Colleague & Former classroom teacher:
Feedback From: D, Tiffany The lesson I reviewed including Health & Wellness and Informational standards was very intriguing. The topic is so fascinating and the underlying educational objectives are truly worthwhile. I liked how you tied together items that could easily be retrieved from a textbook into a critical examination of the food world we live in. The idea grabs the students’ attention and gets them to think about their place in society and how that affects what they eat, or should eat. As per the construction of the lesson plan, I would look into a visual calendar that details the objectives, standards, materials, and questions that would be used each day of the unit. You have a wealth of sources, make sure they are organized for the MS as well as the teacher—so anyone can go in and help the students. The handouts provided are great springboards to greater conversations and I would allow time to discuss items with students so they have a personalized outlook on the topic. The process is monitored through journals and discussions, but you may want to include a rubric to keep students on track. The outcome of a public service announcement or visual allows the students to think through what they would like to present and why those items are important to the audience, what do they want to express in such a manner. This is a wonderful way to assess critical ideas and reasoning skills. The self, peer, and teacher evaluations are a great tool to discover the impact this unit had, but you may want to also follow up with more journals throughout the year to see if there is any change in personal behaviors. Hope that helps. Tiffany D.
Colleague & Former classroom teacher:
From: L, Julie I am particularly intrigued by the collaborative potential between high school students and their elementary-aged counterparts. Because food and health choices are such a timely and complicated issue, students do not always have the freedom of choice when it comes to what and when they eat. It makes sense to me that working towards a personal understanding of wellness could be augmented by participating in conversations and activities with younger students. Upon reviewing the content of the leading lessons, it is clear that these students would be well-prepared to have authentic learning experiences with younger students. From my own experience working with students on wellness education at the elementary level, authentic experiences in health and wellness take lots of time and attention. Too often the choices available to students are not really choices at all. Empowering children to consistently make good health choices can seem like a daunting task. I can see that fostering a sense of awareness and autonomy regarding one’s own health and wellness is coupled to the health standards in meaningful ways throughout this unit of instruction, which will in turn facilitate authentic understanding. Julie Classmate:
From: C, Jennifer Here you go... :) Your unit looks interesting. When I think back to high school health class, I did not do anything like this. It seems like more fun than listening to lectures and writing papers. I think your idea of sharing information with elementary school kids is great. Elementary kids look up to the high schoolers; a healthy activity with the high schoolers will surely have a postive affect on the young kids. I also like the variety of sources you have available. You mentioned there are students in the classroom with learning disorders, so having DVDs and books available on tape is a great way to help different ablility students through the project. Although the science garden does not appear to be a key part of your project.. I wonder... Are all of the students from the health class in the same science class that is planting a fall garden? If not, will it affect this health class project? ~Jenny
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