Category: Foods & Nutrition

SKETCHNOTES: The “Magnificent 7” Baking Ingredients

After reading Tisha Richmond’s blog & book titled, “Make Learning Magical”, I wanted to give sketchnotes a try. The problem was, finding a good topic. In addition, I wanted to amp up the excitement to get my students to buy into the concept.  Since there are 7 baking ingredients, I decided to call them the “Magnificent 7” because of how well they work together, similar to the characters in the movie of the same name. The first day of sketchnotes was met with mixed reviews….some students grumbled, while others really got into it.  Later, some of the students who were a bit skeptical said they actually liked it and found it relaxing! I loved that my students bought into this concept and I have to admit they were fun to grade!

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Plant Based Proteins Part II: Seeds

If you visited the site last week, you saw that the plant based protein lesson was focused on beans and legumes. This week is a continuation of plant based proteins, concentrating on seeds!

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

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.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Mindful Eating: A Talking Point Lesson & Activity

Talking point lessons may just become a reoccurring series!  I love when I stumble upon a topic that is both interesting and engaging, but doesn’t require a lot of time and effort. These types of lessons are great for sub plans, unexpected assemblies, early dismissals or weather delays that can wreak havoc on keeping classes on the same timeline. Many districts are requiring teachers to present their students with e-lessons on snow days.  What better way to do this than with a talking points lesson that you can cater and adapt to your needs!  This lesson and activity revolve around “mindful eating” because most of us often do the opposite!  So, learn more about how you and your students can become more mindful of your eating! On a side note, if you have a topic that might lend itself well to a talking points lesson and/or activity, please let me know in the comment section below and I’ll see what I can do!

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Food Preparation Video Project

There’s a big push in education to incorporate more technology into the classroom!  Because of this, Kara Emig of Oxford, PA  wanted to develop a project that would be interesting to her students.  She also wanted them to  be able to add their own element of creativity.  The fun and engaging food preparation video project she designed has students creating their own recipe videos just like the ones you see all over social media!  Kara’s students created their videos during the cookie unit, but the beauty of this project is that it is versatile enough to use with any food unit!

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

MyPlate Stations & Activities

Tired of creating web-quest style assignments only to find that the website has changed and your web-quest no longer meshes, leaving you to reinvent the wheel?  This is partly why I created the MyPlate stations. The information within the stations was created using reliable website sources which I will cite below. Therefore, the content won’t change, unless the information gets updated when the guide gets reviewed every 5 years.  Additionally, stations allow students to move around, work at their own pace and use the resulting notes to complete follow-up assignments or activities that reinforce the material.  Read on to learn more…

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

The Basics of Soup!

Did you know that January is National Soup Month?  Soup is the perfect comfort food for a typically cold, winter month or any other day for that matter!  To celebrate this meal which has so much to offer in the way of health benefits, versatility in its types, and cultural ties, I’ve created a Hyper-Slide of activities to help students learn more about soup.  Read on to see how you can add a mini soup unit and lab to your repertoire!

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

FACS Content Related Documentaries

There are a ton of documentaries out there related to Family & Consumer Sciences.  I’ve compiled a list by content area and included links to both the documentary and a viewing or discussion guide, if it was available, for easy access. Documentaries can make great sub plans especially when you know you are going to be gone for a few days!  Please share, in the comment section below, any documentaries that you use that you do not see listed and I will add them along with any viewing or discussion guides.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

The Basics of Cake!

Students always want to bake cakes!  Maybe it’s because the cakes they get at home are typically prepackaged or out of a mix!  Don’t get me wrong…those are great once in awhile and have saved me on more than one occasion, when time was at a premium!  However, when talking to students, I get the impression that most only get scratch baked cakes in rare instances or on very special celebratory days!  I guess I was lucky growing up because my family baked cakes often, as desserts were a delicious way to end the evening meal!  Because of this, I was fortunate to be exposed to a variety of different cakes.  The funny thing is that while growing up, I thought there were tons of different types of cakes, but in reality there are only a couple! This lesson focuses on a cake overview of history, types, solving cake problems and includes some labs, focusing on the two basic types of cakes!

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Parental Feeding Styles

Until recently, I wasn’t aware that the parenting styles affected anything other than how children are treated in regard to following rules, handling misbehavior and discipline. Well, it turns out that parental feeding styles can also be applied to the way that eating patterns and habits are managed with children. This lesson incorporates this information and has students researching strategies to help children develop a healthy relationship with food. So, read on to learn more about how you can teach this concept and theory in your child development, parenting or nutrition classes.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email