RACINE - Like an auto worker at the end of an assembly line, Max Mitchell put the final touches on a heaping salad.

"Ten shakes," teacher Heather Eisenman reminded Max, a first-grader at Wadewitz Elementary School, as he sprinkled the pepper.

Through the salad operation, Eisenman teaches the children in her special education class valuable life skills they might not absorb as easily from a book. Every other Friday, teachers and staff members at Wadewitz, 2700 Yout St., place orders and the students fill them.

"Most of these kids will be doing this when they get older," Eisenman said. "I figure, might as well teach them sooner than later."

Scanning the order forms tests their reading ability, she said. The customers put marks next to each ingredient they want, and each student gets to serve one of those ingredients.

"Where's our next 'X'?" she asked one student, ushering her past the cheese station manned by fifth-grader Dai'Jonn Luckett.

Measuring cups (or even half-cups, for more customized orders) is an exercise in math. First-grader Spencer Lake practiced stacking cucumbers in piles of five.

Students switch jobs each time so they can sample them all. Spencer's mother, Mary, said he gets excited anticipating his next task.

"He talks about it all week long," she said.

Some students, like first-grader Naomi Schauer and fourth-grader Terrius Beal, have taken their culinary skills home to build salads for their parents. Terrius dabbles in architecture, too.

"I made a ranch dressing tower," he said, showing off a stack of small plastic cups.

Cleanup is the least popular job, but it's something the students need to practice, Eisenman said. They also help as cashiers, which she said shows them how to communicate respectfully with adults and make eye contact.

Occupational therapist Ann Wiedenbeck sees salad-making as a good way for first-grader Kellontra Riddle to hone his fine motor skills. Using his left hand, he dished out a scoop of chopped mushrooms.

Of course, for the Wadewitz staff, it's more than an educational tool. It's lunch.

"It's like a 5-pound salad once you get everything on it," Wiedenbeck said.

Whatever cash is left over after paying for supplies goes toward games for the class or even field trips, Eisenman said. They might head to a bowling alley, the zoo or even the movies.

The most recent salad day on May 8 netted 45 orders. That's nearly double the volume the class usually handles.

"I never miss one," school nurse Julie Schaefer said, "and I never will."

How to Help

Eisenman's class is looking for help in obtaining slicers, mixing bowls and other supplies. To donate toward those items, go to http://www.donorschoose.org and search for their group, "Lettuce Toss A Salad!"