Baking with Algorithms

Materials

• Cookie ingredients, bowls, measuring cups, recipe handout, an oven

Before the lesson…

• Print out a recipe and cut out ingredients. Then, cut each instruction step out separately. (Have enough for your class to be placed in groups of four)
• Have ingredients set out with proper measuring cups
• Have cookie sheets prepared with parchment paper
• Gathering volunteers and putting students in small groups would be beneficial

Introduction

Ask: When we are making cookies we have all these steps, can we do them in any order, or is the sequence of instructions important?

Activity

1. Divide students into groups of 4 and hand out cut up Chocolate Chip Cookie instructions.
2. Ask students to put steps in a logical sequence. Once correct, have them glue it on a paper.
3. Hand out ingredients sheet.
4. Have students in groups make their recipe following the recipe and algorithm they put in the proper sequence.
5. When the sequence is complete, have each group place their cookie dough on sheets you prepared.
6. Put cookies in the oven, talking to the class about the proper temperature and timing. Start a timer.
7. Enjoy cookies with the class!

Assess students' ability to work collaboratively in a group and evaluate their cut and paste algorithm (e.g. is the sequence in the correct order?).

Coding and English

While cookies are baking, have students think of a task they do every day and write out the “algorithm” for that task (e.g. brushing teeth). Have students cut out each step, trade with a partner and see if they can put each other's algorithms in the correct sequence.

English

Have each student share a favourite family recipe and create a class cookbook.

Math

Explore other recipes with a focus on measurement. Challenge students to rewrite the recipe if they half or double the measurements.

Design and Computing & Networks (Hardware and Software)

• View ‘The Robotic Chef’ and/or ‘A good egg: robot chef trained to make omelettes’
• Challenge students to create their own robot chef prototypes using recycled materials or just sketching their design.

Robotic Chef does all the cooking for you (Tech Insider, 2017)
https://youtu.be/SQjXaTlGHIY

A good egg: robot chef trained to make omelettes (University of Cambridge, 2020)
https://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/a-good-egg-robot-chef-trained-to-make-omelettes

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