Home Economics Tips
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Learning About Good Nutrition
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"Have students plan a personal diet that is nutritional, accommmodates activity level and optimal weight. Have students keep a journal of what they eat on a daily basis and record the energy levels that they experience as a reult of thie dietary in-take. Use it for discussion purposes and have students analyze the effect of diet on energy, academic performance, moods, sleep patterns, etc."
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Learning How to Cook
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"I beleive that students should learn food preparation at a very early age. It builds repsonsibility and appreciation for providing meals that are nutritional and satisfying. I choose up to 24 different recipes that as a class we follow during the course of the year. I try to coordinate it with what I am doing academically, be it in language arts or social studies. I have a two burner electric unit avaliable along with electric frying pans, and even a barbeque grill when weather permits. I also have a small refrigerator in my classroom to store perishables that are needed for any of the recipes. it is a special treat for my students to collaboratively plan meals that we all share. make sure you are aware of any food alllergies that your students may have."
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The Importance of a Interdependency
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"Interdependency is an important concept for children to learn. Cooperation and communication among family members and other groups are important factors that help create healthy living environments. I provide opportunities for my students to practice "getting along" with each other by using cooperative learning and by using simulations that require students to make responsible decisions. Easy tasks that reinforce these concepts include simple classroom maintenance where all students are given 'responsibilities' that they are held accountable for. If students do not uphold their responsibility, we have a classroom meeting at the end of the week and discuss solutions that can help those students rise to the occasion."
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Maintaining Safety
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"Teach your students all emergency procedures that are needed in case they are faced with crisis situations. Students can make a list of things that they need to know in case of an emergency. For example, what to do in cases such as: fire; food poisoning; loss of power and utilities; floods or any natural disaters; danger to oneself or family members; accidents that require medical attention. Each item identified should have a step by step procedure that students can easily identify with and apply in the case of en emergency. For example, have a list of phone numbers that can be called. You can also have local agencies (police, fire, utility workers, hospital workers) come in and serve as guest speakers to help students to formulate their action plans. A project based assignment can be a "safety plan"`for the home."
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Selecting Appropriate Clothing
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"Students with limited abilities have a hard time knowing what to wear when the weather changes from season to season. I teach the different blends of materials that are used for clothing and show students how these materials are used to protect them against the elements. I do this by using a lot of examples and non-examples of clothing that I have collected over the years in teaching. I especially do this when the weather changes and clothing needs to change accordingly."