A 6th grade math recipe project and family tradition
Let’s talk about that 6th grade math recipe project. Nothing says family like gathering around the table to stuff our faces with creamy garlic smashed potatoes, perfectly seasoned fresh zucchini and filet with a demi-glace. Oh, and don’t forget Grandma’s famous carrot cake as a sweet retreat to finish it all off.
For this very reason, out of all the projects I use with my students, my 6th grade math recipe project is the family favorite. Countless parents contact me in regards to this project and when you think about it, who would blame them? Each family basically gets a free recipe book of families’ tried and true recipes. I don’t know anyone who would turn down a free cookbook, even if it is created as a result of a 6th grade math recipe project.
6th grade math recipe project: Building classroom community
The students enjoy creating this project as much as the families enjoy cooking up those tasty recipes. Their mouths water as they scale the recipes up and down in their ratio table. Nothing builds classroom community better than sharing a meal. However, since that’s not usually possible, this 6th grade math recipe project is the next best thing. Students share family traditions and favorite recipes as they learn more about math and each other.
Savory standards
Not only is the outcome of the project delicious for families to devour, but a recipe project also packs several standards. Students practice and show their understanding of ratio tables and equivalent ratios in addition to fraction and decimal operations. Furthermore, all these skills push students to further their understanding of proportional reasoning.
Save room for dessert!
As stated earlier, each student chooses their favorite recipe to share with the class and creates a ratio table. The recipe is scaled anywhere from one to two hundred servings. Once all students have completed the project, the Ratio Table Recipe Book can be bound and shared digitally or as a paper copy for families to enjoy.
I prefer sharing the recipe book with families as a downloadable pdf file. This allows parents to view the recipe book without making endless copies. This can all be accomplished through the use of Google Slides. For more information on how to make your projects with Google Slides, check out The Ultimate Guide to Middle School Math Projects. The guide includes tips and tricks for implementing digital projects, grading time-savers and more!
Let's eat!
What are you waiting for, an invitation? Well if so, here it is. Dinner is at 6:00 PM. We are cooking up some delicious recipes from this 6th grade math recipe book. Bring dessert.
For more projects to use in your class, head over and read my top Fifteen 6th Grade Math Project Ideas. Also, don’t forget to grab your free copy of The Ultimate Guide to Middle School Math Projects. It is a complete game changer when it comes to planning and implementing projects in your middle school math class.
