February 21 is Pancake Day.
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Pancake Race
The small town of Olney, England has been holding
a Pancake Race every year since 1445. The tradition began when a
housewife was cooking the family's traditional Shrove Tuesday pancakes
as the church bell summoning the townspeople to the shroving service
began to ring. Anxious to get there on time, the woman immediately
ran out the door, with her skillet still in her hand. This mistake
immediately turned into a beloved tradition. Entrants in the Pancake
Race must wait at the starting line, skillet in hand, until the "pancake
bell" sounds. Then they must toss their pancake in the air,
catch it in their skillet, and run the 400 yards to the church. Once
they reach the finish line, they must once more toss their pancake
in the air. When the race is finished, everyone attends the shriving
service in the church, then the whole town joins together for an
enormous pancake party!
Video of the world famous Olney Pancake Race |
Pancakes,
Please
(online OAITC lesson, including pancake history and activities)
Smart
Board Activity
Writing Prompts
Common Core for Writing Prompts
Books
Chamberlin, Mary, and Rich Chamberlin and Julia Cairns, Mama Panya's Pancakes, Barefoot, 2006. (Grades PreK-2)
Mama Panya and her son, Adika, are all ready for market day where Mama is planning to use her few coins to buy the ingredients to make pancakes for dinner. Adika is so excited that he can't help inviting all of their friends and neighbors. Luckily, all the guests arrive with gifts. A recipe, map, details about daily life and facts about Kiswahili and Kenya are included.
Fearnley, Jan, Mr. Wolf's Pancakes, Egmont UK, 2008. (Grades PreK-3)
The tables are turned and the big bad wolf is cast as a mild-mannered, aspiring cook. Determined to have pancakes, Mr. Wolf sets out to make them himself. However, he runs into many hurdles along the way - reading the recipe, making a list, purchasing the ingredients, etc. Like the Little Red Hen, Mr. Wolf asks for help from neighbors but gets none, although, of course, they want to share when the pancakes are finally made.
Isaacs, Anne, Pancakes for Supper, Scholastic, 2006. (Grades PreK-4)
Infused with the flavor of an American tall tale, this story tells of Toby, who bounces from the back of her parents' buckboard and into the depths of the New England woods where she must surrender various treasures to secure her safety. A wolf wears her beautiful blue coat, a cougar takes her sunny yellow sweater, a skunk gets her buck hide boots, etc. When a great big bear dons her bright orange mittens on his ears, the animals begin to argue over which of them is grandest. A chasing melee ensues, and they melt into a golden brown moat. The tree drinks up the critter juice and makes maple syrup for pancakes.
Numeroff, Laura Joffe, and Felicia Bond, If You Give a Pig a Pancake, HarperCollins, 2000. (PreK)
Spinelli, Eileen, and Joanne Lew Vriethoff, The Dancing Pancake, Knopf for Young Readers, 2010. (Grades 4-6)
Bindi's parents announce they are separating and that her father is moving to another city to look for a job. Told entirely in verse, the story relates the 6th grader's experiences, her feelings and snippets of daily life. Bindi's mother and aunt open a cafe, The Dancing Pancake, which is populated with interesting staff and costomers who help the girl create her own definitions of friendship.
Weston, Tamson, and Stephen Gammell, Hey, Pancakes!, Harcourt Children's, 2003. (Grades PreK-1)
While the adults sleep, two boys creep downstairs and join a girl who's already at work on a wild flapjack production line.
Oklahoma Ag in the Classroom is a program of the Oklahoma
Cooperative Extension Service, the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture,
Food and Forestry and the Oklahoma State Department of Education.
