Lesson #2: Dancing to Trepak Introduction of the lesson and activation of prior knowledge We review our basics for movement, such as basic locomotors and moving in a variety of ways. We also review the guidelines for our class as well as the story of Stone Soup. Teaching the lesson We do a warm up and I tell them to find the mountain position and begin five count breaths. This gives us our personal bubble space. We review movements that are fast, slow, smooth, and sharp. We also talk about being tall and small, high and low. We also have the fine art pictures visible and review the celebration dance picture. I ask the students to make up a dance story about making stone soup. Are they chopping, or stirring, or building the fire under the pot are they working or just dancing for fun? What does it feel like to dance on a holiday? Some actions to include: walking like the 3 soldiers, stirring, chopping, and adding things to the pot. I encourage usage of opposite movements like fast and slow, jumping and acting like a stone. We also do listening exercises with Tchaikovsky s Trepak. I have them draw, color, and label pictures of their story as they listen to Trepak. Students will partner and practice mirror dancing to Tchaikovsky s Trepak. We play the music while the students mirror each other. I take the time to be clear which student leads and which follows. Then we switch roles. I observe and comment on what some pairs are doing. It is fun to see things, like one student is a pot and the other is stirring. They are moving to the music with jumps, and busy feet. Guided practice We do guided practice on how to do mirror dancing. We also use yoga moves to develop vocabulary for moving our bodies in the classroom. How cultural/linguistic responsiveness is built into the lesson The music and book illustrations offer a glimpse of the culture of long ago in Russia. Dance activities teach cooperation and respect for others. How you have embedded assessment The student self-evaluation activity of their dance described in the conclusion embeds assessment into the lesson. I also use observation logs for ongoing dance assessment to check for the following: Are they participating? Are they respecting other s space? Do their movements match the music? I record my observations. It might take four to five days to observe and record the performance of each student. If I need more time to observe them, I do it either during another lesson, during workshop, or at other times during the day. 1
Conclusion/reflection We look at our concept board and talk about the key words. We indicate thumbs up or down if we matched our movements to the music. 2
Lesson #3: Nutrition and the Food Pyramid Introduction of the lesson and activation of prior knowledge We sing the song There was an old lady who swallowed a We talk about how different foods help our bodies in special ways. I make connections to the Stone Soup story. We list the various foods that were added to the pot. I explain the festive feast we will have at the end of the unit and how we will make stone soup and a friendship salad like they did in the book. I tell students that making healthy foods is simple and fun. I explain that in the next lesson we are going to follow a simple recipe and make Stone Soup and Friendship salad. Teaching the lesson I have a food group chart made up, and we talk about our favorite foods in each group one at a time and which group they belong to. I have students put their favorite food from each group in the proper column. 1. Pull food pictures I like to use items we brought in. 2. Display Building a Healthy Me poster in classroom. 3. Have butcher paper with each of the food groups color coded: Milk Products Fruit Vegetables Breads, Grains and Cereal Meat, Beans, & Nuts I distribute a classifying foods worksheet from the student workbook. The students circle each food using the color of the food group to which it belongs. When they have completed the worksheet, I review the page with them and reinforce with them the color associated with each of the food groups. Notes about organizing the food for the feast: At the beginning of the year during back to school night, I go over any food allergies and special circumstances and take them into account. Every year is a little different, but we begin with asking what each student would like to bring. I have a permission slip with each student s name on it which they take home and bring back indicating if they can participate and what they plan to bring. I brainstorm with students what they would like to bring. It is a good time to bring in healthy and new items. I encourage the following items but they do not have to try every item. We begin with the food picture cards that come with the Building a Healthy Me unit. Here are some foods that have been popular: 3
Milk Products Fruit Vegetables Breads, Grains and Cereal Meat, Beans, & Nuts milk apple carrots rolls turkey cheese orange celery muffins black beans butter bananas onion cereal hard boiled eggs drinkable berries broccoli popcorn nuts yogurt yogurt melon corn rice tofu grapes peas barley ham pear potatoes corn bread beef raisins tomatoes breakfast bars peanut butter cabbage crackers Guided practice We chart our menu foods to see if all groups are represented and where they fit into the pyramid. How cultural/linguistic responsiveness is built into the lesson I involve every student in building the menu. I encourage students to bring foods traditionally eaten in their homes. How you have embedded assessment The worksheet on classifying foods provides a formative assessment on whether students understand food groups, concepts, and can classify specific foods. Conclusion/reflection We talk about the chart we made and think about what we might bring to the festive feast. 4
