What's In My Lunch Box

What's in My Lunch Box 

When planning a lesson, the first thing you think of is probably not lunch time. However, children can learn so many important things from thinking about where each item in their lunch box came from. 

Lesson Ideas :  

* Brainstorm a list of favorite foods. In small groups,  children choose a food and research (using provided resources) the process that it goes through before it gets in their lunchbox. Children can make a flow chart of the process. 

Examples: 

Bread: 

Apple: 

Clementine: 




Chocolate Chips (Chocolate Chip Cookie): 



Tomatoes: 

Cheese: 

* Farm Web: Ask children where they think different foods come from. After a short discussion, have the children sort the laminated cards, as a class, to create a farm web. 

This lesson is from Maine Agriculture in the Classroom-Find this lesson and other resources here: 

https://www.agclassroom.org/me/index.cfm 

Books: 

Can't go wrong with lunch puns!!

Endangered Species

Endangered Species

Although endangered species are less common for young children to learn about, it is important for children to be aware of the diverse organisms that we share the Earth with. Additionally, it is important for children to recognize the problems that species face while trying to survive. 

Before teaching children about endangered species and the causes of it (ex. habitat loss), it is important that they understand the basics. What is a species? What do different species need to survive? What is a habitat?, etc. 

This video would be helpful to introduce some of these concepts: 

Activities: 

*Habitat Mats: 

Introduce habitats by having children sort animals by where they live. As they do this talk about what different animals might need to survive. Encourage children to think about similarities and differences of different habitats. 

*Hey! Get Off My Train: 

Read the book Hey! Get Off My Train by John Burningham. Have a discussion about endangered species and brainstorm a list of them. Each child will select an endangered species to research, using the materials provided and make a campaign poster. The children will present their poster in attempts to receive a spot on the train. 


*Endangered Species Musical Chairs: 

This is a typical game of musical chairs with a twist! Children are all assigned an animal. Once each child has an animal card, ensure that there is a pair of each. Label on of the chairs as the extinction chair and another chair as the reproduction chair. If an animal ends up in the extinction chair, they are out of the game unless their partner gets the reproduction chair, allowing them to come back. 

Books: 

Technology:

*Make an interactive bulletin board to help children and families learn about different habitats together. 

Example:

*Britannica Kids: Endangered Species App 

Water Blog

Water 

Children are very familiar with water as they use it everyday, however it is important to get them thinking about water in more complex ways. 

*Clean water is necessary for all living things to survive 

*Water makes up more than half of the human body and about 70% of the Earth

Activity: 

1.) Children can record their water use with a simple water use calculator or a table (made by the teacher or found online). 

*This can be done at home and at school to compare the usage-what ways do you use water the same? Differently?*

This is an example of a water use calculator, although it is too complicated for children to use on their own:   https://www.watercalculator.org/wfc2/q/baths/

This is an example of how children could present how they use water to their peers: 

2.) Children can research ways to conserve water and make a campaign poster that encourages a change in how we use water. 

Example: 

Technology: 

The Water Family Game is a great way for children to think about how to conserve water

 

http://www.ecology.com/2012/03/19/water-family/

Where's My Water is another fun game (available on the app store) that allows children to interact with water flow and the importance of conserving water. 

This website also has a bunch of fun games and other resources: 
https://wateruseitwisely.com/kids/games/

Books: 

Water Cycle Rap: 

Rocks and Minerals

Rocks & Minerals: 

ROCKS: 

Children love to explore and collect rocks when they find them. Rocks are all so unique and therefore children will spend a lot of time comparing the rocks that they find. 

Here are two videos that will help explain rocks to children: 

MINERALS: 

ACTIVITIES: 
*Rock or Mineral Classroom Book 

Ask the children to brainstorm some questions that they have about rocks and minerals and have some additional questions that they can find the answer to. 

With assistance, children will research a rock or mineral and make a book page about it. All of the pages will be put together to make a book about rocks or minerals 

Examples: 

Books: 

Landform Dinosaurs

Landform Dinosaurs Lesson: 

This lesson is a great way for children to learn about different landforms in an interesting way. 

To begin the lesson, each child will learn about a different landform. Once they have researched the landform, they will draw it on a piece of paper. 

This video could be useful to help children learn about landforms

This is my drawing of a cape:

*It may also be helpful for the children to add some words that explain the landform on the drawing*

Once all of the children have drawn their landform, they can be displayed in a place so all of the students can see them. 

Finally, challenge the children to draw a dinosaur using as many landforms as they can. They can do this individually or in small groups on a large paper (like the example below). 

The children can share their dinosaurs and explain what landforms they included. 

Another Example: 

Books About Landforms: 




Books About Dinosaurs: 


Related Activities: 
*Classroom Landform Book
*Making Landforms Sensory Bins 
*Clay/Play Dough Landforms or Dinosaurs

Planets

Learning About Planets: 

Although it seems like an abstract idea to learn about the planets it is important for children to learn about the Earth that they live on. Children will very quickly become interested in learning about the other planets and how the solar system work as a whole. 

Enjoy this rap about the solar system! 

Lesson Idea: Make your own Plant 

Description: Children will use the art materials provided to create their own planet. Ask the children to share details about what life on their planet is like. 

Example-My Planet ("Michelle's World"): 

 I used silver sharpies, black paper, scissors, tape, and a large ball to make my planet. I used the sharpie to draw "continents" on the paper then I cut them out and tape them on the ball. For this activity children can have access to all of the art materials to build their planet anyway they would like. 

I named my planet Michelle's World because all of the continents are shaped like and consist of only things that I love. The continents on my planet are Ice Cream Factory, Giraffeland, Water Country, Bumpin' Beats, and Weight World 

Each continent consists of things related to the shape and name of the continent. For example, Girraffeland has millions of giraffes. Humans can live on all continents and can easily and very cheaply travel from continent to another. I placed "Weight  World" in between "Ice Cream Factory" and "Water Country" so people could conveniently get their beach bodies in check after eating unbelievable amounts of ice cream. 

Books about Planets: 

 

Books About Earth: