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Consumerism, Life Skills, Life Skills Resources, Living on Your Own, Uncategorized

Insurance: Mayhem Project

by K.Graybill • December 4, 2015 • 3 Comments

Teaching about insurance can get a bit intense and to be honest, sometimes boring. In order to make the insurance unit aMayhem.Project.Scene little more exciting and hands on, I had students create 3-D scenarios and scripts as though they were pitching new material for an insurance advertisement similar to All State’s Mayhem commercials. Students created some humorous, yet realistic scenes and then rotated through the stations to apply their insurance knowledge. How do you make teaching insurance more interesting and fun? Share in the comment section below.

Child Development, Child Development Lessons, Family, Living on Your Own, Parenting, Uncategorized

Families in Crisis

by K.Graybill • November 27, 2015 • 2 Comments

Teaching about families in crisis can be difficult especially when you don’t always know what’s going on in the home lives of your students. However, it is important to discuss because every family, at one time or another, will face one or more at some point in their lives. No one is immune. This lesson and video case study is just one of many that could be used in the classroom. I like it because it is a way for students to apply all of the information learned about families as well as explore some crisis themes in more depth.

Clothing, Clothing & Textiles, Fashion Design

Fashion: Barbie Draping Project

by K.Graybill • November 20, 2015 • 8 Comments

How many of you remember playing with Barbie when you were little? Furthermore, how many of you remember designing clothes for said Barbie? I remember both, so I can’t wait to share this creative project designed by veteran teacher Deb Crockett from Canon City High School in Colorado. Deb has been assigning this project for the last 10 years. This lesson was prompted because she wanted to give her students a hands on experience to the different areas of the fashion industry. This project gives them a chance to be creative in so many ways. Students get to be a fashion designer, a fashion photographer, a fashion writer and they can then expand on their graphic design knowledge by creating the poster. This poster could also be produced using their computer applications skills learned in their business classes. You never know when you might spark and interest in the students, and bring back some fun memories at the same time!

Baking & Pastry Arts, Culinary, Culinary & Baking, Food Science, Foods & Nutrition, Life Skills Resources, Living on Your Own, Technology

Dry & Moist Heat Cooking Methods Lesson & Lab

by K.Graybill • November 13, 2015 • 3 Comments

I find that most students don’t know the difference between dry and moist cooking methods. This lesson and lab help them to understand the difference and explore the various ways that the same food can be prepared using different methods. Students enjoy the interactive activities within the lesson as well as preparing and tasting vegetables as they practice and apply some of the techniques. This lesson also incorporates the vocabulary tool Quizlet which helps students learn their terms in an interactive way. Students actually ask me to use Quizlet on a regular basis to learn and assess terms.

Child Development Lessons, Foods & Nutrition, Nutrition, Parenting, Technology, Uncategorized

To Eat or Not to Eat? Foods & Pregnancy

by K.Graybill • November 6, 2015 • 1 Comment

Many equate being pregnant with being able to eat “whatever” you want. After all, you are eating for two! However, there are many foods that are off limits during pregnancy. This unique lesson engages students by having them individually examine an assigned food to ascertain whether it should be eaten or avoided during pregnancy. With their newly acquired knowledge, they create a mini-poster using technology for use in a gallery walk activity. From there, t-charts are created and a group discussion ensues as to the correct placement of each food. “To eat or not to eat? That is the question.” Give it a try and see if your students aren’t highly engaged as they discover the answers to this infamous question.

Baking & Pastry Arts, Culinary, Culinary & Baking, Food Science, Foods & Nutrition, Nutrition, Uncategorized

Apples: Web-Activity & Labs

by K.Graybill • October 30, 2015 • 1 Comment

It’s fall, apples are in season and they are relatively inexpensive! Varieties of apples are sold everywhere from roadside stands to grocery stores so why not incorporate them into your foods class? That’s exactly what Jessica Uplinger of Field High School, Ohio did. Jessica created this lesson and lab because she has very large classes and needed a thematic unit where she could divide up her class and have half of them in the kitchen preparing a lab while the other half is engaged with an assignment. The end results? Her students ended up enjoying every aspect of this lesson, especially the labs! Why not give it a try in your foods class?

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