Stromboli Lab

As we begin the downhill slope to the end of the year, I like to work through the section of the MyPlate Diagram and have students prepare dishes for each group. For the Grains group, we made Stromboli. Students first did a small Webquest on basic grain information, then watched a demonstration on how to make a Stromboli (with fresh dough of course), and then made their dough. During the demonstration, students had to take notes about how to prepare the recipe, because all directions were left off of their recipe. It was helpful in keeping students engaged and listening because they couldn’t be successful in lab without the directions!

Today, students prepared their Stromboli and then created advertisements about one type of grain to encourage others to eat more a that grain in a healthy way. There wasn’t a lot of leftovers, so I think lab was a success!

Here are links to all the assignments my students completed in the lab

Grain Advertisement Assignment

Grains Online Assignment

Stromboli Demo Lab.docx

Exercise Tasting in Nutrition and Wellness

As part of our overall wellness unit, today we did an “Exercise Tasting” activity to give students a chance to try out a variety of different exercises. I did include Meditation as one of the exercises, because exercising and calming the mind is an important part of overall wellness.

I am blessed to have access to Beachbody On Demand, so I used the availability of different exercise programs through Beachbody to make today work. They had 7 stations, (Yoga, Weights, Kickboxing, Pilates, Cardio, Meditation, Walking). Students complete between 5 and 7 minutes at each station, and answered questions to evaluate each exercise after spending time completing the activity. It was a great way to get students up and moving and giving them a chance to try out different exercise programs. Exercise isn’t a one size fits all, and if students can find activities they enjoy now, they will be able to create healthy habits that will last into their futures. I had fun, and I hope they did too!

Here is the assignment sheet they completed during class. Exercise Tasting

Updated Classroom Tour

I wanted to share a few updated photos of my classroom, since it has had quite a makeover since my first classroom tour (Classroom Tour 1). I have taken out quite a few tables to make more room, and updated my classroom to a move flexible seating or coffee shop style seating. My students love the choices in seats and the ability to work in different areas where they are comfortable.

It took a while for me to decide to go with a flexible seating arrangement because it meant giving up a little bit of control about the space in my classroom and where my students sit. I still make suggestions when needed, but giving students the choice to make a simple decision about where they learn best has worked really well!

This is the view from my desk, which is in the corner of the room.

This is the view from the back of my room. Right now, I can seat up to 20 students in my classroom, and my average class size is around 16, so there is plenty of room for my students and choices for them to sit in a place that is best for their learning needs.

I also turned an old podium that I decided not to use anymore into a Makerspace Area. This area works great and doesn’t take up a large amount of area, but still holds quite a few supplies for my Makerspace.

Personal Nutrition Analysis

As we moved into Personal Nutrition in my Nutrition and Wellness class, I wanted to find a way to personalize this unit to make it real for my students. To start, I gave each student a small notebook (fits in a pocket), and we talked about how many calories they needed a day for survival, weight loss, or weight gain. Then we divided the days out and students began simply tracking what food they were eating everyday, how much, and their water intake. After two days, we analyzed their calorie intake from both days to see where their current eating plan fits into a healthy lifestyle based on calorie intake.

They have tracked their diet for two more days and when we come back from Spring Break, they will analyze how those two days fit into the My Plate Guidelines and if they are eating the right foods for their dietary needs. Through all of this, we have had great discussions on healthy eating and making small lifestyle changes. These activities have been a great way to get students interested in seeing how nutrition plays a critical role in their overall health.

Here are the two assignments students completed or will complete to analyze their diets.

Daily Calorie Intake

Food Groups Analysis

District D STAR Event Results!

We traveled last Wednesday to District D STAR Events and here are the results of my students hard work and dedication to FCCLA!

Tori -Fashion Construction-Silver Medal, State Qualifier

Emma -Life Event Planning-Gold Medal-State Qualifier

Tegan -Chapter Service Project-Silver Medal-State Qualifier

Gavin -Food Innovations-Gold Medal-State Qualifier

Trinity -Live Event Planning-Gold Medal-State Qualifier

Magi-Recycle and Redesign-Silver Medal

Mariah and Kacia-Focus on Children-Gold Medal

Abby and Laney-Chapter in Review Display-Gold Medal-State Qualifier

Claire -Chapter Service Project-Silver Medal-State Qualifier

Clara-Life Event Planning-Silver Medal

Austin -Chapter in Review-Gold Medal-State Qualifier

Aubrie, Chloe, Lydia -Chapter Service Project-Bronze Medal

The Consequences of Child Abuse Lapbook

Here is a great activity for students in a Child Development course, Human Growth and Development, or Foundations to Early Childhood class. I have a Foundations class that would rather complete a project than take notes, so I try to find creative ways for them to learn the information they need.

Child Abuse is often a hard topic to talk about for me, because it is so hard to see the damaging effects of child abuse. It can also be a pretty sensitive topic depending on the students in our classrooms. I wanted students to learn more about child abuse and really look at the damaging effects as well as see real stories about child abuse and the effects of it. After my students have completed this project, we are going to have a discussion day to talk about the things they learned from the project and about ways we can help children who are victims of child abuse and what we can do to be proactive in the prevention of child abuse.

This activity is based on several lap-book ideas I have seen on the Family and Consumer Sciences Teacher’s Facebook group. Not all these ideas are my own. I took ideas from other teachers to create a project that could fit into my class for the needs of my students.

Project Directions Here: The Consequences of Child Abuse Lapbook

If you happen to use this project in class, please share pictures of your students work here, so we can see all the great things happening in FCS classrooms!

Listen Videos

Often times, as FCS teachers, we have to be out of the classroom because of professional development or FCCLA. I try to find meaningful videos for my students to watch if I need to be gone and they aren’t completing assignments or projects. I watched all of the Listen Series Videos when they first aired on BYU-TV. They are 25 minute videos that follow the life of a person from the time they are young until they reach young adulthood. Each one is different and has different trials they are faced with. (ALL TRUE STORIES). I found they work great in Human Growth and Development classes and in Family Studies courses when discussing the affects of family and relationships on the lifespan. Below is a link where you can watch the series online. They are also available for purchase, and you would get the complete set of videos. I created a couple of viewing guides for episodes we have watched in class. They are linked below too. Happy Watching! Listen

Listen Series Online

Viewing Assignment Sheets

Listen Series-Simon

Brotherhood. Zeke and Eli

Girl in the Mirror Listen

The Life of a FCS Teacher

"Wish a little wish, hope a simple hope, dream a happy dream"