Regardless of whether the
Animated Step-by-Step recipe is being displayed on an interactive whiteboard (IWB) as a large group collaborative project,
or displayed on a laptop/iPad (Microsoft Powerpoint app; see previous blog post)
at an activity center, there are
numerous strategies for making the food preparation activity run smoothly.
The following suggestions have
proven to be extremely helpful in the classroom setting:
- For the younger grades, choose simpler recipes with fewer steps, e.g., brownie mix, cookie mix, orange/apple juice from frozen concentrate, macaroni & cheese boxed mix, instant pudding (Snowdrift pie) or instant oatmeal.
- Consider
adopting a Primary-Secondary Facilitator
model when conducting your large group cooking lesson. In this model, the Primary Facilitator and
the Secondary Facilitator have very distinct roles. The Primary
Facilitator (the person leading the cooking lesson at the IWB) has a group responsibility, i.e., he/she is
responsible for keeping the entire group engaged at all times. In direct
contrast, the Secondary Facilitator(s)
are responsible for assisting designated students when they are called upon to
perform specific tasks (e.g., opening the box, measuring the water, pouring the
milk, stirring the batter). Time
consuming tasks are always passed on to the Secondary Facilitator thereby
freeing the Primary Facilitator to go back to the IWB to perform activities
designed to keep the group engaged.
a)
in the younger
grades (PreK, Early Kindergarten), the Primary Facilitator can point out text
on the Interactive Whiteboard (IWB) as he/she leads the group in singing
about the actions being performed by a target child, “ Put the sugar in the
bowl (repeat 3 times). Put the sugar …. in the bowl (tune: Skip to My Loo).
Teachers typically ‘borrow’ tunes from familiar preschool songs. (Note: try not to touch the IWB when doing this as it will trigger the next animation)
b)
in the older
grades (Grade1 & 2), the Primary Facilitator might lead the non-target
students in preparing the next step
rather than waiting for the full completion of the previous step.
c)
the Primary
Facilitator can also use the pen tools
to highlight literacy concepts on the IWB (e.g., “How many syllables do you hear in the
word, cinnamon?) or explore other
language constructs such as “What are some other words that we could used
instead of the word big? We are looking for some synonyms for the word big”.
d)
It is also a
great time to hone observational and safety skills. “We need to be very
careful. I bet you know why.”
e)
In Grades 1
& 2, the Primary Facilitator may wish to conduct the cooking activity using
a symbol display projected large on the IWB. The class would have reviewed the
recipe as a literacy activity the day before and are now recalling that previewed
information to guide them in directing the Primary Facilitator. As the corresponding
text for the symbols also appears in the message window of the displayed
software, students can collaboratively build sentences to describe what is
happening, “Rayhana … is pouring …. the milk …. into the bowl”
f)
consider adding
suspense to your lesson by using a literacy
cube (Don Johnson Equipment) to determine who will be assigned the task of
performing the next step. Hook Velcro is
used to attach ‘dual=representation’ cards to the cube. One side of each card
has the photo face of a child; the
flip side has only the printed name.
Depending upon your academic focus, some teachers start with the photo face
side, then flip the card to the printed name side to denote that the child has
already had a turn (e.g., “This person has already had a turn. Mmmmm I wonder whose printed name this is?”). Sometimes teachers prefer to heighten the
literacy agenda by starting with the printed names, then flipping the card to the
photo faces to confirm that students have read the print correctly.
g)
to maintain
engagement actively minimize the amount of time that you spend
‘talking to the IWB’. Make a conscious
effort to face the class when speaking as eye contact tends to enhance
engagement.
The act of
measuring ingredients can add considerable time to a cooking activity,
creating deadly ‘down/wait time’ for ‘non-target’
students, i.e., students not actively involved in performing that specific step.
To alleviate this problem, consider pre-measuring
dry ingredients. If you put the pre-measured ingredients into individual zip
lock bags, each labeled with large print (e.g.,
¼ cup sugar, 2 cups flour), the cooking lesson becomes a much quicker assembly
task. This strategy has the additional benefit of adding a functional layer of
literacy to your cooking activity. Students must now problem-solve which bag contains
the flour. “ffflour. Okay we are looking
for a word that starts with the letter ___”
If the occupational therapist wishes to more fully
and therapeutically target functional motor skills with a specific student (e.g.,
two-handed opening, pouring using the second hand to stabilize the bowl,
crossing midline to reach, practicing the use of adaptive equipment), he/she
may wish to do so as a separate activity conducted in the therapy room earlier
in the day or conducted in the classroom at an OT-supervised activity center. During
the actual cooking activity, the Primary Facilitator constantly credits the
student who was helpful in pre-measuring all the dry ingredients, “ Joey you’ve
really saved us so much time! Thank you!
‘.
May all your food
preparation activities run smoothly!
… ’til the next post’…
© 2015 Carol Goossens’, Ph.D.
canadiangoosse@gmail.com
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