The following are ideas for using
Pancakes, Pancakes! in the classroom.

• Submitted by Cheryl Biekert

  I teach K-2 special education. This year we used Pancakes, Pancakes! to help celebrate Pancake Tuesday—the day before Ash Wednesday. We tied this in with Mardi Gras and also learned how and when Pancake Tuesday originated. This is a great multicultural experience. Of course, the best part is making our own pancakes!!

• Submitted by Dawn

  After reading Pancakes, Pancakes!, I bring the book to life with my kindergarten class and make pancakes. We focus on math as we measure and mix the ingredients. I make several types of silver dollars pancakes: blueberry, chocolate chip, banana, plain, etc. Each student then decides on their favorite and votes for it on a class graph using colored paper circles. We discuss the concepts of more than, less than, how many more, etc., and have a yummy treat.

• Submitted by Lisa Wilson

  You can incorporate Pancakes, Pancakes! into a unit on nutrition and food groups. The children can sort the pancake ingredients into food groups. They can see which food group has the most ingredients by creating a graph, then decide whether or not pancakes are good for you.

• Submitted by Cheryl Dop

  During my Eric Carle unit with preschoolers, I always read Pancakes, Pancakes!. For our art project, I have the children cut a pancake out of brown paper, then use a hole punch to punch blueberries out of blue paper. The children glue the berries onto the pancake in the sape of their first initial. We follow this by making real pancakes. Using an old squirt bottle filled with pancake batter, we write and cook pancakes in the shape of their initials.

• Submitted by Sharon Hanson

  While reading Pancakes, Pancakes! as a class, we stop frequently to discuss where wheat grows, how to grind wheat into flour, how to churn milk into butter, etc. Over the next week, we grind wheat, make butter, and do all the other things needed to make pancakes. If a student has chickens at home, we try to take a quick trip to his/her house and gather an egg or two for the pancakes. On Friday, we make pancakes. It is an opportunity for children to see where food comes from, since most of us are “city folks.”

• Submitted by Serena Buckner

  After reading Pancakes, Pancakes! by Eric Carle and Pancakes For Breakfast by Tommie DePoala we make pancakes using the recipes from both books. The children measure, mix, and watch as the batter turns into pancakes. We discuss the changes that occur during this process. After we make pancakes using both recipes, the children do a taste test and graph the pancakes they liked the best. Then we compare and contrast the recipes. The children conclude this activity by writing letters to the author of their favorite pancake recipe.

• Submitted by Julie Bryant

  I used Pancakes, Pancakes! when introducing journals to my kindergartners because everyone loves pancakes. Their first journal entry, after I read the story to them, was to draw and tell the teachers what their favorite pancake was. We got some really creative pictures and great answers!

• Submitted by Jenn Uher

  First, we make a single recipe of pancakes. After, we find out how many pancakes that single recipe made, we figure out how many times we would have to make the recipe so that everyone in our room could have two pancakes. We also figure in the secretary, principal, custodian, etc. Then we figure out the correct measurements and make some pancakes!!!

• Submitted by Joan

  When you make the pancakes, it offers a great graphing opportunity. Make a graph skeleton (bar probably) - distribute tan or manila circles. After students sample different recipes or pancakes with different toppings, they color the “pancake” to look like the one they liked the most. Then they paste the pancake on the appropriate graph point.

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