lesson+plan+ideas

=__Lesson Plans__=

Lesson plan ideas can be as fleshed out or as informal as you wish.
How to make a peanut butter sandwich lesson plan:

Castles

Pirates

Bridge Building with popsicle sticks

Community service--- (Jenny's gardening plan)

Worms and composting

Some sort of glorified "share" session- where the kids share with the group something that they are passionate about-talk, show, share- and encourage the others to ask questions after- will help in promoting confindance with speaking to groups- and expiencing what it feels like to share and keep others attention-

=__Peanut Butter and Jelly- communication lesson__= __HOMEWORK.... __ Ask kids to write directions for making a peanut butter and jelly (or fluff) sandwich to explain how it is done to someone who has never made (or eaten one before). Younger kids can dictate directions. Do not have the child write their names on the page. These should be anonymous. Please have the kids bring their directions to the ??? april 7th??? meeting. __At the meeting at lunch or snack... __ Materials Needed: peanut butter, jelly, fluff, bread preferably unsliced bread, bread knife, cutting board, plates, spoons/ knives for spreading. Choose some of the directions written by the kids and have a parent (pretending to be an alien, who hasn't ever heard of pb sandwiches) try to follow the written directions and make a sandwich. Other options: Let one student give their how-to paragraph to another student. See if the other student can read and follow the directions. When making the sandwiches the presenter should follow the directions to the letter. If they don't tell you to take 2 slices of bread, spread the peanut butter on the loaf of bread, assuming they said to “spread it on”. If they say “put the peanut butter on the bread”, then put the jar of peanut butter on the bread. Assume nothing... pretend you are from outer space and have no idea what a peanut butter sandwich is. This should be fun. The point is to let the kids correct their mistakes as they see them play out and understand that they need to use detail in communication. Order of operations is another important lesson of this lesson. Also, this lesson can teach that while some may put the jelly and peanut butter on one piece of bread and then cover it with the other, some may put peanut butter on one side and jelly on the other. Learning that not everyone approaches a task the same way but can still achieve the end result is an important take away also.

 __Or if we don't want to do the HOMEWORK part:__ __note: this version incorporates a math concept for the older kids as well which we could take or leave.__

__Pre-activities__ Place the following problem on the board (or a similar problem):  6 + 3 x 8 / 4 - 5 Ask each student to solve (there should be various answers as students find their own way to solve the problem). Discuss the possible reasons for the differing answers. Activities Ask students to raise their hand if they know how to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich (PB&J). Select one of those students to give you step-by-step directions for making a PB&J sandwich. Follow their directions to the letter! Example: Student- “Put the peanut butter on the bread.” Teacher- Places the jar of peanut butter on the loaf of bread. Give another student the opportunity to give you directions. Again, follow their directions explicitly! Continue with this until you have made a PB&J sandwich or you feel that you have demonstrated the point of the activity. Discuss with the students the importance of established procedure for basic tasks, and point out that math is no different! Share the “established procedure” for order of operations through the mnemonic device “Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally.”Parenthesis, Exponents, Multiply and Divide from left to right, and finally, Add and Subtract from left to right.) Using the new “rules” re-write the problem from the pre-actvity on the board and ask students to solve it!

=__Dairy and Vermont's Farming Industry__= Help the kids understand the importance of Vermont's Farming industry and the versatility of the products that can be created with milk. Cooking projects... Field Trips... = = =__Geography and Community Lesson Plan__ The following idea is one that I wrote for a class I was taking. = **Title:** Be a tourist in your own home state.

As I wrote above - I have state maps for each family I can look for little stickers to mark place sof interest and would be happy to co-lead or lead this activity - depending on what's needed - kim

