A Creatively Nutritional Lesson

The ASSURE lesson plan on nutrition facts on cereal boxes is a creative way to have elementary students learn about healthy cereals.  This lesson has taught me to learn how to create a lesson plan.  But it has also showed me how to teach an important lesson creatively.  I learned that using creativity to design your lesson on something as serious as health to elementary students is the best way to help them understand what it is all about.  According to Keith Sawyer, "Creative teaching results in deeper understanding among learners, a form of learning that is more difficult to quantitatively assess;" (pp. 18, Sawyer).  This lesson showed me that creativity is the key to helping students understand the lesson more clearly.  It also showed me how to think of ways to get students to participate in the classroom more effectively. 

For my student with a disability, I chose intellectual disability.  I feel that the accommodations that would be required would be easily accessed and understood with this lesson.  Some accommodations would include simple instructions.  Because the students will be broken into groups, they can help each other as well as this individual to create a great and creative spreadsheet comparing all their data.  There will be no complex instructions.

Using the ASSURE lesson plan, it helped me to really sit and think of what I want my students to learn.  To look at the different types of learners I have in my class, and to make sure that every single one of them would benefit from my lesson.  The ASSURE lesson plan also makes it easier for me to make sure my lessons contains the standards according to NETS*S.  This nutrition lesson plan contains a few of those standards such as, 4c, "Collect and analyze data to identify solutions and/or make informed decisions", 5b, "Exhibit a positive attitude toward using technology that supports collaboration, learning, and productivity" and 6b, "Select and use applications effectively and productively" (NETS*S). I feel that these standards best apply to this particular lesson because it involves the students actually using the computer to understand and learn how to use and analyze their data they collected and make better choices on their cereal if not already using the best choice.

I feel that if I were to revise this lesson plan to make it more challenging, I would incorporate the addition of milk to the students cereal.  I would also adjust the lesson so that the students understand that when they add milk or fruits to their cereal, it increases the amount of nutrition intake as well.  I think that they would find in more fun and challenging to understand the addition of more nutrients.

Overall, I enjoyed this assignment.  I learned how to create a lesson plan, how to use the ASSURE lesson plan, and most importantly, how to use creativity to get my students to understand the lesson.  I really believe that students will learn and understand more if teachers put creativity into their lessons.  Take a serious matter, like nutrition.  We really want the kids to understand that not all cereals are the best choice for you health.  So having them participate by bringing in three of their favorite cereal boxes nutrition labels and having them identify the sodium, sugar, and fat levels, and comparing them to their classmates, would really make them see and understand the lesson.  Creativity is the key.

REFERENCES

Sawyer, Keith R.  (2004).  Creative Teaching: Collaborative Discussion as Disciplined Improvisation.  Educational Researcher.  33(2), 12-20.  Retrieved from: http://www.aera.net/uploadedFiles/Journals_and_Publications/Journals/Educational_Researcher/Volume_33_No_2/202603_Sawyer.pdf

International Society for Technology in Education.  Retrieved February 10, 2012 from
     http://www.iste.org/standards.aspx