Cake Baking Adventure in our English Class
- Miss Marilena
- Jun 22, 2023
- 3 min read
Updated: Jun 23, 2023
Soft & Chewy Chocolate Cookie Cake with vocabulary and grammar practice in English
In our English Language class, we recently took a break from our usual lessons to focus on something a bit sweeter: baking a chocolate cookie cake! We devoted a whole lesson to measuring ingredients, mixing the batter, and waiting (im)patiently for the cake to bake. As my student said:
Best lesson ever! Can we always do something like that?
It was that time of the year when we came across food vocabulary and grammatical structures such as countable and uncountable nouns that usually are about food. I used to just teach the lesson and move on but the last few years I began a new tradition with my students. We bake a cake! Why not right? Not only was it a fun break from our usual routine, but it was also a great way to learn new vocabulary through real practice. From whisking to sifting to folding, we were able to use new words in context and solidify our understanding of them. Overall, it was a great reminder that learning doesn't always have to be serious and that integrating fun activities can be just as effective. Plus, we got to enjoy a delicious treat at the end of it all!
Baking a Chocolate Chip Cookie in Class
Section 1: Ingredients
In case you are baking at home or in class these tips will be super helpful for you to make the whole process easier. You will need:
half a cup butter (leave it outside the fridge so it's soft and can easily be whisked)
half a cup white sugar (let them measure it on their own)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs (keep a bowl for trash close by)
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
8 tablespoons chocolate chips (you might need more ;) kids are very generous when sprinkling chocolate chips)
a pinch of salt (demonstrate what a pinch is)
a small pan (you handle the pan and oven just to be safe and that way nothing goes wrong)
Section 2: Directions
This is what we did in class:
First we took the time to practice food and baking vocabulary. We talked about measurements and the language around a recipe.
Then I asked my student to read the ingredients and recognize which ingredients were needed from the table and which were not. (TIP: put random ingredients such as vinegar, oil or pepper just to throw them of :p)
3. After that we read the instructions together and explained any unknown words. We even mimed movements such as folding, whisking, pinching before we actually begun baking.
4. It was time to start the process! My student broke the eggs and whisked them together in a bowl.
5. We mixed all dry ingredients in a different bowl and then brought everything together.
6. Mixing all the chocolate chips in was the best part.
7. Putting the pan in the oven was exclusively my job. We discussed this before the process began and agreed on it. At 180 C for 35 minutes.
8. As the cake was baking we practiced countable and uncountable nouns once again.
And that was our baking adventure! It was so much fun to put our vocabulary about baking and cooking into practice. We learned how to recognize countable and uncountable nouns as we measured ingredients like sugar and flour. It was amazing to see how everything came together to create a delicious cake.
The best part was definitely when we got to eat the cake! It was delicious and made us realize how helpful it can be to have real experience and interaction with the things we learn from the pages of our books. Not only does it make the learning experience more enjoyable, but it also helps us to retain the information better. It was great to see my student engaged and eager to learn more about the process of learning English and baking a cake!
For anyone who wants to give it a try, I'll provide the recipe we used here. It's a delicious chocolate chip cake recipe that's easy to follow and yields delicious results.
Baking is a wonderful way to learn new things and bond with others, so why not give it a try? Who knows, you might discover a new hobby or talent!
And that's all from me...
I hope you find these tips useful and interesting. If you liked this post don't forget to register in my email list so you never miss another post again and of course like and comment on this post what your favourite tip is. If I have missed anything feel free to let me know. Have a fantastic week. I will see you at the next one. Toodaloo!
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Did you know that I have created my own Reading and Activity book? It helps children practice grammar structures such as can and have got, as well as Body Vocabulary. It also has a great low price! Check it out in my shop:
Delicious post! Well done 👍