Be Careful What You Write!

At the beginning of the year I do this activity in science to teach about writing a clear, consice procedure. I pair the kids up, show them a bag of bread, peanut butter, a jar of jam, and a knife. Together with their partner, they have to write me the step by step directions for making a peanut butter and jam sandwich. Then, I follow their directions to see what exactly I end up making. It's pretty fun, and at first most kids don't even tell me to take the lid off the jars or take the bread out of the bag, so I'm unable to make the sandwich. After I finish trying to make sandwiches with little success, I let the partners try writing the procedure again. The second time usually results in pretty successful sandwiches. Kids love it, especially when I follow directions to a T and end up with a messy result. Anyway, that's the activity my kids have been working on this week. Now, I have three kids in my class who had me last year in my 4/5 split. I knew that those kids would know exactly how specific they needed to be in their directions to make a sandwich. I had paired up those kids, and waited to do them the very last. Out of about 12 partner pairs, only one pair was successful with a "normal" looking sandwich. Then I took Mary's directions. Mary was quite excited. Mary and Sam had know exactly what to do, and they knew they got it right. I put their set of directions under the camera for all to see. Mary and Sam were very specific, and had 14 steps to their procedure. Everyone was impressed, and Mary and Sam were quite smug. Their first step said, "Take your hand and grab the jar of peanut butter and twist the lid off." Most all steps began with, "Take your hand and..." I had a good time with that one. They were a bit too specific, but hey, I knew what to do with their directions, and that was the point. I followed their directions exactly, and ended up with a wonderfully made peanut butter and jam sandwich. Then I got to step 14. I started to read it out loud, and then burst out laughing! Step 14 said, "Now call out, 'I'm finsihed!' and eat your sandwich!" So I called out, "I am finished!" and I ate the sandwich I had just made...