For a lesson on smell:
Add each of the ingredients to the bowl, smelling each one as they go in.
Spread the oat mixture on the tray.
Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 mins.
During baking time, do another activity e.g. perfume making.
When the baking oat bars start to smell, ask students if they smell them.
Did they smell this smell in the original ingredients?
During baking, chemical reactions between the ingredients and the heat of the oven made new odour molecules. These smelly molecules bump through the air until they reach your nose.
Once the oat bars are starting to brown, remove from the oven and divide among the students.
Discuss with students that smell is a big part of what we call taste. Ask if they have noticed that when they have a cold (and their nose is stuffed up) that they can't smell so well, and that tastes also change.
Ask students to hold their nose when they take their first bite of oat bar. How does it taste?
Now ask them to release their nose and take more bites. Does the taste change when smell is added in? A lot of what we taste is actually smell.
For a lesson on sources of food for birds:
Add each ingredient to a bowl, while discussing where it comes from (which living thing makes it) and who would eat it.
Mix all ingredients together. Firmly press into a lightly greased baking dish (about 6X7 inches). Bake in a 350F oven fro 15 mins, or until golden.
Let cool and cut into squares and give a bar to each student.
