Curriculum Work: 2 Lesson Plans followed by a Reflection on Teaching
Lesson Plan #1
Amy Pille and Nikki Mohabir
Lincoln Elementary
10.26.05
Michi Thacker's 4th grade class
Goals:
* To give the children a better understanding of Calendula and for healing with the herb.
*Teach the children about respectful harvesting techniques:
1. Ask an adult. 2. Make sure there is plenty to harvest.
3. Ask the plant, if it says yes harvest it. If it says no move on.
4. Thank it whether you harvest it or not.
*to learn how to plant garlic (the children and Amy and NIkki)
Steps:
* As a group talk about Calendula, find out what the children know about it.
* Read the Calendula story out of “A kid’s herb book” by Lesley Tierra.
* Split into two groups, one will go plant garlic and the other will harvest Calendula, then switch.
* Come all together to make Calendula cookies.
Garlic Steps:
* Peal garlic cloves
* Set up rows in the beds
* Mark every 5-6 inches, where garlic goes
* Plant! 1 inch into earth
Calendula Steps:
* Talk about respectful harvesting
* Show them how to pinch off the heads of the flowers
* Each child collects 5-6 flower heads
Cookies:
* Wash the flowers and hands
* Ingredients and supplies will already be set up
* Follow cookie recipe on the board from the book “The Green Guide to Herb Gardening” by Deborah c. Harding.
Calendula Cookies
Ingredients:
* 6-8 fresh Calendula blossoms
* ¾ cup butter, room temperature
* ½ cup sugar
* Grated rind of 2 oranges
* 2 tablespoons orange juice, room temperature
(from the graded oranges)
* 1 teaspoon vanilla
* 2 eggs, lightly beaten
* 2 cups flour
* 2½ teaspoons baking powder
* ¼ teaspoon salt
* Almond halves
Preheat oven 350 degrees. Rinse flowers and pull off all the petals, set aside. In a bowl, cream butter, sugar, and orange rind until fluffy. Add in orange juice and vanilla. Stir in eggs until well blended. In separate bowl mix flour, baking powder, and salt, add flowers and mix into creamed mixture. Grease cookie sheets and drop dough by the teaspoon onto cookie sheet. Add almond half to the top of each cookie. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown, let cool. Makes 3-4 dozen.
*
* Let cookies bake and cool
* Eat! Talk about what the children learned
2nd Lesson Plan
Intent: To bring different groups of children to the garden,aqaint them with the amazing herbs available to them,and show them their usefulness with their own bodies. Also, to have very clear communication with Michi about our plan, and to have it run smooth as silk
Amy Pille and Nikki Mohabir 11.09.05 Lincoln Elementry Michi Thackers 4th grade class Fennel and Calendula Candy Before class: 1. Get Michi’s approoval and feedback. 2. Reserve Activity Room. 3. Check on fennel and calendula bounty in the garden. 4. Gather supplies: wax paper, sugar, extra fennel, toothpicks. 5. Set up kitchen area Step One: Harvet Fennel 1. Bring first group of kids to the garden. 2. Introduce fennel. 3. Discuss/practice ethical and safe harvesting. a. Ask adult for positive ID first. b.Look to see if there are enough plants. c. Ask the plant for harvest. d. If yes, harvest gently. If no, wait for a better time, or choose a different plant. e. Thank the plant. 4. Bring group back to classroom. Step Two: Harvest Calendula 1. Bring second group of kids to the garden. 2. Introduce fennel. 3. Discuss/practice ethical and safe harvesting. a. Ask adult for positive ID first. b.Look to see if there are enough plants. c. Ask the plant for harvest. d. If yes, harvest gently. If no, wait for a better time, or choose a different plant. e. Thank the plant. 4. Bring group back to classroom. Step Three: Prep. and Mixing 1. Bring third group to kitchen. 2. Prepare Calendula syrup: 1/2c. water 2/3c. sugar Boil for 10 mins 3. Prepare fennel candy mixture: 1tbs. seeds 1ts. suger 1/4 ts. water Heat until sugar dissolves and coates seeds. 4. Bring group to classroom. Step Four: Finish Candying 1. Bring 4th group to kitchen. 2. Dip flowers in flower syrup and set on wax paper to dry. Straighten with toothpick. 3. Pour fennel syrup into bowl, add 2tsp. fennel and 2tsp sugar; mix and let cool. 4. Clean up. 5. Bring 4th group back to classroom. Step Five: Eat! 1. Amy and Nikki bring cooled treats to the classroom. yum! Reflections on Teaching Overall, these two lessons themselves went very well. The activities were engaging and fun for the children and the facilitators. I believe we accomplished our goal; we inspired a greater awareness and curiosity in the children for herbs and their place in our lives and bodies. Amazingly, many of the children already had knowledge of the plants. They're mothers were already using garlic oil for their earaches, and they knew fennel to taste like black licorice! I was thankful for the children's openness to talking with the plants; asking for harvest and thanking afterward. This seemed no strange feat to them, as it does to many adults. These particular kids were also fortunate enough to be well acquainted with a garden and so they were comfortable and exited to learn outside. Overall, I found this group very capable in following directions, working together, and staying on task.
The only things I would do differently is be a bit more prepared for baking, throw out my expectations, and get to know the kids better before I jump in and teach them. Preparation was essential for the baking parts. I would get more thoroughly set up next time and have set jobs for each child so there is no standing around or confusion. I would also check any expectations at the door. I realized I had an unrealistic expectation of their complete attentiveness for a long period of time. To an extent I could've created this a little more with tighter structure, but I also believe the age group just wasn't ready and I was too new to them to demand that kind of attention. That's the last thing I'd do differently; I'd get to know the kids and the general characteristics of their age groups more. It felt wrong to me to step in so quickly in the first lesson, and take over in this kind of a setting. I would spend more time in service to the class in the beginning, and carry out our lesson plans later on.
Teaching at Lincoln gave me perspective on my own beliefs and interests in working with kids. I felt a lack of depth and meaning in the way the lesson plans were carried out. I wanted to convey more of a sacred feeling for the plants, and share more about them with the kids. Perhaps the kids were just too young. Or perhaps it was because the plans were so structured and time constrained that they left me feeling like I was shuffling cattle from one activity to the next, without the flexibility to explore, create spontaneous learning experiences, and let the children's interest guide us. I know the school setting was a large inspiration for that much structure in the first place, as well as an inhibitor to coloring outside the curriculum lines.
When I have been playing with children I know, I find myself being intensely drawn to teaching them about the natural world. I show them things and we weave our experience with their interest and insight, and my knowledge. I love this. It is very meaningful, very real, completely unstructured, and absolutely teaching them. It feels very right to me to let children guide their own learning; they are naturals! However, I also understand the importance of steering them places they wouldn't go themselves to create a broader base of learning.
I am unsure of the answers to all my questions yet. My preference seems to lie with more unstructured, one on one exploration, but the practicality and dancing dynamics of a group are also appealing. It is always true though, that more people merit more structure. So, it seems each situation will determine it's own most effective level of structure for the best learning and teaching experience. I strive to find this balance in my teaching.