Lesson #4: A Festive Feast Introduction of the lesson and activation of prior knowledge We talk about the Stone Soup story and how the village was brought together and made a healthy meal with people volunteering to bring something for the soup. It started with a stone, then a pot and so on. Teaching the lesson The Festive Feast with our dance is our culminating activity. We set up the room with butcher paper over the table tops and make one long table for everyone to sit at. I have a table set up for cooking supervised by an adult. We gather together and do our morning business. During the timeframe of our regular day we will read, write, dance, cook, and eat together. We read Giving Thanks A Native American Good Morning Message by Chief Jake Swamp. Next, we work on our journal page at our table. The students work independently as we build our soup and salad. We are making a so page. The characters, setting, and event connect to stone soup. Our ideas should connect with the word so. I explain to the students that they will be playing a game called So. I show them the picture of the Giving Thanks book. I begin with, I brought in a pot so.. Students are asked to tell what might happen if I brought in a pot. For example, a student might reply, We could make stone soup in it. or We could make spaghetti. The teacher then connects the beginning of the sentence to the endings that the students might supply, for example, I brought in a crock pot, so we could make stone soup. At this point in the year we are trying for 2 ideas in their writing. We make placemats on the butcher paper in front of us. At the completion of the task the students show their drawings and say their so sentence. Then we look at a recipe for Stone Soup and introduce the cooking activities with a simple chant: We re going to chop it up We re going to dice it up We re going to put In the big soup pot. As we are doing this, students are called over to add things to the soup. We sing this chant as each student adds to the soup and then returns to their journal page. I monitor and collect the journal pages to correct at a later point. I tell students that it s now time to put their recipe to work. I have students wash hands or distribute moist towelettes. 5
We organize a buffet line and have students assemble their own festive feast. Encourage something from each food group. I ask students to name foods in the soup, salad, and feast and identify in which food groups they belong to. We also make a friendship salad and other items are collected for our feast. A balanced meal is encouraged. We also make sure that if you do not want to try something you say, No thank you. I go along with a normal schedule of recess and other breaks. After recess we gather to review the Stone Soup story and movements that would go along with our dance. I play Trepak while we listen and the students have the option to also add more to their placemats if they want to. The second time the music is played, I have them mirror dance and try to match the movements to each other and the music. I take pictures when they are dancing. When it is time to eat, we all sit together and talk. Notes about preparing the food: You may ask family volunteers to prepare the ingredients in advance and bring to class (e.g. browned meat, cooked rice, cooked beans, chopped tomatoes, sliced fruit, etc.). You may allow students to help (with adult supervision). If you prefer not to have heating elements in class, the pre-cooked items can be re-heated using a microwave and then placed in a skillet or crock pot to demonstrate how soup is made. Be specific with families as to how foods should be prepared and how they should be packaged and brought to school. Foods must be cooked thoroughly (when appropriate) and sealed in airtight containers or plastic bags. I also remind families of the importance of sanitation in preparing foods to be brought to class. Guided practice We do guided practice when setting up our menu. We color a character together to make a class book of a healthy character with all five colors of our food groups. I also ask review and guide questions such as, What foods make our bones strong? What color is the food group? What is the name of the food group? What foods do you see in this group? I also model a journal page and leave it on the board. How cultural/linguistic responsiveness is built into the lesson Involving every student in building the menu develops relationship and community. I also encourage students to bring foods traditionally eaten in their homes and to share information about them. Studying how a town was brought together for a meal of soup and this community s traditions links us to our own. I also have food pictures with bilingual labels and vocabulary tapes available as support for English learners. Giving Thanks A Native American Good Morning Message by Chief Jake Swamp is based on the Thanksgiving Address, an ancient message of peace and appreciation of Mother Earth and all her inhabitants. These words of thanks come to us from the Native people known as the Haudenosaunee, also known as the Iroquois or Six Nations-Mohawk, Oneida, Cayuga, 6
Onondaga, Seneca, and Tuscarora. The people of the Six Nations are from upstate New York and Canada. These words are still spoken at ceremonial and government gatherings help by the Six Nations. The children greet the world by saying thank you to all living things. They learn that according to Native American tradition, people everywhere are embraced as family. Our diversity, like all the wonders of Nature, is truly a gift for which we are thankful. How you have embedded assessment Class activities demonstrate the students ability to apply information presented in class. They are asked to identify foods within each of the food groups found in the pyramid and recognize favorite foods from each of the food-group foods. They demonstrate understanding by putting pictures of food on a graph. I also do informal observation of participation and listening and speaking skills. Rubrics for language arts and drawing activities are in the assessment section. Conclusion/reflection We end the festive feast lesson with a group discussion. We share our favorite parts and talk about how we worked as a team to create this unique, festive feast. 7