Working...
In Science class, students have been learning about various elements and how each element affects our body. As a reward for the student's hard work during the first part of our unit and in order to further student learning of how these elements affect our body, we began Food Science Labs.
Students spent a week planning meals that were rich in various minerals (elements) and creating a shopping list for our foods labs. We then took a "Life Lessons" trip to the local Hy-Vee store where students had to locate the various foods and compare prices to find the best deal. Most of the students were surprised by how much it cost to buy groceries for one meal a day for four days!
Throughout the following week, students prepared meals that were rich in elements such as Calcium, Potassium, Iron, and Sodium. On Monday, student's made breakfast which included scrambled eggs, pumpkin muffins, hash browns, and bacon. On Tuesday, students made cheeseburgers, baked beans, and french fries. On Wednesday, students made Ants-on-a-Log (celery, peanut butter, and raisins) and enjoyed a glass of milk. On Thursday, students made sausage gravy and biscuits with orange juice or milk.
There were many life skills that were involved in this Element unit that students experienced first hand. Not only did they plan meals and grocery shop, but they cooked meals, sat down and ate meals together, and cleaned the kitchen after they finished eating. Overall, the students enjoyed this unit and some have even asked me if there was any way we could do it again! I replied, "Sure! I'm sure you can help do the same thing every night at home!" :)