Sixth Grade Menu Project

EDIT: This is an assignment from one point in time and I have since changed the requirements for this assignment twice since I posted! I'm always trying to make work more challenging or thought provoking. Please keep that in mind as you read this post!

I apologize for not posting in a few weeks! I was busier than anticipated, and we're in the middle of some project work at middle school. Recently my hits have increased a lot; I'm averaging about ten unique visits a day now from Google searches! Please keep checking back! 

When I originally started this blog during my first year of teaching, I posted about a menu project assignment that my sixth graders had completed as an assessment for part of their nutrition unit. I deleted that post when I returned to the blog, so I am posting about the updated lesson here.

I love this project, especially the creative aspect of it, but I think in the future I will be moving a little away from this as the only summative assessment for the nutrition unit. Ultimately, I also want to make sure the students are able to show me they have the skills needed to make healthy food choices, and there are so many ways to do this that I could do almost anything. Also, I mention that we use a nutrition unit out of the Michigan Model, which is true; however, we do take some lessons and teach them in eighth grade.

Below you will find a Jing video with a brief explanation of the menu project. Other assessments I include during the nutrition unit include a three-day food log and a "Shop 'til You Drop" activity I found online (a post on that should happen soon!). I didn't want to take too much time explaining the project in this video (my Jing account only allows for five minutes to be recorded) but I think I get the point across. In the past, I have taken "oils" out of the picture but decided to include it again this year. Many menus have unique themes to them and my students usually create them around a theme that interests them.

If you see anyway I could improve upon this, please let me know! Check out the Jing video below for a brief overview of our menu project.