Tag: High School

The Discipline Game

You’re babysitting or you’re a parent and you’ve got a misbehaving child or children on your hands. What’s the best method to handle the situation; guidance or discipline? Sometimes students have a difficult time knowing the best way to handle a misbehaving child. So, this game was created by Laura Vaske of Linn-Mar HIgh School in Marion, Iowa because she wanted her students to be able to think about when to apply certain techniques in misbehaving situations. She also wanted them to think about more than just HOW to implement the technique and more about WHEN to implement a technique. So, check out her game and give it a try the next time you’re teaching about guidance and discipline!

Fashion Designer Tribute

Students research famous fashion designers and showcase their major designs in this interactive assignment. Students pay tribute to their fashion designer by creating new, original pieces inspired by the works of their designer. Students then present and share their designer with the rest of the class. Any part of this project can be used for instant bulletin board displays or hang the sketches and see if students can “name the designer” based on the drawings.

Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder

When teaching about environmental birth defects, I like to address a 100% preventable, but 100% irreversible birth defect known as fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD). Students learn about FASD by participating in a variety of interactive activities.

Spiciness Lesson & Lab…The Heat is On!

Ever notice how many different types of peppers are available in the grocery store? Not only are they vibrant to look at but they also contain different levels of spiciness or pungency depending on the variety. I wanted to expose my students to the characteristics of these unique vegetables giving them an opportunity to learn more about the various species of peppers or chiles, ways to cook with them and challenge themselves to see how the heat level changed the taste of a product as well as how much heat they could take.

Hands Are for Holding, Not for Hurting Child Abuse Activity

Sometimes a teacher needs a variety of lessons and activities to choose from relating to the topics taught in the curriculum for different reasons. Sometimes, it’s because you just want to freshen up your plans or because the amount of time you have to teach something changes. Sometimes, it’s because new resources become available that you “just have to implement”. Sometimes, it’s because you need variety due to the personalities and dynamics of a class. Regardless of the reason, I thought I would share a new little project that I created and did with my Child Development students based on the child abuse topic: shaken baby syndrome.

Sodium Lesson

I’ve always viewed sodium as a “Catch 22” flavoring agent! It’s one of those minerals your body needs to function correctly, but if under or over consumed, serious health issues can result. So, when I teach this information to my students I try to get them to understand why it’s good, why it’s bad, where we find it and how to reduce it. Of course it’s always fun to follow it up with a low sodium lab and/or a unit on herbs and spices, teaching them how to prepare foods that taste good, with or without the “Catch 22” flavoring agent. So, encourage your students to put on their detective cap and investigate the amount of sodium in the foods they are consuming!

Zentangle Tile Cookies

It was the end of the school year and I had just finished a decorating unit where students had to create a shoe box room applying the elements of design. The art teacher had just finished a Zentangle project with her students. So, we had this idea to use the last couple of school days to merge our classes together to create Zentangle cookies using edible markers. This idea was based on a Michael’s project, but adapted to fit our needs. This was a fun, easy project that students had a good time designing and eating and one I would definitely do again!

Meeting Baby’s Needs: Post Cards from the Heart

Nearing the end of my unit on infants, I was in search of a creative idea that encompassed all that I had covered in regard to meeting the needs of babies. Below is the project I developed, assigned my students and then crossed my fingers. I’m never sure how a totally new project is going to be received, not to mention what kind of work I will get in return. Needless to say I should not have worried as my students, were not only completely engaged, but turned out some creative, well written post cards!

MyPlate Fairy Tale Flip Books for Children using Flip Snack

The goal of this assignment was for students to write a story or fairy tale that encouraged young children to eat all of the food groups on MyPlate. I really wanted this to be student driven so I introduced the project, shared an example and let the creativity flow. My role was to walk around, monitor progress, address any technology issues and answer questions as they came up. It was kind of like a flipped classroom, although I’ve never technically done this. Anyway, the results were very impressive and students were highly engaged for the entire project!

Water: The Overlooked Nutrient

Water is one of the six essential nutrients that is often overlooked and forgotten. Water is so important to our health and after viewing the Fed-Up documentary, I wanted to show my students why it’s a better alternative to their sugar laden soda and juices. This lesson can be used as a follow up to sugary beverages or it can be used as a stand alone lesson. Either way, the emphasis is on the role and importance of water in our diet, using Memes as a fun, humorous way to generate the message.