Raindrop Cake

Type of resource: video, blog, webpage guidelines

Web address

Language: English

Description

Making a Raindrop Cake to explore the relationship between light and materials.

Scientific concept introduced

Investigating the relationship between light and materials.

Creative and critical thinking

Critical Thinking:

1. Analysis

2. Prediction

Creative Thinking:

1. Making

Mathematical reasoning

Measuring liquids (capacity)

Scientific thinking

1. Comparing
2. Drawing connections
3. Asking questions
4. Observing and predicting
5. Analyzing the results

Learning how to learn

1. Following guidelines
2. Having patience

Additional

1. Hand-eye coordination
2. Cooking skills of stirring and pouring
3. Safety in the kitchen
4. Cooking skills of pouring and stirring
5. Literacy – vocabulary development
6. Oral Language – listening and following instructions
7. Collaborative skills of sharing and turn-taking
8. Drawing skills

Raindrop Cake

Overall aims

● to enable pupils to investigate the relationship between light and materials
● to develop pupils’ skills in listening and following instructions
● to develop pupils’ cooking skills of pouring and stirring
● to develop pupils’ skills in measuring (capacity)
● to develop pupils’ skills in observing and predicting
● to develop pupils’ skills in turn-taking

Vocabulary – keywords should be understood

rain, raindrop, seaweed, clear, cloudy, light, transparent, solid, liquid, fill, full, half

Expected learning outcomes (operational aims)

The child will be enabled to:
● follow instructions
● Identify ingredients as being in liquid or solid form
● identify which materials let light through (transparent) and which do not (opaque)
● practice the skills of pouring and stirring
● practice using a spatula
● make observations and predictions during the experiment

STEM skills – to which the learning unit is related to

CORE STEM SKILLS

● Comparing
● Drawing connections
● Measuring liquids
● Asking questions
● Making
● Observing and predicting
● Drawing
● Analysing the results

ADDITIONAL SKILLS

● Hand-eye coordination
● Cooking skills of stirring and pouring
● Safety in the kitchen
● Cooking skills of pouring and stirring
● Literacy – vocabulary development
● Oral Language – listening and following instructions
● Following guidelines
● Having patience
● Collaborative skills of sharing and turn-taking

Teaching methodologies/activity outline

Teacher Note: The Raindrop Cake is so named because it looks like a raindrop. These cakes are made from agar, which is a gelling agent made from seaweed. It originates from a Japanese dessert – mizu shingen mocha. You will need to give the cake at least 1 hour to set in the fridge. Note that once taken out, it will begin to disintegrate after 20-30 mins as it melts and evaporates.

Introduction:

1. Show pupils the ingredients and ask them to describe, encouraging them to identify the different states of matter: water – liquid; Agar powder – solid; sugar – solid; fruit – solid.

2. Introduce the agar powder, explaining that it is made from seaweed and discuss. 3. Explain that today they are going to be making Raindrop Cakes. Write the word ‘raindrop’ on the board, asking pupils to describe rain and raindrops – ask pupils to suggest where they think the name for this cake comes from, eliciting that raindrops are that the cake looks like a large raindrop.

Activity:
(Ask pupils to work in groups of 5 or 6, reminding them to take turns).

Materials: (per group)
● 3⁄4 Cup water
● 1⁄4 Teaspoon Agar Powder
● 1⁄4 Teaspoon sugar
● 1 Piece of Fruit e.g. strawberry, blueberry, or chopped fruit
● Silicone Mould – ideally a hemisphere shape
● Small saucepan
● Spatula

Instructions:

Ask pupils to:

1. In a small saucepan, add the agar powder and sugar and gradually add in the water.

2. Stir the mixture carefully with the spatula until the agar and sugar are dissolved.
(Discuss pupils’ observations as the agar dissolves and the mixture changes from cloudy to clear).

3. (Teacher – carefully place the saucepan on a medium heat and bring the mixture to the boil, allowing it to continue to boil for about a minute. Then remove from the heat.)

4. Stir the mixture again with the spatula.

5. Pour half of the mixture into your mould.

6. Leave it for 10 to 15 minutes and then add your fruit.

7. Then pour in more of the mixture, filling near the top but not fully.

8. Leave the mixture in the fridge to set for at least 1 hour. Ask pupils to predict what they think will happen.

9. Once the mixture has set, you should be able to slide your raindrop out of the mould.
Ask pupils to discuss the results.

Sample Questions: What happened to the agar powder and sugar? (They dissolved in the water); What colour is the raindrop cake? (It is transparent – it allows light to pass through so that objects behind can be seen;); Can you name any other things which are transparent? (window, drinking glass, clear plastic bag)

Conclusion:

1. Ask pupils in their groups, to create a poster with two columns – drawing transparent objects in one column and opaque in the other.

Assessment of learning

Pupil observation sheet

Equipment and materials to be used in learning unit (tools, ingredients etc)

Materials: (per group)
● 3⁄4 Cup water
● 1⁄4 Teaspoon Agar Powder
● 1⁄4 Teaspoon sugar
● 1 Piece of Fruit e.g. strawberry, blueberry, or chopped fruit
● Silicone Mould – ideally a hemisphere shape
● Small saucepan
● Spatula