Category: Living on Your Own

Plant Based Proteins Part I: Beans & Legumes

I am a big fan of Michael Pollan’s work!  I especially like what he has to say about food in his documentary “In Defense of Food”.  Even if I don’t have time to show my students the documentary in its entirety, I do like to focus on certain parts of it.  One in particular are his 7 words that he uses to sum up healthy eating: “Eat foods–Not Too Much–Mostly Plants”.  It’s a great way to introduce students to different plant based foods!  Read on to learn more about how those 7 words equate to a lesson about beans and legumes.

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Insurance Lessons for Middle & High School Teachers

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!

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#ShowMeYourOvernightOats

Oats are a staple most cooks cannot live without!  How many other whole grains pack as much healthful variety into their product?  The thing I love about oats is the fact that they can be customized in so many recipes from breakfast foods, baked goods, healthy snacks, and even used in place of bread crumbs when making things such as salmon patties or meatloaf!  I wanted my students to see, taste and appreciate the goodness that oats have to offer so when I saw a YouTube ad by Quaker Oats promoting an oats contest, I knew how I wanted to incorporate this information into my grain unit.  However, if you don’t teach a unit specifically about grains, no worries as this can easily be incorporated into a breakfast  or healthy snack unit!

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Groceries to Your Door: Compare & Contrast–Convenience Worth the Cost?

Have you ever made the statement “I wish I didn’t have to go to the grocery store!  I wish my groceries could be delivered right to my door!”  According to the media, online grocery deliveries are expanding and on the rise.  This was a recent feature in our local Sunday paper and it caught my attention!  I thought it a great way to have students investigate, research and analyze how cost effective the convenience of these services actually are.  So, check out the activities below and if you have any suggestions, please share in the comment section below!

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Collards & Sense: A Food Dollars Curriculum for High School Students

Kayla Pins, a Family &Consumer Science teacher from Iowa, who was featured HERE, has been busy creating Collards & Sense: A free curriculum for high school students that helps students make wise choices with their food dollars.  She has graciously given me permission to share this amazing 10 day curriculum that is full of meaningful, engaging and enriching lessons and activities!  It is designed to be taught by any teacher and in any class, Family and Consumer Sciences certified or not, and kitchen setup or not. Activities are hands-on but require very little prep or purchasing for the teacher.

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Stress & Coloring: Good Idea? Bad Idea?

Students love to doodle! Children love to color! Adult coloring books are everywhere! The theory behind this phenomenon is that it is a way to relax and decompress, in addition to being a creative outlet. So, is this really a good way to deal with stress or just a trendy way to promote a product? This lesson focuses on stress, and has students investigating this theory by researching and application before deciding whether it’s a good idea or a bad idea!

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Deciphering Apartment Lingo

Finding an apartment, understanding the lingo and reading a lease should be skills that all young adults know how to do as they take on adulting responsibilities! I begin this lesson by having students decipher some common abbreviations that I’ve seen/heard used via an interactive game. Students then move onto deciphering actual apartment lingo, work with sample ads, read the classifieds (which may be foreign to some students) and eventually read and answer some questions pertaining to an apartment lease. This at least gives them an idea of what’s involved when the time comes for them to actually find an apartment!

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You Be the Dietician–Breakfast Foods

Do you teach an Advanced Foods and Nutrition class?  Looking for a rigorous assignment for students who have a strong understanding of the nutrients? You are in luck as Nikki Heflin, a Family and Consumer Sciences teacher of Indiana shares this breakfast lesson, several lab ideas and concluding assessment, placing students in the role of the dietician.  Check out her lesson below!

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The Laundry Room Breakout

Another breakout here…this time with laundry!  Laundry can be so dry and boring to teach that I wanted to put together something interactive and a little challenging for students to apply the information they learned.  This is in keeping with my other breakouts as the challenges involve completing activities that lead to four digit codes that unlock succeeding boxes, ultimately, reaching the final prize box!  I was not disappointed as students really worked well together in their randomly assigned teams, utilizing their knowledge and a little technology as they competed and collaborated to solve the challenges in under 43 minutes!

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Exploring Pasta

Pasta is one of my all time favorite units to teach in my Foods unit! Pasta is so easy, versatile, and economical that I feel every student should know how to prepare before they leave high school! I always tell my students that they will never go hungry if they know how to cook pasta. Use the provided slide to navigate through a variety of resources to learn more about pasta as your students complete this assignment and work their way into the lab.

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