After students learn about the dietary villains, we compare a variety of fast food potato options looking at calories, fat and sodium levels. We compare different fast food options calculating calorie, fat and sodium differences and then apply it to an alternative fast food potato recipe prepared in the lab. Students then choose a fast food menu item, researching to find a healthier homemade version that saves them calories, fat and sodium in this fast food project makeover.
The dietary guidelines recommend that we limit these three bad boys: fat, sugar and salt (oh my!) in our diet to reduce our risk of serious health effects. Sometimes this is easier said than done with teens! In order to make this more interesting and palatable for my students, I’ve turned it into a mini comic book project. That is, of course, after they’ve initially learned a little about these dietary villains!
While you hope nothing ever happens, it’s important to child-proof a house for potential injuries just in case. It’s always better to be safe than sorry! The safety hazards room by room walk about activity is an engaging way to brainstorm and get students up, out of their seats, critically thinking, communicating and collaborating with their peers.
When teaching about whole grains, I like to cover the following six categories: wheat, oats, rye, rice, corn and barley. I do this as an overview because it’s a great way to introduce and expose students to a variety of whole grains that can be incorporated into different meals. After all, 100% whole grains are part of a healthy, nutritious diet!
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.
Looking for a fun, interactive and somewhat challenging activity when teaching about portions? I was! Since I love using breakouts, I created “Escape Portion Distortion” that can be done with the locks and boxes if you have them or digitally, using Google Forms if you don’t…win-win for everyone!
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!
You might wonder why I have so many lessons and/or activities for the same topic. The truth is I teach three different classes where I need to cover “food safety” before I let students go into the lab/kitchen. I don’t want to do the same thing in each of those classes because many of my students I see again for other electives, hence, the need for variety! Even if you don’t teach multiple courses like I do, you may just want to shake up your own lesson or add this Food Safety: Web-Activity & Review to your arsenal of resources for future use!
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”.
Before I even think about letting my students into the kitchens to cook, I want to be sure they have a good working knowledge of the do’s and don’ts associated with kitchen safety. Kitchen Hazards Flipgrid Style is just one of the activities I use to convey and reinforce that concept. There are a lot of things I like about this activity. First, it’s mostly student-directed, secondly, it uses technology and third, it involves a variety of the 4 C’s: collaboration, communication, creativity and critical thinking.
