Westminster School Summer Program Cassandra Reynolds

Research shows…  Combining cooking with nutrition lessons is more effective at increasing nutrition knowledge among children than nutrition lessons alone.  Active experiences in cooking classes increased young children's’ consumption of healthy foods and increased cooking self- efficacy among older children.  Increased knowledge of cooking improves dietary habits.

My role at Westminster  Deliver nutrition and cooking lessons to children in grades 1-7  Children are broken into 3 groups: 1-2, 3-4, 5-7  50 minute “activity” blocks

Learning variables  1 st -2 nd graders: 1 st Beginning reading tasks, rapid physical activity, more interested in the process than the product, no job is too big, curious and imaginative. 2 nd graders can be more inward, prefer working alone or with a best friend, self conscious and self absorbed. Hard workers, perfectionists. Need to be correct. Good listeners.  3 rd -4 th graders: 3 rd graders are energetic, enthusiastic, sense of inferiority when tasks don’t come easily, impatient, need encouragement. 4 th graders are worrisome, anxious, don’t take time to think through their knowledge, learn better on their own, can feel singled out and treated unfairly, encouragement goes a long way.

Learning variables  5 th, 6 th, 7 th grade: 5 th grade: able to easily share their knowledge and work on group projects, relatively calm and comfortable with themselves, actively receptive of factual information, like group activities outdoors, both non competitive and competitive. 6 th graders: girls become more emotionally sensitive, interested in their academic accomplishments in the classroom and interested in their peers, awkward and sometimes rude, easily embarrassed (important to avoid correcting in front of peers), new arenas of knowledge are attractive, easily frustrated. 7 th : disengaged, strong need to be with friends, struggle for identity, can become deeply invested in meaningful school work with peers, unpredictable, disinterested in small tasks but can handle large projects.

My lessons  Parts of the plant: 1. Roots 2. Stem and leaves 3. Flower and fruit  Discussed basic functions of each part of the plant and worked with each part in the cooking activity

Lesson 1: Roots  Objectives:  1. Students will be able to name 5 parts of the plant: root, stem, leaves, flower, fruit  2. Students will explain basic functions roots play in plant growth

Lesson 2: Stem and Leaves  Objectives:  1. Students will explain the role that stems play in the plant cycle  2. Students will describe how water is carried up a stem  3. Students will be able to describe that plants create food for itself

Lesson 3: flower and fruit  Objectives:  1. Students will describe how flowers help create new plants  2. Students will explain that fruits are the part of the plant that contains the seeds  3. Students will be able to outline the steps in the plant growth cycle

How the lessons varied  1 st to 2 nd : Very basic plant lesson, hands on activities, provide each student with a task at all times  3 rd and 4 th : More science involved in the lesson, students still need tasks to be kept busy at all times, students become impatient if not given an assignment/something to do, students took longer to complete tasks, liked to do the tasks on their own  5 th, 6 th, 7 th : Allowed students to teach the lesson by asking probing questions, able to be more self directed, quickly completes tasks and needs more to do, would begin finding things to do on their own, very influenced by peers, tried to facilitate group acceptance of recipes

Outcomes  Due to time constraints the lessons were shortened and focus was placed on cooking portion  Most, but not all students met objectives  Most children tried the recipes, all children participated in cooking  According to research: because the students participated in cooking and nutrition lessons, their nutrition knowledge likely improved and their consumption of healthy foods could improve  Most students admitted to trying a new food throughout the week  Some students had no/little prior cooking experience

Review  If given the opportunity again: I would make the main focus the cooking portion and discuss nutrition messages as going  Too many students for 1 intern; breaking group up with another leader would be better  Being very direct and organized is critical, know exactly what everyone should be doing at all times  Time between classes is limited and this presented a challenge in getting things cleaned up and ready for the next group, possibly adding to group distraction when nutrition lesson was being presented

Grant purposal  Kitchen Science Lab  To provide students with math, science, reading and writing lessons in the context of cooking  Development of cooking skills  Increasing exposures to new foods, knowledge of how to prepare native produce, improving dietary habits.

In the future  Integrate more nutrition points into the cooking time  Use recipes that keep all hands busy  Demand control of the classroom, utilize aids  Be very directed  Break class into smaller groups  Reinforce concepts as you go through and throughout the week