Measurement Unit and Baking

Natalie has Sweet Cranberry Pumpkin Bread in the oven and we are sitting down to our afternoon school block. We've ended up extending the afternoon timeslot because the children weren't getting done all they wanted to do. So, now our day is 8:30 am to 11:30 am and 1:30 pm to 4:00 pm.

She's writing this activity in her plan book as a Purple (Practical Life: Cooking) and a Blue (Mathematics: Measurement).

Speaking of baking and measurement...
Again, I feel that Jamie York's textbook Making Math Meaningful: A Middle School Math Curriculum for Teachers and Parentsis the BEST book you can get for Middle School Math (in my humble opinion), and he covers Measurement. I am coming up with a short unit to help Leah practice her measurement skills and enjoy some Cooking at the same time (in fact, Live Ed suggests thinking of this in 3rd grade as the Maths of Practical Life).

My thoughts for her next MLB, two weeks long:

Chapter Book for Independent Reading

The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate


Background Information

The Story of Clocks and Calendars


Practice Sheets
(you can also find free practice sheets for these skills online)

Hands-On Math!: Ready-To-Use Games & Activities for Grades 4-8

Good Apple and Math Fun (A Good Apple Math Idea/Activity Book for Grades 3-7) by Jerry Aten (1981) Paperback


Day One: Elapsed Time

recipe: Crockpot Yogurt

or Homemade Yogurt using the pilot light of your gas oven


The Queen Who Couldn't Bake Gingerbread

recipe: The Most Wonderful Gingerbread Cookies

practice sheets from Hands-On Math, pp.331-334


Day Two: Temperature


You and Me(to inspire colors)

Candy-Making Stages: The Cold Water Candy Test (how temperature is measured by how the hot sugar syrup reacts when hitting water)

The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate(chapter 18 excerpt, describing how the temperature of the oven was determined)

recipe: Psychedelic Lollipops (to practice using candy thermometer)


Day Three: Ratio


One Grain Of Rice: A Mathematical Folktale

recipe: plain rice

recipe: Yellow Split Pea Dal with Mango
(don't forget to serve some of your homemade yogurt on the side)


Day Four


Pancakes, Pancakes!

recipe: Strawberry Freezer Jam
(careful measuring is necessary when making jam)


Day Five: Metric System (see Jamie York, pp.26, 27, 42)


Mathematicians Are People, Too: Stories from the Lives of Great Mathematicians, volume 1

Chapter "The Professor Who Did Not Know." Joseph Louis Lagrange (development of the Metric System)

The Metric Stair - from Jamie York
gram
liter
meter


All in Just One Cookie

recipe: Vintage Chocolate Chip Cookies (metric)

practice sheets from Hands-On Math, pp.325-326


Day Six: Weight vs. Volume


Mr. Angelo

Angel Food Cake (metric)
Do you get the same amount of flour or sugar if you lightly spoon the dry ingredient into the measuring cup versus dipping and scooping it from the container and then leveling it off? Do either of these match the measurement by weight? Which is the most accurate method?

practice sheet from Hands-On Math, p.327

practice sheets from Good Apple Math Fun, pp.101, 106-107


Day Seven: Experiments with Yeast


The Duchess Bakes a Cake

observations of yeast

and, if you have older children in the house, you may want to detour to some scientific experiments for yeast, such as
Is Yeast Alive? (pdf)
most basic
Yeast Reproduction Lab - Asexual Reproduction
more advanced
Looking at Yeast… Wee Little Beasts (Teacher Activity Guide)
most advanced

experiments with various concoctions -- MUST measure and record amt. of ingredients used as well as temp and time


Walter the Baker

recipe: Real Homemade Soft Pretzels

practice sheet from Hands-On Math, p.328 "Activity 1"

practice sheets from Good Apple Math Fun, p.111


Day Eight


The Little Red Hen


The Little Red Hen (Makes a Pizza)

read either or both or, if you really feel strongly about it, compare them with a Venn Diagram

recipe: Pizza Dough
allow for experiments
recipe calls for only flour, sugar, yeast, salt, water, olive oil
when experimenting change only ONE variable and keep careful notes

practice sheets from Hands-On Math, pp.328-330 "Activity 2"

practice sheets from Good Apple Math Fun, pp.114, 115


Day Nine


The Apple Cake

recipe from back cover: Granny's Apple Cake

practice sheet from Hands-On Math, p.330 "Activity 3"

Leah cooks dinner with me every other night. Usually, on the day the girls are the cooking helper, they also help make a second recipe as well... something like applesauce or yogurt or muffins or cake. With this, she will have plenty of ongoing practice with these measurement concepts throughout the school year.

Two related blog posts & lesson plans from earlier in my teaching career:

Estimation & Measurement in Grams

Hands-On Exploration of Capacity

One further note, inspired by Zero Waste Home: The Ultimate Guide to Simplifying Your Life by Reducing Your WasteI would like to have her weigh our trash daily and add it up throughout the course of the two week unit. Obviously, more than a kitchen scale would be needed. But it would give her practice in kg as well as g, not to mention hopefully sparking some valuable family discussions!