Cooking and Close Reading

Close Reading of Functional Text: Recipes

When I talk about close reading with students and other teachers, I frequently share a list of reading activities that require close reading. Following a recipe offers an authentic purpose for close reading and is usually part of my list. That is because functional text (which includes menus, schedules, and recipes) gives students a chance to see the real-life convergence of academic and life skills. The first College and Career Readiness Anchor Standard for Reading (listed under Key Ideas and Details) says that students must “read closely to determine what the text says explicitly.” Certainly readers must do this when they follow a recipe. Anchor Standard 4 for Reading (listed under Craft and Structure) explains that students must “interpret words and phrases as they are used in a text” (National Governors Association Center, 2010). Once again, all cooks have to make sure they understand the words in the directions. If they don’t, kitchen mishaps—make that disasters—might occur. By drilling deeper into the CCSS Reading Standards for Informational Text, you can learn more about expectations for students in your specific grade.

When students read and process a recipe, they put these two Anchor Standards for Reading into practice. For example, they return to the text several times for different purposes. Possible purposes for rereading include checking the ingredients or verifying a measurement or the order of steps. Domain-specific words and step-by-step directions require careful thought and understanding. Using a recipe, a procedural text, promotes a practical purpose for close reading and encourages students to make progress toward meeting both of these critical reading standards.

As part of working with a recipe, students also practice many of the skills listed under Comprehension on the CAFE Menu. The skills are Back up and reread; Use prior knowledge to connect with text; Make and adjust predictions; Use text to confirm; Monitor and fix up; Infer and support with evidence; Make a picture or mental image; Ask questions throughout the reading process; Use text features (titles, headings, captions, graphic features); Summarize text; Include sequence of main events (in this case, steps); Determine and analyze author’s purpose and support with text; and Recognize and explain cause-and-effect relationships (Boushey & Moser, 2009). These CAFE Menu comprehension skills, which emphasize careful attention to the text, are needed for close reading.

As you can see, there’s a lot of potential learning contained in any one simple recipe! In addition, exposing students to functional text promotes wide reading. It builds students’ familiarity with the characteristics and text features of functional writing and helps learners make progress toward Anchor Standard 5 for Reading (also listed under Craft and Structure) “Analyze the structure of texts” (National Governors Association Center, 2010).

Planning for Recipe Reading

Think for a minute about the literacy-related tasks involved in a recipe:

·       Reading the list of ingredients

·       Assembling the tools needed for the job (mixing bowls, spoons, measuring cups)

·       Adding the ingredients to a grocery list OR

·       Checking labels or using environmental print to find ingredients at home

·       Shopping for food items (checking for coupons, sale ads, etc.)

·       Following the steps of the recipe in order

·       Comprehending the actions required by the recipe

·       Rereading the recipe to be sure you do exactly what is written

To engage students with recipes, see if you can find some quick and healthful ones that can serve as mentor texts for close reading with students. These recipes have a twofold purpose: they will be a valuable source for close reading and can provide a fun learning activity later if you decide to cook with your students. The recipes can be as elementary as those for making fruit salad, vegetable soup, trail mix, or even ants on a log. You can use cookbooks that feature pictures and drawings to aid very young children. Your school librarian may be an excellent resource for easy children’s cookbooks and food-themed picture books that feature recipes. These recipes are potential sources for close reading tasks.

Reading Recipes Closely

Based on the age and reading ability of your students, you can determine how much scaffolding to give before learners read the recipe. As they read, instruct students to mark unknown words as well as any crucial information. (If children are new to annotating, share a simple method for marking the text such as underlining key words, circling important verbs, or inserting a question mark or exclamation mark as they react to the text.) Scan the room and notice words that students are marking. Next, invite students to talk with a partner about what they have read. After partner talk, ask for volunteers to share their conversation and name words or phrases that they didn’t understand. Jot down those words and include them in your subsequent teacher think-aloud. Then voice your thoughts as you read the recipe out loud (both ingredients and directions). Follow the reading with some text-dependent questions.

Your text-dependent questions can be based on the kinds of ingredients, the order of the steps, and the author’s purpose. (Is it to entertain, to persuade, or to inform readers?) Encourage children to refer to the text for answers to the questions and mark the evidence. You can also pose inferential questions, ranging from Why did the recipe say to fold, not beat, the blueberries into the batter? to Why does the recipe say to allow the cupcakes to cool before frosting them? to Why does the recipe say to chill before serving? to How does this recipe contribute to healthful eating? You can offer all students, especially English learners, the opportunity to engage in kinesthetic activities to reinforce the meaning of actions such as stirring, mixing, kneading, pouring, folding, sifting, measuring, and more.

Enlisting Help

If you are fortunate enough to have parent volunteers or classroom paraprofessionals, you can enlist their help in working with small groups on a recipe. Encourage them to talk with students about the recipe as they help children prepare it. Include upper-grade classroom buddies, who may be able to assist younger students with close reading of the recipe and any planned cooking.

Extending the Learning

Building on the reciprocity between reading and writing, you can invite students to write about their cooking experience. Younger students may work with you on a language experience story, helping you create a narrative about their cooking activity. Older students may work independently or in small groups to detail their culinary experience, including the ingredients they used, the steps they followed based on their close reading, and the actions they took. They can even write their own recipes. Intermediate learners can compare two or more different recipes for the same dish. By reading each recipe closely and then comparing them, children put into practice Anchor Standard 9 for Reading (listed under Integration of Knowledge and Ideas) as they “analyze how two or more texts address similar themes or topics” (National Governors Association Center, 2010). Comparing recipes for the same dish is an exercise in intertextuality that is a perfect blend of life skills and academic skills.

Communicating with Home

Via your classroom newsletter, website, or Friday folders, you can send home kid-friendly recipes for students to create with a parent or caregiver. Of course, students and their families will have to read those recipes closely—always a good thing! Note that a school literacy night is the perfect opportunity for parents, children, and staff to have fun by cooking together and using their literacy skills in the process. Invite parents to send child-friendly recipes to school as well, to strengthen bonds between home and school. You can ask older students to edit, illustrate, and assemble the recipes into an end-of-year book to distribute to families. Don’t forget to reserve one for the school library! This book will supply a chance for further close reading as well as some fun family-related literacy activities.

As you know, the beauty of working with recipes and cooking with kids is that it engages them through hands-on learning. It compels them to read closely for an authentic purpose. It helps them acquire life skills in their quest to be college and career ready. Most importantly, it connects their learning to the real world in a very “delicious” way!

Reminder: If you prepare food items with students in the classroom, be sure you know about your students’ food allergies and dietary restrictions. Let parents know in advance what the students are “cookin’ up.”

Works Cited

Boushey, G., & Moser, J. (2009). The CAFE book. Portland, ME: Stenhouse.

National Governors Association Center for Best Practices & Council of Chief State School Officers. (2010). Common Core State Standards for English language arts and literacy in history/social studies, science, and technical subjects. Washington, DC: Authors.