Cupcake Wars: Creating the Plan

I started with a basic plan for what do I want the students to learn. How will I know when they have learned it? What things can I do to enrich the activities? What things will my students be able to do when they are done with the enrichment days? What final product will they create to show they have acquired some basic skills during the unit? Once I had some answers to these questions, it all just started to come together. This is what the plan looked like when I had put all the pieces in place.  

Day 1: September 6^th, 2013

8:45 – 9:45 Introduction to Enrichment Days, 

                  Pass Out Purple Folders~ Decorate Folders with Cupcake Art & Names

9:45 – 10:45: Literature: Froggy Bakes a Cake ~ Froggy makes a cake by himself. He uses the basic ingredients that most cakes are made from. This lower level story is fun and engaging. It also helps students recognize the basic ingregients that are used to make cakes. 

Books that help us bake cakes: Introduce the 10 Recipe Books about Cupcakes

Reading Skills: Read a Basic Recipe

Record: Chocolate Cake Recipe in Purple Folder

                        Record: Vanilla Cake Recipe in Purple Folder

                        Group Venn diagram comparison Recipe Book and Froggy Bakes a Cake

10:45 – 11:45   Comparison Activity: Box Cupcakes (Chocolate with vanilla frosting) & Bakery Cupcakes (Simply Cupcakes): Double Bubble Map & Opinion Paper

11:15 – 12:15 Cooking Safety: Cooking Safety Rules Chart

                       Cooking Safety: Tools Bakers Use  

                       Video Trailer: The Bake Shop Ghost

1:00 – 2:00 Measurement Practice: How many tsps? tbsps? Cups? Activity

2:00 – 3:00 Science Experiment: (Conduction, Convection, Radiation) Cake Baking in an Easy Bake Oven/Toaster Oven/Baby Cakes Cupcake Maker

3:00 – 3:30 Video: Cupcake Wars

       Introduce Cupcake Wars Letter to Parents & Rubric for Cupcake Project

Day 2: September 13^th, 2013

8:45 – 9:45 Literature: Bake Shop Ghost Reading and Design  a Cake Activity/ Writing ~ Finish the Book

9:45 – 10:45 Animoto: Cupcakes Video

                     Record: Making Frosting ~  Recipes into Notebooks

         Introduction to Frosting Tips & Designs (Article Review) – Record in Notebook

10:45 – 11:45 Making & Baking Cupcakes & Frosting Tips Activity

11:45 – 12:15 Social Studies Lesson on Resources: Natural, Human, Capital, & Entrepreneurship

                      Create Questions to Ask the Guest Speaker that have to do with the three resources and entrepreneurship

1:00 – 2:00 Guest Speaker: Bakery Owner ~ Wendy Wilson from Wilson’s Bakery 

2:00 – 3:00 Decorating Practice & Cupcake Decorating

3:00 -3:30 Clean Up & Ticket out the door writing assignment – In Notebook

Day 3: September 20^th, 2013

8:45 – 9:45 Baking Cupcakes and Making Frosting – Preparing for the day

9:30– 10:15 Tour of School Cafeteria to experience a large kitchen and prep area. 

                    Interview with Ms. Ross the cafeteria manager.

                    Edmodo question posted to forum.

10:15 – 10:45 Have your Cake and Eat it to Inferring Activity (Partner Activity- Creativity Activity)

10:45 – 11:15 Recipes for Chocolates

Exploring the Website for The Secret Chocolatier –

Making Chocolates & Decorations for Desserts – Record in Folder

Preparing for Guest Speaker: Questions

11:15 – 12:15   Looking through Cupcake Books, Creating your Advertisement for Cupcakery – On Manila Paper

1:00 – 2:00 Guest Speaker: Bakery Owner ~ Cheryl ~ Smallcakes

2:00 – 3:00   Making Chocolate Designs & Decorations, Decorating Cupcakes

3:00 -3:30 Writing Assignment: Compare & Contrast Smallcakes & Wilson’s Bakery

Day 4: September 27^th, 2013

8:45 – 9:45 Displays for the Cupcake Wars – Advertisement, Recipe, Paragraph

9:45 – 10:15 Chromatopography Display

10:15 – 11:00 Writing Assignment: Narrative/Informational on Cupcake Experience – Drafting Paper

11:00-– 11:45  LEAP Time Activities: Math Games Bakery Style

11:45 – 12:15  Art Assignment: Cupcake Art – Manila Paper

1:00 – 2:00 Guest Speaker: Bakery Owner ~ Simply Cupcakes  ~ Ms. June

2:00 – 2:15 Cupcake War Guest Judges: Dr. Brantley, Ms. Conner, Mrs. Kendrick, Mrs. Jan Jacobsen

2:15 – 2:30 Celebration Time: Sharing our cupcakes with the other third grade classes

2:30 – 3:30 Who sent the Cake? Science Mystery. Scientific Method & Experiment