Traveling Caravan Entry #2
Tuesday, June 25, 2013
Topic: How is
Maple Sugar Made?
Yesterday
I had the opportunity to learn how maple syrup and maple sugar is made. I learned this valuable lesson at the
Somerset Historical Society, which is located in Somerset, Pennsylvania and
also one of Pennsylvania’s many National Historic Sights. All teachers know the more hands on a
lesson is the more information the students will remember from the lesson. The lesson will be introduced by asking
students where they think different products such as aspirin, tea, sugar come
from. More than likely must of the
students will respond by saying Walmart or Weis. Nowadays kids do not realize how much work was involved long
ago with getting simple items such as aspirin, tea or sugar. This lesson is to teach the students that back in the 1800’s
and earlier people who lived here in America did a lot more than just go to
Walmart to get the things they needed for everyday life. They had to make everything they wanted
and/or needed from scratch. (Content)
Students must identify 3 different
types of leaves: maple leaf,
sassafras leaf, and a weeping willow leaf. (DOK 1)
Each student would receive the three different types of leaves to put
into their science/history journal, a picture of the tree, and a label to go
with each. The students must
predict what substance can be made out of what tree. The choices will be Aspirin to relieve headache pain, tea,
and syrup/sugar. (DOK 2) The right answers are: Willow tree – Aspirin, Sassafras tree –
tea, and Maple tree – syrup/sugar.
Since this lesson is about making
maple syrup and maple sugar maybe I can find a kid-friendly movie or book on
making maple syrup. Students will
investigate the process of making maple syrup by a simple kid friendly
step-by-step instruction book on how to make it. (DOK 3) Students will write simple instructions
that go along with the book. When
they understand the process the students will be able to taste test the maple
syrup. We won’t be making any
maple syrup but I will be some made in Somerset County, Pennsylvania.
From this point I will teach the
students how to make maple sugar from the maple syrup. It must be heated too 290-300
degrees. Then it is poured into a
wooden bowl and stirred with a wooden spoon. The once hot boiling syrup will eventually turn thick. It will be harder to stir so the
students must take turns stirring it.
Eventually the stirring will turn the syrup into crystals and it will
look like brown sugar. (DOK4) (Creative Activity – last three paragraphs)
Standards: 3.1.1.A5,
A9; 3.1.1.B6; 3.2.1.A1, A3, A6
Check youtube...I found a great 12 minute video on making maple syrup....but a book would also be nice!
ReplyDeleteIf you get into maps of the world at all, you could compare where maple trees grow (and therefore maple syrup/sugar produced) with where the white cane sugar they are more used to is grown, discussing the plants that produce cane sugar.
ReplyDeleteThis also leads into why people might have produced maple sugar, as an alternative to cane sugar which was imported and therefore expensive, until transportation made it easier to import.