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Summary and Objective
Students will learn by making pancakes from a packaged mix, then studying the ways that pancakes were made in the colonial era, that it is much easier and faster now due to prepared mixes and the availability of ingredients.
Teaching Plan
Step 1.
Prior to this activity, children will have made butter by shaking cream in a jar, although they will see the butter churn and learn that butter was made in a churn in colonial times. The butter will be used in the recipe for "scratch" pancakes. This will take place amidst some conversations about colonial life and viewing the pictures of the kitchens to familiarize them with life in these times.
Step 2.
The teacher will gather the necessary ingredients and equipment--including a mixing bowl, spoon, measuring cup and fry pan--to make pancakes from a box-type mix and copy the recipe and directions on large paper. This will be contrasted with another collection of ingredients and the equipment needed to prepare pancakes from "scratch", including bowls, wooden spoons, pans (cast iron), a grater, and a large copy of the recipe for "A Second Sort of Pancake from "The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy" by Hannah Glasse. Here is the recipe: "A second sort of fine pancakes. Take a pint of cream, and eight eggs well beat, a nutmeg grated, a little salt, half a pound of good dish-butter melted; mix all together, with as much flour as will make them into a thin batter, fry them nice, and turn them on the back of a plate."
Step 3.
Read the recipe and directions of the packaged mix and explain that you will make this today and keep track of how long it takes and how easy it is, then compare it with the way that people used long ago, which you will do tomotrrow. Proceed with this activity, taking turns adding ingredients and mixing while using a timer and recording the time on your recipe when completed.
Step 4.
Children can then sample the pancakes and discuss their reactions to and thoughts about the activity.
Step 5.
The next day, children gather, reexamine the photographs and all of the equipment and ingredients, and make predictions about how long this may take compared to yesterday's modern method.
Step 6.
The teacher will read the recipe and assist students to take turns with the various tasks involved including grating of the nutmeg, measuring the dry and wet ingredients, etc. They will look at the long-handled frying pan and see that to cook on a fireplace, you needed a long handle. When completed, the time spent will be recorded on the recipe.
Step 7.
The students will sample the pancakes, and be lead in a discussion that compares the two methods, the number of steps involved, equipment and ingredients needed, and time spent on each.
Step 8.
To further assess student understanding, they will draw pictures of the two different activities and share these illustrations with each other along with their thoughts on each process.
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