A writing lesson you can check with a fork
This looks like a cooking lesson. It’s a writing lesson. Your children cook pancakes, then write the recipe so someone who has never made them could follow it without asking a single question.
Then comes the Pancake Test. Someone follows the recipe word for word while your child watches. Every time they stop to ask “How much?” or “What goes in first?”, your child has found the exact sentence to fix. Nobody had to mark it in red.
Same kitchen, different grade levels
Cook once and everyone eats. Then each child takes the writing task for their level:
- Grades K–2: draw first, next and last, then dictate the recipe
- Grades 3 & 4: write it in order with first, next, then, last
- Grades 5 & 6: write it twice, for family and for a stranger
- Grades 7–9: the recipe plus a short food memory
- High School: the recipe plus food writing that borrows one technique from a published writer
What’s inside (8 pages)
- A one-page guide for the parent, including the hard part: not correcting it
- The pancake recipe, tested and written for children to follow
- Writing tasks for every level, K–12
- A “My Recipe” page and the Pancake Test sheet
- Fold It In: Gather, Measure, Fold In, Serve
About 1½ hours. You’ll need the ingredients, a pencil, and one person who has never made these.
Liked it? Keep going
The Pancake Test is Unit 1 of Recipe to Write. The full books continue with Drop Cookies, Cornbread, Gingerbread, Bread and Soup.
Grades K–2 · Grades 3 & 4 · Grades 5 & 6 · Grades 7–9 · High School
In partnership with Lisa Nehring · Created by Gina Glenn Steffy
Lisa Nehring and her husband, Dr. David Nehring, a Clinical Psychologist, and Biblical Scholar speak together on a wide variety of topics, including education, classical education, vision, mission, parenting, marriage, and more.
New here? Start with our free guide, The Fourfold Method: A Guide for Homeschool Families. Four simple moves that help your children keep what they learn, in every subject and at every age.
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