Growing Bread Mold
This is a tactile (taste, that is) language experience experiment that compares a control to experimental group in a fun way.
Objectives: Students predict what will happen to old bread. Students compare how moist bread differs over time from dry bread.
Materials:
Procedure:
First share the bread with butter with the students and have them describe what they like about the taste as they are eating it. After this, show the students several slices from the loaf they have just eaten. Cut the slices into equivalent smaller pieces. Distribute two petri dishes to each group. Have each group mark one dish "A" and the other "B". Place a small piece of bread into each dish. Spray the dishes marked "B" with the water bottle until thoroughly soaked. Leave all pieces in the "A" dishes completely dry. Place all the dishes in the same place. It must be a place that is fairly warm and out of direct light.
Prediction and writing:
Ask the students to predict if they think the pieces will change. In three weeks check the dishes. When the mold has grown considerably, present the dishes to the students. Review the previous predictions and have the students write detailed descriptions about which dishes changed and how. Why is one group moldy and the other simply dry? What was the only difference between group "A" and "B"? What allowed the mold to grow?
Close:
What does this tell us about keeping bread around the kitchen? How can you tell if bread has gone bad? Close with another loaf of fresh bread with butter shared by the class.
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