1 of 19

The Arizona STEM Acceleration Project

Food as a Tool- Sourdough Starter

Lesson 1

2 of 19

A K-1 STEM lesson:

Can be adapted for grades 2-12

Sarah Ellison

01/17/2024

Food as a Tool: Sourdough Starter

Lesson 1: Making a Starter

3 of 19

Notes for teachers

This lesson is the first of a three part lesson that takes place in a classroom. It is a 15 day unit. After the first three days, each lesson should take 10 minutes or less.
Divide students in 6 groups, each group will have their own starter set.
The starter will take 14 days to develop It must be fed over the weekend or put in a refrigerator to slow growth.
This lesson focuses on younger children, but can be as simple or complex as needed for multiple grade levels.
This lesson is perfect for teaming up with an upper grade!
Lesson 1- Click here
Lesson 2- Click here
Lesson 3- Click here

List of Materials

The Bread Pet Picture book or video. .
Student Data Sheet (one per student)
6 half-pint wide-mouth jars (one per group)
6 tablespoon measuring spoons (one per group)
6 plastic spoons (to mix and scoop starter)
6 rulers (to measure the height of the starter)
12 Rubber Bands (two per group)
pH paper (that will detect from 3.5-8.0 at the accuracy of at least one decimal place)
6 pH color keys (one per group)
6 different types of flour (one per group)
Distilled water (If you do not have access to distilled water, let water sit, uncovered, overnight in order to remove the chlorine.)
Paper towels
Pencils for data recording

4 of 19

Unit Objectives:

We will create a starter using one of the six flours.

We will describe what is a microbe.

We will explain what organisms we are feeding in the starter.

We will determine how microbes change the rise and aroma (smell).

We will collaborate and communicate with our peers and submit our data to Sourdough for Science.

5 of 19

Kindergarten Standards

Arizona Math Standards

K.L2U1.8 Observe, ask questions, and explain the differences between the characteristics of living and non-living things.

K.L1U1.7 Observe, ask questions, and explain how specialized structures found on a variety of plants and animals (including humans) help them sense and respond to their environment.

K.MD.A.1 Describe measurable attributes of a single object (e.g., length and weight)

K.CC.C.6 Identify whether the number of objects in one group is greater than, less than, or equal to the number of objects in another group.

K.W.7 With guidance and support from adults, participate in shared research and writing projects (e.g., explore a number of books by a favorite author and express opinions about them).

�K.W.8 With guidance and support from adults, recall information from experiences or gather information from provided sources to answer a question.

K.SL.3 Ask and answer questions in order to seek help, get information, or clarify something that is not understood.

K.RL.5 Recognize common types of texts (e.g., storybooks, poems); identify the front cover, back cover, and title of a book.

Arizona ELA Standards

Arizona Science Standards

6 of 19

First Grade Standards

Arizona Math Standards

1.L2U1.8n Construct an explanation describing how organisms obtain resources from the environment including materials that are used again by other organisms.

1.MD.A.2 Express the length of an object as a whole number of length units, by laying multiple copies of a shorter object (the length unit) end to end; understand that the length measurement of an object is the number of same-size length units that span it with no gaps or overlaps.

1.OA.D.7 Understand the meaning of the equal sign, and determine if equations involving addition and subtraction are true or false

1.W.7 With guidance and support from adults, participate in shared research and writing projects (e.g., explore a number of "how‐to" books on a given topic and use them to write a sequence of instructions).

1.W.8 With guidance and support from adults, recall information from experiences or gather information from provided sources to answer a question.

1.SL.2 Ask and answer questions about key details in a text read aloud or information presented orally or through other media.

1.RL.4 Identify words and phrases in stories or poems that suggest feelings or appeal to the senses.

Arizona ELA Standards

Arizona Science Standards

7 of 19

Agenda- 15 Day Project

*Sourdough for Science requests 15 days of data be submitted to their website.

Day 1 (Lesson 1- 45 minutes) Read Bread Pet Video: Welcome Demonstrate or show Video: Make your starter Data Collection	Day 2 (Lesson 2- 30 minutes) Feed your starter Aroma Wheel Data Collection	Day 3 (Lesson 3- 30 minutes) ● What is a microbe? ● Feed your starter ● Data Collection	Day 4 (10 Minutes or Less) ● Feed your starter ● Data Collection	Day 5 (10 Minutes or Less) ● Feed your starter ● Data Collection
Day 6 (10 Minutes or Less) ● Feed your starter ● Data Collection	Day 7 (10 Minutes or Less) ● Feed your starter ● Data Collection	Day 8 (10 Minutes or Less) ● Feed your starter ● Data Collection	Day 9 (10 Minutes or Less) ● Feed your starter ● Data Collection	Day 10 (10 Minutes or Less) ● Feed your starter ● Data Collection
Day 11 (10 Minutes or Less) ● Feed your starter ● Data Collection	Day 12 (10 Minutes or Less) ● Feed your starter ● Data Collection	Day 13(10 Minutes or Less) ● Feed your starter ● Data Collection	Day 14 (10 Minutes or Less) ● Feed your starter ● Data Collection	Day 15 (10 Minutes or Less) Feed your starter Data Collection Submit Data to Sourdough for Science (https://scistarter.org/form/sourdough-science)

8 of 19

*Sourdough for Science requests 15 days of data be submitted to their website.

