More food!

Just had my formal evaluation. I think it went pretty well. I did a lesson I've done before but I revised it to add in more content. My biology class has been studying gas exchange in cells. This topic is always a little abstract for students. To demonstrate fermentation we made sauerkraut! This really gets their attention. I personally love sauerkraut, but if you had asked me in high school I would have been grossed out. My students had no idea that sauerkraut is fermented cabbage. We also talked about other foods and looked at different types of fermentation. The lab itself is low content. They just cut up cabbage and put it in a bucket. However, just the idea of sauerkraut and fermented food peeks their interest enough to keep them engaged in a few pre-lab notes and short videos. I also do a hot dog and sauerkraut party for the students when the krout is ready! Just one note to remember...maybe a lab with knives is not the best for an evaluation! At least there was no big problems! Maybe it was good...I showed control and lab safety! While I'm on the topic of food I should mention another good food lab involving cells and jello! To show differences between prokaryotic, plant, and animal cells I made jello cells. I used plastic bags and various food/candy to represent organelles. Very visual. I've done candy cell models but this was even better. Students were less distracted. The content level was higher! Okay I promise my next entry won't be about food! But I highly recommend bringing food into the classroom for labs. It's an easy attention grabber!