Rationale
At present time, the consumption of food not prepared at home is at a high rate. This can be attributed to the vast number of options of prepared foods or even groceries delivered to homes. Since the Covid-19 shutdowns, these services have become not only a convenient way to get food but for some households a lifeline as time to cook or prepare a meal may be little to none. This means students may have little to no exposure to how food is prepared or cooked or even what ingredients are present in their food and where it can be procured.
My plan for this unit is to use pizza creation as an engaging way to explore properties of matter, mixtures and solution, and property changes in matter both physical and through chemical reactions. All of these topics connect directly with the Virginia 5th grade standard 5.7 “The students will investigate and understand that matter has properties and interactions.” The goal of these units is to have students immerse themselves in authentic scientific investigation by connecting biology and chemistry to a food that not only students recognize but the majority of them enjoy. This will hopefully increase participation but also curiosity of scientific concepts and the culinary arts.
Using the picture book “Fungus is Among Us” by Joy Keller, students will be given a background of the different types of fungi and how yeast falls into that family and can be used in baking. Once background knowledge has been gained, the unit will focus on the chemical reaction of yeast and pizza dough creation. Students will design experiments to explore how variables such as water temperature, type of sugar, and the amount of sugar can affect the fermentation of the chemical reaction and the rate in which yeast reacts. Through the experiments, students will record their observations, collect quantitative data, and write evidence-based conclusions. The dough-making process also provides a great opportunity to review mixtures and solutions as students observe sugar dissolving in water and ingredients coming together to make a new substance with different properties.
When students make their conclusions, they will finally get to eat their experiments, with an optional end of unit pizza party. While the method of cooking these pizzas will be up to what the teacher and school has on hand regarding cooking elements, I will be including two possible options. One uses a toaster oven while the other uses a hot plate and a pan with instructions in the activity of temperatures and times for each. Ultimately, the hope is that students leave the unit not only with a stronger understanding of the properties of matter and reactions but also a newfound interest in cooking and how science connects with it.
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