This past spring, I put a post on Facebook as to how I could help teachers and one of the responses I received was to add more lessons to the Off to College Series. The
wish has been granted! This Off to College Series: STRESS lesson explores the concept of stress as it relates to first year college students. However, even if you aren’t teaching it from this perspective, there are a lot of engaging activities that can be used or adapted for other lessons about stress!
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!
There was a time when keeping students quiet was a challenge because all they wanted to do was talk! Now, not so much! Sadly, many students want to avoid
talking to you, their peers or anyone else at all costs. Importance of Small Talk is a great lesson to use with students at the beginning of the school year, new semester or even as part of a communication unit. Not only does this lesson give insight on the importance of small talk, but it encourages small talk among students and helps build relationships as they get to know each other! Continue reading to learn more…
Movies and movie clips can be a great way to add and increase interest to a lesson or topic. Jeff Brown, of Colorado, teaches a Psychology of Relationships
course (any many others) at Rampart High School and has an amazing collection of Relationship Videos that he has created for that class. He is graciously sharing his video collection with us, along with his websites which are chocked full of materials for various content areas. So, if you’ve been struggling to add more interest and engagement to your relationship lessons, you are definitely going to want to check these out!
Television is so different today compared to when I was young! Back in the day, we had one tv that got three major network channels and one PBS station for free. Cable was available in certain areas (not rural) at a cost. Television services have come a long way! Now, there are so many options to choose from and being able to sort it all out requires some level of comparison and analysis. This On Your Own: Investigating Streaming Services project requires students to do just that given specific budget parameters. This real world activity shows what many of them take for granted because their parents are paying the bill and they have no idea what’s involved!
Put the initial learning in the hands of your students with this Knife Skills Interactive assignment. The entire assignment is not only digital, but breaks down important knife information by topic and section. I used this with my upper level students in my foods class. For many, it was a review of information they had learned in junior high or other courses of mine. However, for those students who were new to the school or I didn’t have me in junior high, it gave them all of the basics about knives they needed before we headed to the kitchen to practice.
Paycheck Stations is a digital activity created while we were remote last year to help students get a better understanding of the concepts asssociated with earning a paycheck. However, the materials associated with each of the paycheck stations can easily be printed and placed at actual stations within your room for completion. It’s a great way to get students engaged and moving!
Many young people today think they are going to go out there and have their “dream” apartment (like they see on TV), complete with top of the line furnishings, etc. Realistically, most will find they will be grateful for any free or hand-me-down furnishings (although they don’t realize that now). I wanted students to create a “dream” living room where money was no object. Their furnishings were based on their personal style, using the web-based technology Polyvore Home and they had to keep a list of expenses. Then, they had to replicate the room on a reduced budget as closely as possible using online department stores, again keeping track of their expenses. Not only did this project end up being an eye-opener for them in terms of cost, but they learned they could have a similar look, spending much less money. Oh, and did I mention, they also had a lot of fun “decorating and shopping” for a period or two!
Excited to be collaborating again with Arlene DeJoy-Meckes from Twins and Teaching blog and TPT store to bring you this Check Writing Game Board review activity! If you teach the basics of writing checks and balancing a checkbook register, this will be an engaging addition to your lesson!
Below is a list of topical FCS Related Podcasts for your summer listening pleasure! I will admit that I have not listened to all of these, but I’ve been accumulating the list for over a year and most of the suggested podcasts came recommended through educational sources. If you discover any that should not be on this list, please let me know. Additionally, if you have suggestions of podcasts that should be included, please let me know and I will update the list.
