Have you ever wondered how they make candy bars? The scientist in me was so intrigued I just had to figure it out. Nothing can get students more excited than the prospect of making candy. They often remark, “you can make your own candy bars?” “Yes” I say, “its magic.” But really all it takes is a whole bunch of problem solving skills-a great way to teach students these skills as they beg you to engage in this lesson.
Another great way to earn some money is to put on dinner and movie nights for your school. The culinary students can prepare the food and price out the cost per ticket. Have a class discussion to decide what students…
Students plan an event of their choice start to finish as if they were an event planner. Paying attention to details is essential. The students created a diorama showing the look and feel of their event, and a booklet that contains their budget, floor plan, guest list, To-Do list, menu, and time schedule. They also make an invitation, an item off their menu, and sample decoration for their event. Finally, the students set up a table show casing the event that they planned at the school’s art exposition.
My life skills students actually came up with this lesson. This particular class happened to be a class full of guys and they convinced me that simple cooking skills were something that they should learn before they graduate. Of course they also loved to eat…thus the birth of this lesson–cooking with small appliances!
This project is a part of a high school senior life skills class. I explain to the students that after high school it is really up to them to engage in learning on their own. No one is going to spoon feed them. One of the ways adults learn is by reading books on subjects that they need to work on or learn more about.
Since I teach semester culinary classes, Valentines Day comes up around the time that I am going over how to measure correctly. I use this lab for my culinary II students who already have learned how to measure correctly so instead of demonstrating the techniques I have them show me that they remember how to measure correctly by making this recipe. This lab also allows them to get familiar with their kitchens and lab group. Obviously this recipe or any other cookie recipe could be used to produce the same results—students proving that they know how to measure different ingredients.
