Wednesday, March 7, 2012

FACS Classroom Ideas

All FACS teachers know that we have a crazy amount of tools, materials, and resources that need to be well-organized and maintained in order to create a successful classroom environment. While I have scored a few good ideas from the Internet, I find the online world seriously lacking in truly practical tips to help teachers establish an orderly classroom specifically for Home Ec. Through trial and error, creative thinking, and (I’m not ashamed to admit it) outright theft, I’ve implemented several successful ideas in my classroom over the years. The purpose of this blog is to share my ideas with others looking for the same thing, and hopefully to have other teachers share their ideas with me!

12 comments:

  1. Thank you so much! I've been looking for a blog geared towards FACS teachers. I'm teaching Foods and Interiors this year.

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    1. Thanks for commenting! Good luck with the upcoming school year!

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  2. Thanks so much for the blog! I am a FCS teacher in Alabama and this year im teaching Culinary I, Interior design, FCS foundations, parenting, and fashion....busy load! I have tons of lesson plans for all subjects except interior design and parenting. If there is any way that we can share things that would be great.

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    1. Thanks for reading! Whew, that is quite the load. One thing you can say for sure about our content area is that we don't get bored doing the same thing over and over during the day. Parenting is one I haven't done yet, only Child Development. My secret weapon for Interior Design has been dollhouses - I got the idea from another FACS teacher at a county-wide professional development day several years ago. There are kits available through Amazon, Hobby Lobby, etc, and are a great way for kids to learn about color schemes, layouts, etc, and they have to cooperate well in groups to get everything finished! Takes a bit of a financial investment, but I've found that usually one of the kids in each group decides to purchase their project at the end of the semester, which helps fund the next year.

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    2. Delores, where are you? I'm in Al too

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  3. I teach Foods in small town Georgia, and I have just devoured your blog tonight! Thanks for all the great ideas. Keep 'em coming!

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    1. Thanks for checking out my blog! Georgia, boy, I envy you for your peaches!

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  4. It is awesome having a FACS information source. Most teaching sites are dedicated to "core" subjects and we get forgotten. Thank you!

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  5. Is anyone reading this able to "share" lessons?

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  6. I'm looking for some great first day of school ideas. According to Harry Wong, The First Day of School, the first day sets the tone for the entre school year. I don't normally go right into my rules and procedures because the first two weeks of school are full of schedule changes. I want to get right into the curriculum, briefly go over the rules, the course description, yet have fun (but not too much FUN).

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    1. Hey Megan, thanks for stopping by! Boy, do I hear you about all the schedule changes that typically happen during the first two weeks of school. On the first day of school I do go through all of my rules/procedures along with an intro to the curriculum, but I like to make it more interactive. One thing I've done the past four years that has been a big hit is this: I fill a bunch of plastic Easter eggs with short questions for the students to answer about themselves related to the curriculum in that class. Examples: Child Development-What is one thing that you think all children should be taught? Consumer Ed-If you were given $50 dollars right now, what would you do with it? Adult Living-Who is the friend you have that tries to talk you out of it when you're planning to do something stupid? Foods-If you could only eat one specific food for the rest of your life, what would it be?
      As I go through the procedures and rules, I stop at random times and throw one out to a student. I tell them they have to read the question out loud, and give the first school appropriate answer that comes to mind. It helps me get to know the students, gets some discussion going on the topics we'll be covering, keeps them paying attention, and establishes me as a teacher that has a lot of expectations but also makes even the boring stuff interesting.
      Sidenote: I use plastic Easter eggs for A LOT of stuff throughout the year, so this also introduces them to that!

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  7. Does anyone here know how to label the outside of cabinets without adhesive that could damage the wood finish?

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