This unit is divided into multiple lessons. Three of the lessons are approximately 30-45 minutes, while the other days take approximately 10 minutes or less. See calendar for details.

Lesson 1: Approximately 45 minutes

Focuses on the introduction of a Sourdough Starter and building a foundation of basic data collection using PH levels and height.

Lesson 2: Approximately 30 minutes

Introduce Aroma Wheel with multiple objects. Continue basic data collection of height, PH levels for data collection, and add aroma.

Lesson 3: Approximately 30 minutes

Explore what are microorganisms and how they can be good or bad.

Agenda- 15 Day Project

9 of 19

Lesson Prep

1 half-pint wide-mouth jars labeled with flour type
2 Tablespoon measuring spoons
Plastic spoons (to mix and scoop starter)
Ruler ( I put duct tape over the inches so they only worked in mm)
Rubber Bands ( To mark height of starter and hold the paper towel)
PH paper (that will detect from 3.5-8.0 at the accuracy of at least one decimal place)
A pH color key
Distilled water
Paper towels�

Label the bags of flour and place each flour type in a basket with supplies. Each group will get:

10 of 19

What is a Pet?

Day 0 Intro: 10 minutes

11 of 19

12 of 19

Is bread a pet?

Read Aloud

13 of 19

Day 0 Activity: 30 minutes

Explain to students that for the next several weeks they will be citizen scientists. They will be responsible for growing their own bread pet, or starters, in the classroom and taking simple measurements to help add what we know about bread! Watch Sourdough for Science: Welcome. Although there are many recipes to create a starter, it’s important to follow Sourdough for Science instructions if you intend on submitting the data.

1. ) Divide students up into groups of 2-4, depending on how many mason jars/supplies you have. Assign each group one of the six types of flour: emmer, einkorn, red turkey, wheat, rye, all-purpose, and millet ( millet is gluten free if you have students with allergies.) New flours are added frequently to the site so feel free to check out other flour options at https://scistarter.org/form/sourdough-science.

2.) I recommend the teacher watch the video Sourdough for Science: Demo., but demonstrate in person step by step for the younger students.

14 of 19

Start Day! Day 0:

Step 1. Have grouped students sit together and pass out one basket to each group.

Step 2. Have teams take turns measuring 2 Tbsp of their flour into your jar. Next, add 2 Tbsp of distilled water.

Step 3. Mix with a plastic spoon, and then use the spoon to scrape any flour-water paste back down the sides of the jar.

15 of 19

Start Day! Day 0:

Step 4. Measure and record the height of the flour-water paste (in cm) on your data sheet.

16 of 19

Start Day! Day 0:

Step 5. Scoop a small amount of your starter into a spoon, and touch one side of a strip of pH paper to the starter. (This allows the starter to soak into the pH paper, but keeps the other side of the paper clean and easy to read.) To measure the pH, match the color of the paper to the color key on the package.

Step 6. I told my kids to skip the Aroma box and that we would come back to it tomorrow. Be sure to check out Part 2 for Details!

17 of 19

Start Day! Day 0:

Step 7. Cover jar mouth with paper towel and secure with lid ring or rubber band. Clean ALL tools and return them in their basket. Place all jars in a secure location away from direct sunlight. Collect data sheets.

18 of 19

Assessment

Have students draw a directed drawing of a jar with the spoons. Ask students how many spoons will be blue and how many will be brown. Remind students they must be equal!

Review Questions

Is our bread pet, the starter, a living or non-living thing? Why?

What will feed the microbes, the bacteria and yeast, in our sourdough starter?

What can you use the sourdough starter for?

Day 0 Assessment: 5 minutes

19 of 19

Differentiation

One way to differentiate in this lesson is to reinforce the pets example. Ask the student if all living things such as a bird and shark eat the same thing. Explain that the microbes are another living thing, but don’t eat the flour and water to survive.

Remediation

Extension/Enrichment

Younger Students

Compare the effect on the sourdough based on the different flour types.
Bake bread
Create a Recipe Book

Older Students

This lesson was created with the youngest student in mind, however there are so many more opportunities for upper grades. Sourdough for Science has Middle School & High School standards and activities listed on their website!

Some ideas include:

Guided Reading Passages
Map My Microbes
Plotting Different Variables
Finding Volume