Huwerl Thornton, Jr.
Science is, and always has been, one of my favorite subjects. It also happens to be my students' favorite subject. Every class I have taught, most, if not all of my students, love science. They love the experiments and love that science generally tends to be very hands-on. In 3
rd
grade the two major science kits that are done are chemical tests, and plant growth and development. STC® (Science and Technology for Children) kits are the staple of science for the elementary school in New Haven. However, some kits require a lot of time to set materials up and also to put them away. For this reason, science can be difficult to squeeze into the elementary schedule. Literacy takes up most of our time. We have to squeeze in Mathematics and try to incorporate Social Studies. Science is often neglected and/or not given the proper time that is needed to truly teach all of the many aspects that incorporate science. Many of our kids think that science is just doing "cool experiments." They don't understand why or the procedures that scientists use to lead up to the actual experiment as well as what scientists do after the experiment is complete. Teachers have a lot of work to do to make science more integral. This unit, I believe, will be a step in the right direction.
This unit will integrate something that most kids love…food. We will use food to learn about how science works and that cooking uses many of the science principles. In the past I have used making KOOL-AID® as a way to teach about solutions. I would like to expand upon those lessons and teach about other types of mixtures. The unit will give an overview of basic chemical principles so that chemistry terminology can be used without confusion or uncertainty. Water will be an integral part of this unit. It is the most common molecule used in cooking. We all know that we need water to survive, but there are many scientific aspects of water that the average person and student may not know. The unit will then progress on to solutions, gels, foams, suspensions, and emulsions. Throughout the unit, the words KOOL-AID® and JELL-O® are used. These are used as generic terms. Any powdered soft drink or gelatin can be used.
The primary source used for this unit is Harold McGee's wonderful book: On Food and Cooking-The Science and Lore of the Kitchen. McGee writes in a style that is easy to understand and does an excellent job of scientifically explaining what is happening during the preparation of food and the cooking process. He makes an excellent connection with science principles and the art of cooking. McGee is able to explain the science behind the biological and chemical changes in food from boiling water to making a souffl¨é.
The goal of this unit is to help students understand that there are various types of mixtures. They will also need to know the criteria that define the mixture. After doing the various experiments, they should be able to use a rubric and determine if something is a solution or a suspension, a gel or foam. A secondary goal of this unit is to help students follow a sequential order. There are directions that they are going to have to follow in a recipe and understand that sometimes things must be done in a sequential way to get the desired result.