Kids love to cook, especially little kids. How about cooking a delicious vegetable soup in the classroom, with friends, this fall or winter?This activity is great for all students, from kindergarten level all the way up to high school. It's perfect for Bilingual, Monolingual, ESL, and Spanish teachers.
In this resource, I have included a recipe and activities that students can complete during and after cooking the vegetable soup. With this hands-on learning activity, your students will learn:
to read a recipe
to observe and experiment
to practice an important life skill
about healthy and nutritious foods
to try new foods
to collaborate
to follow directions
to sequence
to use their five senses
to read and write
to build a strong classroom culture
Keep in mind that making it in the slow cooker will take most of the day. This recipe would not be able to be done in a one hour class. The onion, carrots and potatoes might need to be already diced before beginning the cooking activity. If that's not possible, they can be omitted. Be sure to dice the potatoes and carrots into small chunks, so they'll cook faster.
To begin, have students read through the recipe. Point out anything that you would like students to focus on, such as measurements, vocabulary words, letters/sounds, foods, steps, or any other observations.
Start off by discussing hand washing and everyone practicing washing their hands. You can supply gloves if you feel the need.
Have every student participate in one way or another. If using diced veggies, have students put the veggies in the slow cooker. Have students help by opening the cans of vegetables with a no-sharp-edges can opener. Different students can drain the corn, green beans and peas. Call on someone else to pour the veggies in the slow cooker. A different student is called on to participate in what's going into the soup. There are easily 20 students that can participate with a step. You could add a second can of corn and add 3 more steps for 3 more students (one will open the can, one will drain the corn, and the third person will pour the corn in the soup). Students (especially the little ones) will feel proud of themselves for being able to help.
While the soup cooks, students can write down the steps and/or sequence the steps. When the soup is ready, they will get to taste it .
You can also read the story Stone Soup and have students bring a can of veggies to add to the soup. You can use little potatoes instead of "stones" and put them in the soup. You could do this activity before or after making this vegetable soup.
When I make my vegetable soup at home for my family, I usually add one or two cans of beans as well. I put Navy beans in my soup last time but any white or black bean will do. Just be sure to rinse the beans before putting them in there.
If you like this post, you might want to consider subscribing to my newsletter. By subscribing, you will be able to get this resource for FREE. This freebie includes a recipe, 20+ pages of printables for students to sequence the recipe, and vocabulary cards for your word wall.
If you're looking for just the recipe, you can Find it HERE.
I hope everyone enjoys this recipe.
Happy planning,
Angie