Reading Rainbow Home Page
Author: Gail Gibbons
Publisher: (Macmillan Publishing Co.) (pb. Alladin)
Description: It's fresh and cold, foamy and white, and one of nature's most nutritious foods: milk! Thanks to THE MILK MAKERS, everyone learns how this delicious treat travels from a dairy cow to the neighborhood supermarket. LeVar visits California's dairy country and gets a lesson on how to milk a cow by hand and an introduction to the modern way of milking and feeding 600 cows.
Activity Suggestion: Help your students shake up a batch of butter. When cream is shaken with enough force, the fat globules in the cream stick to each other and this creates butter. (Stirring does not create enough force.) Butter is a source of fats, which the body uses for heat and energy. Butter also contains vitamin A, which assists with good vision and is necessary for healthy skin, eyes, bones and teeth, and vitamin D, which is necessary for normal growth as well as health bones and teeth. Materials: Heavy cream, crackers (optional), commercial butter, baby food jars. Steps: 1) Fill a baby food jar 1/2 full with heavy cream and tighten the cover. (For quicker results, start with cream and jars at a cool temperature.) 2) Have students take turns shaking the jar vigorously in an up-and-down motion for 25-30 minutes. 3) When all the butter seems to be separated from the liquid, drain off the liquid (buttermilk), and rinse the butter with cold water.
For activity ideas beyond what is listed, contact Canadian Learning CompanyŽ for information about obtaining a teacher's guide. Call 1-800-267-2977.