Because students all have different learning styles, sometimes a hands-on lesson works the best. Last week, some students at Cooper Elementary got a hands-on lesson in nutrition.
The Farm to You exhibit came to Cooper from the County Extension Office and was sponsored by Aramark, the company that operates the school's cafeteria. Donna Lewis, a PE teacher, said the school schedules the exhibit every other year and only some grade levels participate each time so few students repeat the lesson. This year it was kindergarten, first and fourth grades.
Lewis recruited 27 volunteers for the project. Most of the volunteers were parents of students or members of the Parent Teacher Organization.
Students were divided into small groups and volunteers guided them through the interactive stations.
They stopped at a farm station, a market station and a cafe station before heading into the body.
The exhibit uses a maze-like setup to separate stations that include the mouth -- where students sit on teeth, the stomach, the small intestines complete with "villa" hanging down. Then they visit muscles, bone and skin.
The skin station included a handwashing lesson where they used talcum powder on their hands to see how germs are passed. Even a high five left traces of powder on the recipient's hand under the purple light.
Doing the project early in the year sparks an interest in science, Lewis said.
"We hadn't seen that before," she said.
General News on 10/16/2019