April is National Autism awareness month so I thought it would be a good time to share a mini-lesson on the subject. The Autism Mini-Lesson gives an overview of Autism, dispelling the myths from the facts and culminating with an awareness project. This would be a great addition to your disabilities unit or use as a stand alone for your child development or parenting classes.
Earth Day is right around the corner and if you’re in need of a lesson and activity around sustainability, then you definitely want to check out “Which Bag is Best?”. In this lesson, students explore various types of bags and then use their critical thinking skills and the decision making model to make an informed decision. Additionally, students will make an earth-friendly repurposed bag from a t-shirt in class that can be used for their gym clothes or shopping. Don’t have sewing machines? Don’t worry, I’ve got you covered!
When teaching about what influences our food choices, it’s important to include the impact of social media. This lesson, Influence & Impact of Social Media on Food, Diet, Nutrition & Body is a ready to use resource that does that in a variety of ways. Be sure to check it out!
Do you teach a Parenting or Child Development class and need a new idea for teaching about child safety? Sharing a new Child Safety Lesson & Spot It Activity for you to try! The beauty of this lesson is that it is versatile and can be used digitally or you can print off the slides and set it up as stations to incorporate movement into your routine!
Recently, I saw a kit for a Peep Cookie Coop and it made think that this could be a great STEM challenge for students in the spring of the year, similar to the
gingerbread houses many do in the winter. The “Marshmallow Peep Coop: STEM Design Challenge” is a great opportunity to test your students’ creativity, teamwork, and problem-solving skills while they have fun designing and implementing STEM concepts. Continue reading to learn more!
It’s March and that means spring, warmer temperatures and basketball playoff games! Why not add some excitement to your class by adding a Dessert Madness Championship? This can be around general or specific desserts such as muffin madness, cookie madness, pie madness, ice cream madness…you get the idea. This also makes for a great bulletin board display if you choose to enlarge everything!
When you teach about grains, do you include quinoa? If not, you might want to consider exposing your students to this ancient grain. In this Quinoa Mini-Lesson & Lab, students get a quick overview followed by a tasty 43 minute lab and quick project! Take a look, give it a try and give your students a chance to try a potentially new food!
February is always associated with hearts and love! Are you and your students familiar with the love languages? Why not use this Love Languages for Children Lesson to teach your students about Gary Chapman’s five love languages as they pertain to parenting? Read on to learn more.
One of the best ways I’ve ever taught about plating and presentation to middle schoolers revolved around premade snack foods: aka Twinkies and Yodels! This Make It Fancy Lesson & Lab is an instant hit with students and it’s really an easy low-prep lab for teachers to implement as well! Need something quick and easy, give this two day lesson and lab a try…you won’t regret it!
Family Strengths: Game Night is a great way to teach your students about components that make up a strong family! Not only does it get the entire class involved, but it’s a lot of fun! While many students may have grown up with a night set aside for games, many don’t get this opportunity for “community” in their own homes so this exposes them to it as well as a variety of board games that have them communicating, collaborating, thinking, practicing patience and good sportsmanship among others. It’s also a great lesson to do around the holidays as it is a pretty low prep lesson on your part, but engaging enough to keep students interested.
