Charting the C's logo with black and blue text Charting the Cs Conference 2025: To Literacy and Beyond Cooperation Communication Collaboration Cooking in the Classroom: A fun way to teach functional skills while embedding literacy, communication and social skills! Katy Coleman and Polly Moen Planning: The how to guide for creating a comprehensive cooking unit. What is the makeup of our classrooms and who else do we collaborate with? •We teach in a setting 3 autism classrooms Our students are with us 60% or more of their day •Demographics: 6 students and 2 Education Support Professional (ESP) •We have Kindergarten-2nd grade students •We have a variety of communication needs. oFully verbal students to fully non - verbal oStudent with devices. Some students are very fluent on their devices and others are just learning their device •Our teaching team for the cooking group is comprised of o2 teachers o1 speech therapist oDepending on the needs of the group, possibly an ESP or 2 How do we group students? •Cooking groups are based on a variety of factors Communication level of our students •We collaborate with our speech therapist to determine the groups •When a student’s communication ability may fit in either group, we tend to push them and group them with the students who are slightly more advanced. •Cooking groups are based on a variety of factors Behavior needs of our students •Does a student need ESP support to complete tasks? Is there enough adult support for that student in the group? •What are the triggers of the students? What do the other students do when not in the cooking group? •The other group is doing an art project in the other classroom. •We plan the art project each week and our ESPs run the group. Art activity worksheet featuring a turkey craft, instructions, and a colorful example. Cartoon character in winter attire smiling next to a snowman with a purple hat and scarf, featuring 'Super Simple' branding. Cover of 'Pete the Cat: Snow Daze' featuring Pete in winter gear shoveling snow with a snowy background and a yellow school bus. Winter craft featuring a mosaic paper tree on a snowy background with a blue sky. The group has a set of slides and the routine is the same for each week. oListen to a song oListen to a story oMake the art project oTake turns choosing songs from a song choice board How to choose a recipe? Where do we find recipes? Variety of factors We choose recipes based on a variety of factors oComplexity of the recipe oBuilding of vocabulary oOur students How to choose a recipe? Where do we find recipes? •Where do we find recipes oWe have created our own recipes oTPT: Search Cooking •Made for Me Literacy •Simply Special Ed •Mrs. D’s Corner •Complexity of the recipe oRecipes with a few ingredients or supplies tend to happen earlier in the school year oRecipes with simple directions happen earlier in the school year Step-by-step snack-making visual instructions featuring a baggie, chocolate chips, goldfish crackers, mini marshmallows, cereal, and eating the snack. How to choose a recipe? Where do we find recipes? Complexity of the recipe Complexity of the recipe Recipes with more complex directions or those that are group recipes are done later in the school year Step-by-step visual recipe for making 'Dirt Dessert,' including pudding mix, milk, Cool Whip, and crushed cookies. How to choose a recipe? Where do we find recipes? Choice. Complexity of the recipe Some recipes lend themselves to choice, in these recipes we let the students choose their ingredients Step-by-step visual instructions for making nachos, including adding sour cream, salsa, chips, and cheese, followed by eating and enjoying. How to choose a recipe? Where do we find recipes? Building of vocabulary •Building of vocabulary oRecipes that build off of vocabulary already taught •Example: If a spoon was used to stir in one recipe, the next month we may look for a recipe that uses a spoon to scoop instead. oRecipes that use different tools/utensils •Example: whisk, spatula, popcorn popper, etc… How to choose a recipe? Where do we find recipes? Our students •Our students oSome of our students are picky eaters •Recipes that have ingredients are students like but are presented in a different way How to choose a recipe? Where do we find recipes? Picky eaters •Our students oSome of our students are picky eaters •Recipes that have different textures ▪Collaborate with Occupational Therapist for students with limited foods ▪Think about how best to expand their pallets and sensory aversions oThink about having students touch or lick rather than eating How to choose a recipe? Where do we find recipes? Allergies •Our students oAllergies and cultural needs are also considered How to choose core words? •We collaborate with our speech therapist •We choose words that students: oSee in other recipes •Example : make, put in, open oUse in other parts of their day •Examples: help, I want •We may choose more complex phrasing to expand their sentences oExample: Can I have…? How to choose social skills? •We collaborate with our speech therapist •We consider IEP goals oThe social skills may not align perfectly with goals oWe may be teaching a prerequisite of the goal or expanding on a goal •We consider the dynamics of the group oWe may notice a lack of a skill during a group that we need to work on •Example: how to get others attention, how to wait a turn •We consider the recipe oSome recipes may lend themselves to turn taking or ordering from each other •We consider the dynamics of the group oWe may notice a lack of a skill during a group that we need to work on •Example: how to get others attention, how to wait a turn •We consider the recipe oSome recipes may lend themselves to turn taking or ordering from each other How do we pay for supplies? •We fund our supplies through our PTSA oWe are a line item in their budget every year oWhen we first asked, we explained the benefits of