Tag: Middle School

Regifting: A Talking Points Lesson

Who hasn’t received a gift that simply “wasn’t you” and needed a gift, but didn’t have time to go to the store so you ended up giving that “unyou” gift to someone else? This
is called regifting and the concept became popular during the 1990’s in a Seinfeld episode, although I imagine it began long before then! This Regifting: A Talking Points Lesson explores this controversial concept in a variety of ways! It’s the perfect time of year to give it a try!

30 Days of Holiday Fun Project

December is a hectic time for most families making it even more difficult to spend quality time together. This 30 Days of Holiday Fun Project is a great project to help promote family bonding when schedules are busy and harried! Add diversity by incorporating many different holidays.  Read on to learn more…

NEAT=NON-EXERCISE ACTIVITY THERMOGENESIS

It was so much fun collaborating with Darci Friberg, a Missouri FCS teacher, on this NEAT=NON-EXERCISE ACTIVITY THERMOGENESIS lesson!  I can’t encourage peer collaboration enough as each person brings so much to the table in the way of ideas and perspectives!  I truly believe that we are better together. This lesson would be a great addition to a Food & Nutrition class, Health & Wellness class or even as part of a FCS Comprehensive class as it’s a topic we can all relate to even if you’ve never heard of it!  Keep reading to learn more about this concept and let me know if you want to collaborate!

Child Safety: Mystery Powder Identification

When teaching about safety in child development, it’s important to discuss mystery substances that may or may not be toxic, but look like a variety of possibilities. The Child Safety: Mystery Powder Identification is a quick little activity where students observe substances via pictures and try to identify the substance.  Not as easy as you might think! Read on to see how this works…

Bacon Lesson & Labs

My students would always tell me that bacon makes everything better and I agree!  There’s just something about bacon that amps up the flavor of
whatever it is paired with! I created this Bacon Lesson & Labs to help students learn more about bacon; where it comes from, cooking techniques, seasonings and even some fun, tasty labs!

Healthy Heart Visual

If you teach about healthy relationships and are need of an engaging assignment, check out this Healthy Heart Visual.  In this project, students get a tech break
as they create a hands-on visual representing characteristics needed for a healthy relationship. This semi-old fashioned project has them critically thinking about the meaning behind their selections as they construct and explain their visuals.

43 Minute Lab Series: Individual Fruit Pizzas

After noticing continuous requests for lab suggestions that are doable in 43 minute class periods, I’ve decided to do a recurring series, featuring recipes that can be completed from beginning to end in a 43 minute time frame. In some cases, longer recipes will broken into two day labs. In addition, I will include my pre-lab review questions that pertain specifically to the recipe. This helps to ensure that students are reading the recipe. It also allows me time to show any videos that may demonstrate the product or specific techniques. So, without further ado, I present the 43 Minute Lab Series: Individual Fruit Pizzas!

Children’s Book Character K-Cups

Last fall, I saw a lot of cute children’s book character pumpkin projects surface all over social media!  While the pumpkin characters are/were super cute, I feel like the project limited itself to only the fall season.  With that being said, I wanted to come up with a similar project, but one that could be done ANY time of the year and with minimal cost as empty K-Cups are used as the base of the character!  AKA~ Book Character K-Ups!  How’s that for sustainability and upcycling!

Plant-Based Rummy Card Game

In my opinion, two heads are always better than one!  When Arlene DeJoy-Meckes of Twins & Teaching reached out about collaborating on an activity for plant
based diets, I was excited to collaborate! The Plant-Based Rummy Card Game is a free resource reinforcement activity and assessment that can be used when teaching about plant-based diets. Read on to see what we developed!

Clothing Influences

Think about your closet full of clothing…what prompted you to buy all of these items?  Our clothing decisions are often influences by a variety of things.  This lesson on Clothing Influences is a great way to explore what guides our choices when it comes to clothing. Use this as an intro lesson to your clothing or fashion course or unit or as a stand alone overview lesson in a comprehensive FACS class or middle school program when you need to explore various FACS content areas in a short period of time. Be sure to check out all of the engaging ideas as you continue to read this post!