Literature and Information

CONTENTS OF CURRICULUM UNIT 15.01.03

  1. Unit Guide
  1. Introduction
  2. Demographics
  3. Rationale
  4. Background Knowledge
  5. Content Knowledge
  6. Teaching Strategies
  7. Navajos and Farming (Week One)
  8. Fruits/Vegetables and our Body (Week Two)  
  9. Navajos, Diabetes & Exercising (Week Three)
  10. Annotated Bibliography
  11. Appendix A: Implementing Standards
  12. Notes

Farming, Food and a Balanced Navajo Lifestyle

LeTanya Krista James-Austin

Published September 2015

Tools for this Unit:

Teaching Strategies

My unit will begin by showing students pictures of Navajo people farming that date back many years and also providing them with a container full of fruits and vegetables. I will give them some time to feel, touch and smell the contents of the container. The pictures as well as the container will provide a lead in to the unit by preparing students for what they will be learning. Students will then be allowed to share their ideas and thoughts about the pictures and contents of the container. After a reading of “Farms Feed the World” by Lee Sullivan Hill, a very important question will be posed, “How are farms and the container of food alike?” With that powerful question, my students will begin to wonder about how important farms are and how they help us. Their responses will vary due to the fact that their background knowledge differs.

As the unit progresses, students will engage in many hands on activities in which each of those activities will be tied to a fiction or non-fiction book. In Kindergarten, it is important for students to be able to distinguish between fiction and nonfiction (real and make believe) as stated by the Common Core standards. Examples of the activities (see below) will include but are not limited to sequencing, food demonstrations, food tasting sessions, quest speaker visits, a field trip to the local grocery store and planting in cups to see the process from seeding to full growth.

This unit will also include viewings of short video clips such as “A Plate Full of Color” by Georgia Perez in which a fiction book is read to them. After the viewing, I will have students create their own plate full of color using more common fruits and vegetables provided. They will share their plate with a partner and students will be required to reflect on the clips through buddy pair shares. Buddy pair shares are going to be one of the major teaching strategies that will be noticeable throughout the unit. Buddy pair share is a time when each student finds a partner and depending on the activity, they will each be verbally sharing their thoughts. Vocabulary development and being able to express one’s ideas is very crucial in the early stages of academic learning. The students will be provided with many opportunities to share their own experiences through reading and writing. Verbalizing and talking with a class partner will be crucial at each step because I believe it is important for each and every student to voice their thoughts and opinions even at a young age.

There will be days set aside for special quests to visit the classroom such as the local Nutritionist, a member of the Special Diabetes Program and the district food service director. These individuals are excellent presenters when it comes to presenting to the younger generation. They will have their own set of literature and hands on activities to share with the students.

This unit is based around food derived from planting and the process that it takes from preparation of seeding to delivering to grocery stores and finally ending up in the confines of their home. Following this learning, the students will participate in activities which will strengthen their understanding that the foods they eat will either harm or help their body.

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