Family and Consumer Science

Northeast MS Family Consumer Science website (click here)

Mrs. Bokan - abokan@basdschools.org

Mrs. Ross - lross@basdschools.org

FAMILY AND CONSUMER SCIENCE (FCS)

(Originally known as HOME ECONOMICS):

Family and Consumer Science empower individuals and families to manage the challenges of living and working in a diverse, global society. Learners in Family and Consumer Science nurture themselves and others, taking increased responsibility for improving their quality of living.

Family experiences, to a great extent, determine who a person is and what a person becomes. Family and Consumer Science supports the development of the knowledge and skills that students need as family members both now and in the future, transforming this acquired knowledge into wisdom by applying it to real life.

Family and Consumer Science prepare individuals and families to identify, create, and evaluate goals and alternative solutions to significant problems of everyday life. Students are taught to take responsibility for the consequences of their actions. FCS classroom experiences allow students to develop the knowledge and skills needed in making choices to meet their personal, family, and work responsibilities.

Students of Family and Consumer Science are exposed to many facets of the subject.

In middle school, the main areas of study are Food & Nutrition and Sewing. Students will receive approximately 30 consecutive days of FCS instruction; fifteen days will concentrate on Foods & Nutrition and fifteen days will be used to teach Sewing Basics.

Most standards of FCS are taught within these two areas of study, as time will allow.

Hand sewing is taught in 6th grade; 7th and 8th graders are taught how to sew on the sewing machine. Students are encouraged to work as individuals but are also encouraged to aid others too; learning to be a student-helper shows cooperative skills. 

As part of the Foods and Nutrition unit, each student will learn about Preparation, Clean-up and Conduct/Behavior necessary in a timed cooking environment and at home. Students are graded on various facets of the cooking lab: hygiene/cleanliness rules followed, directions/recipes followed, ingredients measured, etiquette/table settings, dishes/utensils used appropriately, kitchen unit cleaned, dirty linens placed in laundry basket, timeliness, individual responsibilities, and cooperation/group teamwork. Most activities are hands-on to stimulate movement within the foods classroom. There are also seated activities and written work, as needed for proper education of the topic/lesson we are studying.

The Standards of Family and Consumer Science encompasses:

• The need for shelter for the purpose of safety, warmth and comfort.

• Family responsibilities

• Steps involved in food production: farm to consumer

• Food in various forms: fresh, canned, frozen, dried, irradiated

• Personal hygiene techniques in food handling: hand washing, sneeze & cough control

• Food-handling techniques: storage, temperature control, food preparation, conditions that create a safe working environment for food production; evaluation that affect food safety

• Food choices and a varied diet to maintain health

• Well balanced daily menu using dietary guidelines and the food guide pyramid

• Components of a basic recipe: volume, weight, fractions, recipe ingredients, recipe directions, safety techniques

• Food preparation techniques and food-handling procedures

• The science of food preparation: physical, biological, and chemical changes that take place during preparation

• Working as an individual and being a leader or team contributor

• Effective teamwork and leadership

• Consumer rights and responsibilities: to be safe, to be informed, to be heard, and to have choices

• Understanding of consumer rights and responsibilities for analyzing information of care instructions and safety precautions

• Advantages and disadvantages of holding a job while a teenager

• Consequences of alternative solutions against snap decision-making methods

• Importance of routines and schedules; importance of time management skills at home, school, and recreational activities

• Understanding the difference between short and long-term goals

• Components of a spending plan, which includes income, expenses, and savings 

• Knowledge of different types of housing available: single home, apartment, mobile home, shelter, recreational vehicle, public housing

Students of Family and Consumer Science also use standards in Math, Reading, Speaking and Listening, and Science:

• Learn meaning of FCS content words and phrase as they are used in text

• Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-directed) with diverse partners, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly

• Interpret information presented in diverse media and formats (visually, quantitatively, orally) and how it contributes to a topic, text or issue under study

• Solve problems and generate conclusions using deductive reasoning

• Add, subtract, multiply, and divide

• Practice comprehension and reading skills and organization of text

• Make inferences, draw conclusions and generalizations

• Practice using scientific notation at a practical level

Eighth Grade students may also receive Holocaust Education.

FCS contributes to the teaching of this historical time by:

• Connecting Holocaust history to contemporary issues of cultural diversity and intolerance

• Providing middle school students with the understanding and skills to foster a climate of respect and civility in their schools

• Understanding that the Holocaust was a significant event in human history

• Recognizing the complexity of individual choices

• Defining the role and responsibility of the individual to uphold the principles of democracy