 students have been making coffee. Not the usual 4th grade thing to do, I know, but we're not the usual 4th grade class! We've used coffee as a way of exploring the world, learning math concepts, and giving back. Each year, we partner with roasters, brew and sell coffee, and donate the funds to organizations that work with coffee farming families. To date, we've raised close to $1000 for Coffee Kids, and this year have a new benefactor, World Bicycle Relief.