Understanding your place in the world and opportunities available near you are crucial skills and give children a sense of belonging. The ability to use maps and to artistically convey information are also an important competencies. This lesson will work to strengthen students knowledge of their home state and communities by helping them explore local resources. __**Purpose:**__ This activity is designed to help students learn about the area where they live. It may awaken curiosity about places and opportunities that are near by that they may have overlooked. The lesson will sharpen their awareness of the myriad of opportunities around them. Students will plot upcoming events, cultural or historical points of interest, museums, recreational opportunities, and any other things to do or see that are available in their home state. They will plot the locations of the attractions on a state map and give directions for how to get to the event via roads, public transit, etc.. They will do a cost estimate for how expensive it will be to visit the place of interest. __**Objectives:**__ Students will... __**Activities/Procedures:**__ __**Resources/Materials Needed:**__ __**Tying it all together:**__ The teacher must be available to assist students with map questions and to go over mapping terminology. During the class discussion, following the presentations, ask about which events are most interesting to the class. Discuss ways of cutting the costs of some of the events. (State Parks and museums, for example, often have special days when the costs are reduced to certain residents.)
 * __Overview:__**
 * Research
 * Make a choice about which attraction most interests them.
 * Work with state and town maps.
 * Work with google maps to get directions to their attraction.
 * Work with the internet to research attractions in their area.
 * Learn about our state's geography and culture.
 * Learn about the cost of attending some of the events in the area.
 * Create a poster for a point of interest to encourage others to visit.
 * Communicate information to others.
 * Work together collectively and cooperatively in class discussion.
 * Work independently.
 * 1) The teacher may provide a worksheet to organize the components of this lesson or they may ask the students to organize the information in a written report themselves depending on the skill/grade level. A sample of worksheet questions is provided at the end of this lesson plan.
 * 2) Introduce students to the idea of being a tourist in their own home state. Ask questions about what kinds of things they like to do or have done with their families. Ask what is special about living in this state/area. Make a distinction about activities that are free (local parks and libraries verses places that charge admission (museums, amusement parks, concert halls, etc). Try to be sure that you have a mix of free vs. costly. Ask students to make a distinction between activities that are year round or just available at specific times.
 * 3) Provide students with their own map of their state. Have a class discussion about map terminology and how to find towns in the index. Have students practice as a group finding towns.
 * 4) Ask the class to research using the materials provided (brochures, newspaper, and/or the internet) and make a master list with the class about all of the possible attractions in the state that may be of interest to them.
 * 5) Assign each student an event/attraction.
 * 6) Ask students to research the attraction. Have student use their state map and/or necessary town maps, brochures, the library, and the internet if available.
 * 7) Ask students to find the location of the attraction on the state and town maps and to make the location with a sticker or highlighter.
 * 8) Ask students to research the directions to get to the attraction from the school. They may use google map quest. Ask them to think about the best way to get there. Could they take public transit? Ask them to plot the route on their maps with a highlighter.
 * 9) Ask students to research the cost of going to the attraction. Have them include transportation as well as the cost of attending the event. If driving then the teacher can provide students with a milage factor so that they can figure out the cost of driving. Ask them to show their work either on a worksheet that you provide or in a written report.
 * 10) Ask students to create a promotional poster for the attraction. Tell them that the goal is to make as many people as possible want to visit this site.
 * 11) Ask the students to present their poster and the attraction to their classmates or to another class. During the presentations have them plot the happenings on a large classroom map and write on a key (a piece of paper that you will hang beside the map). The teacher can color code the key and the push pins or stickers) so that children can see all of the places and things to do that they found in the area.
 * 12) Have a class discussion after the presentations and talk about the resources available in our state and what makes it unique.
 * State and Local Maps.
 * Brochures of local attractions (available by from local rest areas, tourist bureaus, or towns.)
 * State and Local newspaper with the “happenings or community events” listings.
 * Computers with internet access.
 * Stickers, the dot kind work well, or push pins to plot where on the classroom map their attraction is.
 * Highlighter, to plot the route taken to get to the attraction on their map.
 * Paper and Pencils.
 * Art Supplies (poster paper, crayons, markers, etc) for poster making.

Vermont is a relatively small state but for those living in larger areas, the teacher may choose to limit the focus to “being a tourist in the students home town”, instead of the whole state. The teacher may also choose to give a radius area from the school as the center point. Using a compass and the map scale of miles/kilometers have the students draw a circle on the map to research things to do within that area. This works well, especially if the teacher wants the search area to include part of an adjacent state or town. If resources are available the teacher may organize a field trip to some of the attractions that the students studied. Example Work Sheet:
 * __Variations:__**

(provide space for students to answer the questions)

Name: Class: Event/Attraction to Research: What makes this attraction special to you? Why would you want to go there? Can you find this in every state? Plot this event location on your map. How far away is it (in miles or kilometers) from your school? Did you use the distance key on your map to measure the distance or did you use google map quest or both? How long will it take to get to the event? Will you have to stay overnight? How much does will it cost to attend the attraction? Transportation?... Admission? Other costs?