11-14 year olds

Starter activity

Starter activities fulfil a range of purposes, in particular using prior knowledge to introduce new topics. They also engage the class early on in the lesson and help increase motivation. All students are quickly on task and challenged.

Starter activities need to:

• Create a challenge, be engaging and set the group thinking
• Create an expectation that all students will be thinking and participating in the lesson
• Set an expectation of interaction and involvement
• Avoid the trend towards starting with administrative tasks, e.g. register which sometimes holds up the start and creates an opportunity for disruption and conflict with certain groups.

How to ensure the starter is successful:

• Plan the starter as a discrete element of the lesson
• Ensure that it fits into the lesson objectives and helps to achieve them
• Plan that activities take account of the learning needs of the group
• Make sure progression is shown over time, and use a variety
• Keep the instructions clear and precise
• Keep it short! Stick to planned timings – do not go over time as it limits the time for the main body of the lesson.

Starter 1 - Baking bingo

Give each student a Baking bingo board or ask them to draw a 3x3 grid on a piece of paper. Alternatively, print-out and laminate a class set of Baking bingo boards - they could then be used with a dry-wipe pen and kept for future use.  

Explain the instruction and display the word list on the board – use the Baking bingo PowerPoint presentation. Ask the students to select 9 words from the list write these on their bingo cards. 

Ask the class the Baking bingo questions in any order. Students should cross out words on their boards if they think it answers the question being read out. 

The winner should have a line or a full house, depending on time available.

Starter 2 – Guess the words

Display the Guess the words PowerPoint presentation. Ask students to work out the missing words in 2 minutes (adjust the timing to suit your lesson). After 2 minutes ask students to suggest the missing words. You can reveal the answers to the pupils.

To increase the difficulty the word bank can be removed from the PowerPoint slide. An advanced version of this task is also available, supporting differentiation.

Main activity

Bread making

Introduce students to the variety of bread and bread products that are available. You could use a combination of bread images and real products to review and discuss with students. Use the Baking bread PowerPoint presentation to stimulate discussion. 

Get going …

1. A great start is to hold one or more sensory sessions, enhancing student’s experience. 

2. Investigate the ingredients that are used in bread making. Focus particularly on types of flour that can be used to make bread. 

3. Find out more about the bread industry. Watch the video 'From Grain to loaf'. Compare industrial bread production with domestic. 

4. Demonstrate how bread and/or bread products are made, allowing students to make their own bread. Focus on the ingredients and key skills. Give students the Bread making recording sheet for them to record important steps and information. A video of a Master Baker making bread is also available here.

Suggested activity: Perfect Pizza

Challenge students to create an individual pizza which includes 2 portions of fruit and/or vegetables. If time allows, as students to carry out research in to the variety of pizzas that are available. Use the Perfect pizza PowerPoint presentation to set the challenge. 

Review a range of different topping ingredients that may be used for pizzas. Discuss preparation and cooking requirements. 

Revise the process required for making basic dough for pizza. You may wish to use a video to remind the pupils of the key points. 

Ask students to complete the practical activity to make the individual pizza and to evaluate the product against the specification or criteria.

Cake making

Introduce cake making by asking students to suggest different types of cake. Define what is meant by the term ‘cake’. Categorise the different types of cake that are available. Use the Cake making PowerPoint presentation to help. 

Get going …

1. Look at the different ingredients that are used in cake making and their functionality. 

2. Carry out a product evaluation. Include a sensory evaluation session to introduce the pupils to star diagrams/charts. 

3. Demonstrate your selected method of cake making. 

4. Give students Cake making record sheet to record key information - this will help to focus attention during the demonstration. 

5. Explore the range of recipes and videos showing different types of cakes and bakes on our site.

·         Iced fairycakes

·         Apple muffins

·         Honey cake

·         Fruity muffins

·         Swiss roll

·         Minifruit cakes

·         Marble pear tray bake

·         Banana crumb muffins

Suggested activity: Muffin Extravaganza

Muffins have become very popular and a wide variety is now available in shops and supermarkets. Use the Muffin extravaganza PowerPoint presentation to being the activity. Review and compare the same type of muffin that is available as:

·         Premium/luxury brand

·         Standard brand

·         Value/economy brand

Consider the size and weight, cost per muffin, ingredients used, packaging and marketing. You may also wish to investigate muffins that are available at different national coffee shop chains. Use the Product comparison worksheet to help students record the information. 

Ask the students to compare the nutrition information of each type of muffin. Often this information can be found on the packaging or online. 

Demonstrate the basic method used to make muffins to the students; review the main ingredients used. Challenge the students to decide on a selection of ingredients to make a sweet or savoury batch of muffins.  They should calculate the cost per muffin. 

Extension: Calculate and display the nutrition information for the muffins per 100g and per portion, i.e. one muffin.

Plenary

Challenge students to sequence bread and/or cake recipe methods into the correct order. Use the Recipe sequencing worksheets – print and cut these ready for use (you could laminate the cards for future use). 

Give students one set of recipe cards and ask them to place them in the correct sequence. Give the students a time limit; an electronic countdown clock works well as a visual reminder.

Homework/Extension task

Ask students to survey their family and friends on their favourite types of bread and/or cakes. The results should be presented in a graph, highlighting the popular types.

Challenge students to investigate the different types of bread/cakes available from around the world. Focusing on one country, students should create a display showcasing interesting facts and figures, images and recipe ideas. (You may wish to allocate countries or different continents to students, in order to avoid repetition.)

Resources
	Baking bingo presentation
	Great starter activity game that introduces the key concepts in breadbaking
	Baking bingo board
	Template for the Baking bingo activity
	Guess the words presentation
	A quick activity to test your students baking knowledge
	Baking bread presentation
	Explore different types of bread and its ingredients
	Bread making recording sheet
	Record the key steps and information as your students make bread
	Perfect pizza presentation
	Set your students this fun challenge to design and make a perfect pizza
	Cake making presentation
	Explores the different types and methods of cakes
	Muffin extravaganza presentation
	An activity to create some tasty sweet or savoury muffins
	Product comparison worksheet
	A helpful sheet to record information when comaring food products
	Recipe sequencing worksheet
	A quick plenary activity to help sequence bread and cake making methods