COOK-A-DOODLE-DOO! TEACHER TIPS
1. Make it and bake it. Allow students to measure ingredients and follow directions. And the grand finale is eating it!
2. "How-to" and sequencing activities:
- List (or draw) a step involved in making the shortcake then put them all in order as a class
- List the steps involved in making something else (a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, a banana split, their bed)
- Write their own recipes for their favorite treat
3. Science/Measurement: (read sidebars in the book!)
- Study capacity measurements by measuring sand (use measuring cups and spoons to discover how many teaspoons in a tablespoon, how many 1/2 cups in a cup, etc.)
- Study time measurements by converting 1 minute to seconds, then 2 minutes, then 3, then 15 minutes like Iguana!
- Study 2 types of temperature--where they came from--where they are used; explain boiling points, freezing points and below zero (for an intro to negative numbers!)
- Measure length in inches and cm-- why can't Iguana measure the flour with a ruler? What can you measure with a ruler? What things are sold by their length?
4. Vocabulary
- List all of the cooking words used in the book (mix, beat, sift, whip, bake, cut in, etc.) and define them; bring in other recipes to compare and add to the list
- Iguana keeps messing up--find the words that have two meanings and the homonyms that cause this
- Find any words that are examples of onomatopoeia
5. Reader's Theater
- Put on a Cook-a-Doodle-Doo! play with students costumed in the hats of each character
- To go to a copy of a Reader's Theater script, click on the picture»
6. Character Study
- Draw their favorite character
- List the qualities of all of the main characters and tell which one they most resemble
7. Looking for detail
- Find all of the commercial products in the art and see how Janet changed the brand names slightly (they were copyrighted!)
- Find all of the utensils and objects that Janet either photographed or scanned in
