Tag: Middle School

The English Muffin Challenge

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The English Muffin Challenge was a spur of the moment lab! One of our school clubs had two packages of English Muffins left over from an event that they generously donated to us. In addition, I had several left over ingredients from some other labs that I didn’t want to waste. So, I threw it all together for a challenge lab! Students had 40 minutes to create an aesthetic, edible product using the English Muffin and following the parameters of the challenge. Overall, the results were successful, albeit some interesting! However, students walked away knowing they could put together a filling dish, using only available leftovers. The beauty of this type of lab is that the challenge and follow-up assignment could revolve around any food you have an abundance of and wish to use up!

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Scrambled Eggs: Experimenting with Liquids

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A student recently asked me why scrambled eggs tasted different at their friends and relatives houses compared to scrambled eggs made at home. Great question! I decided to let my students conduct an experiment by preparing scrambled eggs with different liquids in order to discover the effects each had on the eggs’ appearance, taste and texture. Not only did this experimental lab get the students into the kitchen to teach them how to make scrambled eggs, but it was a great way to incorporate a little food science into the curriculum as well!

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Teacher of the Month: Donna Cabrera

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Congratulations to this month’s teacher of the month, Donna Cabrera, a Family & Consumer Sciences Middle School teacher from Pennsylvania. While this is her first year teaching FACS, she is no stranger to the classroom, having taught Special Education for 10 years.

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Knife Skills: A Hands-On Lesson & Lab

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This hands-on lesson plan, shared by Marlee Barton of Kentucky, includes knife skill activities using Play-doh and graduating to real vegetables. A soup lab follows Sounds like a fun and delicious way to learn about knives!

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Baby Sign Language

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Occasionally, in my classes, I like to throw out little dilemma or problem situations that students must research and learn more about in order to make an informed decision. I’ve done this with baby sign language when teaching about infant language development in child development two different ways. Prior to going 1:1, I assigned this as an informational interactive foldable project, which could easily be used with interactive notebooks. I’ve also had my students use their iPads to learn more about the topic and then complete a writing assignment, applying their new-found knowledge. I also like my students to learn and share some easy signs with the class in an engaging and fun manner, where students have to use their brains and memory in addition to their hands!

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Learning About the Ages & Stages of Children through Dramatic Skits

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Middle school students can be high energy and constantly moving! So, it’s always best to keep them engaged, using interactive lessons and activities whenever possible. This interactive lesson and activity was shared by Donna Cabrera of Martin L. Mattei Middle School, Pittston, Pennsylvania. In this lesson, Donna has her students learning about the ages and stages of children in a fun, creative, dramatic way; skits! Continue reading to see how she does this!

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Felt Bookmark Sewing Project

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This fun project was designed by Sasha Roble of Central Dauphin High School, Pennsylvania as a beginner sewing project and can be utilized at nearly any grade level. Ideally, this is a great project to use in conjunction with a unit on time and resource management. The bookmarks are unique and provide students with the opportunity to construct a practical and useful product. They can be sewn relatively quickly (4 – 5 days) and are not costly to make.

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Vitamins & Minerals: Speed Dating Style

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Tired of having your students get up in front of the class and share presentations? Looking for a more engaging way to present materials to students without tying up days for presentations? This lesson not only has students learning about the role of vitamins and minerals in our body, but has them moving around, sharing the information in a conversational manner, with a technique referred to as “speed dating”. Read on for more details and give this technique a try the next time you need to share a lot of information quickly!

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Manners & Tablesetting: Breakout Style Reveiw Game

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Breakout games are so much fun! It’s hard to imagine that something so fun can also be educational! Breakout games encourage students to work together, against the clock to complete challenges associated with a topic you are covering in class. Breakout games can be used as a way to introduce a lesson or unit or it can be a culminating review activity before a test. Either way, students love them! I tried my hand at creating one for reviewing manners, calculating tips and how to set the common table. Give it a try and I hope your students like it as much as mine did! Warning: This can get extremely competitive!

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More Newborn How-to Stations Using QR Codes

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In need of more stations to accommodate her large class, Megan Piechowski of Centennial High School, Circle Pines, Minnesota developed additional activities with new topics to use with the newborn care lesson. The new topics are in keeping with the original lesson which includes the use of technology via QR Codes. Many thanks to Megan for graciously sharing her newly created materials!

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