Immediately capture the attention of your class with the smell of freshly popped popcorn in the sixth lesson of this series on the needs of living things. Young scientists first use their senses to make and record observations of uncooked and cooked popcorn to better understand how humans must prepare some foods to make them easier to eat and digest. The deliciousness continues as the class makes pudding in order to experience the way different ingredients mix together to make new foods. As an extension consider printing pictures of different foods, some that can be eaten raw, some that require preparation, and some that are mixtures, and have the class sort them into groups. A fun lesson that raises awareness about the ways humans get the energy they need to live and survive.

Concepts

food preparation, food

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Additional Tags

food preparation, types of food, science

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Pros

• The use of popcorn and pudding engages students in learning about food
• Measuring ingredients in a recipe offers interdisciplinary connections with math
• Includes ideas for extending the lesson with activities and discussions

Cons

• Including food in lessons can be distracting, the teacher needs to create rules for managing behavior