To say that I’m a little obsessed with one-pagers would be an understatement! While worksheets are fine for assessing students on their knowledge of information, they don’t offer the creativity and engagement that one-pagers do. In this post I am sharing how I use “reinforcing family concepts via movies and one-pagers” as an alternative to a worksheet assignment. Two different program options are included just in case you don’t subscribe to Netflix.
Many years ago Carol Erwin, of Nebraska, shared an activity with me that gave students the chance to analyze the work of the family. Students enjoy reading about different families in children’s books as they complete a series of prompts. It’s important for children to see how families interact and be able to recognize and relate to different family structures, stages of the family life cycle, and family functions. So if you have access to a variety of children’s books about families or a local library, you may want to grab some books and check this lesson out.
In the past, I shared a technology based project titled, “Family Life Cycle: Prezi Project”. The project required students to create a Prezi to introduce their assigned stage of the family life cycle. I totally used that project until I didn’t! Why? My students are unable to create Prezi’s on their iPads; they can only view them. Because of this little snafu, I’ve had my students create hand generated collages around their assigned family life cycle stage, using their iPads to research the information. When students were finished, they displayed them in order on my wall like a train, and I must admit they looked pretty darn impressive!
My son recently introduced me to “starter pack memes” which I had to look up! He had to create one for a college “get to know you” activity and once I knew what it was, I thought it would make a great, fun and interactive activity. So, below you will find my starter pack meme ideas for topics that can be used in a variety of different content areas along with instructions for creating.
What do children need physically, intellectually, emotionally and socially in order to grow and develop? Students brainstorm ideas and share their knowledge of children’s needs to raise awareness and show others the responsibilities of parents and caregivers as they create their own “What Children Need Silhouettes”.
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!
Until recently, I wasn’t aware that the parenting styles affected anything other than how children are treated in regard to following rules, handling misbehavior and discipline. Well, it turns out that parental feeding styles can also be applied to the way that eating patterns and habits are managed with children. This lesson incorporates this information and has students researching strategies to help children develop a healthy relationship with food. So, read on to learn more about how you can teach this concept and theory in your child development, parenting or nutrition classes.
Conflicts exist everywhere: at home, at school and at work! No exemptions! However, just as the problems vary so do the ways ways that people may deal with them. Check out the interactive lesson below on how you can teach your students all about the various styles for handling conflict in both their personal and professional lives.
It does my heart good to see young children helping out in the kitchen! Back in the olden days, children learned to help out in the kitchen and even cook and bake at a fairly early age. Today’s children, not so much! One thing that I have noticed about my incoming 7th graders is that their culinary skills are severely lacking! Sadly, many students aren’t allowed in the kitchen to cook or experiment with food preparation, others simply can’t be bothered because “convenience” is easier and has become a way of life. Lastly, many may want to learn, but have no role models in their lives that can or will teach them as their parents and even grandparents just don’t cook! This lesson combines literacy and food prep as students learn the importance and benefits of why young children should be in the kitchen, helping to prepare foods with their parents. It also shows them how creating fun recipes can be an extension of the very books the children love to read. So, take literacy and food prep to a whole new level and show students how they can enjoy a literary feast!
What I love about this assignment is that it can be adapted to almost any topic that you want students to walk away with messages promoting positive thoughts, actions, and attitudes! I initially created this to use when teaching about healthy dating relationships and after using it thought of umpteen other lessons that I could use it with. So let me give you some background and suggestions for implementing this and then let your students have at it as they develop their own original slogans, messages and images about whatever topic you assign. This is also a great template to use when running a design contest or for club t-shirts or fundraisers!
