I have been incorporating the novel A Child Called It into my curriculum for at least 15 years. During that time, I have developed and/or accumulated many resources that reinforce the events and themes of the novel. This unit takes me 2-3 weeks to teach, depending on the projects I choose to assign from the below list.
There’s a big push in education to incorporate more technology into the classroom! Because of this, Kara Emig of Oxford, PA wanted to develop a project that would be interesting to her students. She also wanted them to be able to add their own element of creativity. The fun and engaging food preparation video project she designed has students creating their own recipe videos just like the ones you see all over social media! Kara’s students created their videos during the cookie unit, but the beauty of this project is that it is versatile enough to use with any food unit!
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs is one of those theories that is so versatile that it can be taught in a variety of ways and in a variety of classes. I know personally I’ve taught it in my child development course revolving around an infants needs and in housing lessons regarding how homes meet our needs. I also teach this concept in my Individual & Family Studies course when talking about what drives our behaviors, goals and even our decisions. The interactive lesson that ensues is the one I use in that class. It was set up to also include some reading and writing strategies and techniques because, in our school, we all have to help reinforce these concepts so that our school scores improve. However, I did also include some “hands-on” activity with play-doh as well as some technology because…it’s always fun to mix those two mediums together! Have fun and see if your students enjoy learning about Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs!
Aging is an event that happens to all of us, whether we like it or not! Students are often uncomfortable talking about aging because they fear it and, not only do they want to avoid it, they often think it won’t happen to them. They often view aging only from the physical perspective…little do they realize that it’s already happening to them in other ways. This lesson encourages students to view aging biases that are out there, including some they might hold and others that may have been directed at them! It doesn’t take long for students to see the similarities between the young and the old!
Tired of creating web-quest style assignments only to find that the website has changed and your web-quest no longer meshes, leaving you to reinvent the wheel? This is partly why I created the MyPlate stations. The information within the stations was created using reliable website sources which I will cite below. Therefore, the content won’t change, unless the information gets updated when the guide gets reviewed every 5 years. Additionally, stations allow students to move around, work at their own pace and use the resulting notes to complete follow-up assignments or activities that reinforce the material. Read on to learn more…
This lesson plan, shared by Taylor Covington of The Zebra, introduces students to a broad overview of insurance. The concept of this website is to make understanding insurance as ‘black and white’ as possible, hence the name ‘zebra’. At the end of the lesson, students will be familiar with basic insurance terms and concepts. This curriculum will provide supplemental information for a unit on Personal Finance. The lesson can be covered in two 50-minute class periods, and hopefully, is as easy for the teacher to follow as it is for the kids to learn!