what our cooking group was. •Other ways to get funding oAsk your principal oAsk your special education department oAsk parents to donate money oApply for a grant oPut shelf stable supplies on the back to school supply list Prepping: Creating the materials you need to teach the cooking unit. Teacher materials •We create the lesson in Boom Cards. oYou could also use Google Slides or Powerpoint •Lesson slides are same week to week •Buy the supplies •Create any video models needed Student materials •Create the visuals oSpecific recipe visuals •Recipe •Taste test •Communication boards •Program AAC devices oConsult with your speech therapist on what words are needed or what word patterns are for certain words Preference chart with sections labeled 'I like' featuring a smiley face and 'I don't like' featuring an X. Visual communication board with the phrase 'Can I have the?' and picture options for items like a plate, salsa, bowl, chips, and dip. Implementation: Everything is planned and prepped… How to we put the plan in action? Weekly Cooking Slides: Used during weeks 1-3 Wash Hands Wash your hands is the screen students see when they walk into the room. They listen to a story on YouTube that is on theme for the recipe. Illustration of handwashing under running water with the title 'Wash Hands' in bold text above. YouTube video thumbnail for 'Narwhals Love Nachos Cheese - Read Aloud!' featuring an illustrated narwhal. Weekly Cooking Slides: Used during weeks 1-3 Sort recipe items into ingredients and tools End all lessons with a song on theme with the recipe Sorting chart with sections for 'Ingredients' and 'Utensils and Supplies,' featuring images of items like cheese, chips, salsa, and a spoon. YouTube video thumbnail for 'All The Nachos You Can Eat - Parry Gripp' featuring a cartoon dinosaur and nacho-themed background. Weekly Cooking Slides: Used during weeks 1-3 Core Words Teachers can chose from Core Words or Question Model depending on the group Question Model oVideo model of sentence step Visual with two labeled sections: 'Core Words' and 'Question Model' on a blue background. Communication board with symbols spelling out 'Can I have the?' followed by a blank space and a question mark. Weekly Cooking Slides: Used during weeks 1-3 Modeling Cooking Core words oModel where to find core words on LAMP device oSpeech therapist leads this part oSlides were made using Canva Illustration with the title 'Cooking Words' featuring a whisk, cookies, rolling pin, plate, and spoon on a green background. Core word image with the word 'NACHO' and an illustration of a nacho chip on a green background. Week 1 Cooking Slides 1.Students make a prediction based on ingredients and tools discussed in previous slide. 1.Students taste the ingredients used in the recipe Activity titled 'Make a Guess' with images of pizza pretzels, nachos, and popcorn arranged in columns on a blue background Activity titled 'Taste Test' featuring images of cheese, Doritos, salsa, tortilla chips, and sour cream on a blue background. Week 1 Cooking Slides; Like, Don’t Like 1.Students place the icons of the ingredient on either “I Like” or “I Don’t Like” mat 2.Students then move the icons from the “I Like” side only to their question mat. Preference chart with sections labeled 'I like' featuring a smiley face and 'I don't like' featuring an X. Communication board with the phrase 'Can I have the?' and images of items like a plate, salsa, bowl, chips, and sour cream. Time to make the recipe! 1.Students get a copy of the recipe to complete. 2.Students are working to ask staff and peers for the things they need. 3.Students are completing all steps of the recipe as independently as possible. 4.Students get to eat the snack at the end Step-by-step visual instructions for making nachos, including adding sour cream, salsa, chips, and cheese, followed by eating and enjoying. Week 2 Cooking Slides Students take turns answering a variety of questions on the board. Activity titled 'Recipe Questions' asking 'What did you make today?' with images of popcorn, pizza pretzels, nachos, and milk. Activity titled 'Recipe Questions' asking 'What tools or supplies did you use?' with images of items like a spoon, plate, markers, bowl, and measuring tools. Activity titled 'Recipe Questions' asking 'What ingredients did you use?' with images of items like Doritos, milk, cheese, salsa, sour cream, tortilla chips, a plate, and seasoning. Activity titled 'Recipe Questions' asking 'Did you like it?' with options 'Yes, I liked it' and 'No, I didn't like it,' featuring illustrated facial expressions. Week 2 Cooking Slides Reflection •Students then fill out a recipe reflection sheet to take home. •Students share what they did in cooking with their parents using the recipe reflection sheet. Black-and-white visual recipe reflection worksheet with sections for the dish made, tools used, ingredients, personal feedback, and recipe rating. Week 3 Cooking Slides 1.After the recipe, students work together to figure out the sequence of steps. 2.Students then complete a sequencing sheet to take home. 3.Works on retell skills 4.Helps with home/school connection. Sequencing activity with a four-step process labeled 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th, featuring images for choosing toppings, getting a plate, eating, and adding chips. Reflection: Did the lessons accomplish what we intended? What supports are still needed? Things we consider weekly/monthly •Are students grouped appropriately? oMove students based on communication, cognitive, and behavioral needs. •Other supports needed for the next week? oDecide on additional visuals that may be needed oRecord video modeling •Do we need to expand for more language? •Start the process all over again with planning, prepping, and creating slides/boom deck Charting the Cs logo Thank you! Katy Coleman and Polly Moen cacoleman@rochesterschools.org pomoen@rochesterschools.org