Hello, everyone! Today, we’re diving into something super cool called Pilot Light. Don’t worry, it’s not about your stove! It’s all about food and learning, which is something we all love, right?
Pilot Light is a fantastic website that offers free lessons for students from kindergarten all the way to high school. These lessons are all about food and how it connects to different subjects you learn in school. It’s like mixing your favorite subjects with delicious food topics!
We gave Pilot Light four stars because it’s super creative and fun. Writing these lessons is no easy task, but they do it with style and humor. The lessons are designed to connect what you learn at school with what you do at home, especially when it comes to food. This makes learning more relatable and enjoyable.
When you visit the site, you can explore lessons by grade, subject, or food education standards. If you check out the seventh-grade section, you’ll find lots of cool lessons. Each lesson comes with a description, feedback from teachers, and links to other subjects. You can even download detailed lesson plans that include vocabulary and other helpful information.
Some lessons might involve actual food activities, which can be super fun! But if you can’t bring food into your classroom, don’t worry. There are still plenty of creative ways to use these lessons, like during summer school or in clubs.
Pilot Light also provides anchor texts, which are stories or articles related to the lessons. These are easy to access, and some are even available as read-alouds on YouTube. Plus, there are printable worksheets for more flexibility.
The lessons also touch on important topics like food equity and environmental conservation. This means thinking about how food affects our planet and making sure everyone has access to healthy food. Some recipes might include ingredients that are new to you, so it’s a chance to learn about different cultures and cuisines.
It would be great if there was a way to filter lessons by recipe cost, especially since everyone is watching their budget these days. But don’t worry, there are simple and affordable options, like a lesson on making trail mix.
As climate change becomes a bigger issue, understanding the environmental impact of food is crucial. Pilot Light helps you explore these connections in a fun and educational way.
So, if you’re interested in learning more, check out Pilot Light on CommonSense.org Education. And remember, learning can be delicious!
Join us next time for more exciting educational content. Don’t forget to like, subscribe, and leave a comment if you have any questions or thoughts. We love hearing from you!
Imagine you’re a teacher for a day! Choose a subject you love and think about how you can connect it to food. Create a short lesson plan that includes a fun activity or experiment involving food. Share your lesson with the class and see if they can learn something new from your creative ideas!
Pick a country or culture that interests you and research their traditional foods. Prepare a short presentation or poster that explains how their food relates to their history, geography, and culture. You can even include a simple recipe to try at home with your family!
Investigate how different foods impact the environment. Choose a food item and research its journey from farm to table. Consider factors like transportation, packaging, and farming practices. Present your findings to the class and suggest ways to make food choices that are better for the planet.
Join a class discussion about food equity. Think about questions like: Why do some people have more access to healthy food than others? How can we help ensure everyone has enough to eat? Share your thoughts and listen to your classmates’ ideas. Together, brainstorm ways to promote food equity in your community.
Work in small groups to find a recipe that is both nutritious and budget-friendly. Calculate the cost of the ingredients and see if you can make it for under a certain amount. Present your recipe to the class and explain why it’s a good choice for both health and budget.
Sure! Here’s a sanitized version of the transcript:
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Hello, Common Sense editors! I’m Tanner, and that’s Chrissy, reporting in for duty from CommonSense.org Education, where we come to you every Tuesday with tools for classrooms and learning. Chrissy, what do we have today?
Tanner, we have Pilot Light! If you’re worried that it has something to do with your stove, don’t be scared. In fact, it has everything to do with something we all have in common: food. Let me take you on a little ride. Pilot Light is a cross-curricular, totally free site with food-based lessons that span K-12.
You can see here that we gave it four stars. We have to appreciate the cleverness in the one-liners and the artistry. Cross-curricular learning is baked into relatable, food-related lessons. For those of you out there, you may not know how challenging it is to write those lessons. There’s a strict character count, so any clever pun that gets included is a triumph of creativity!
Pilot Light has a variety of resources that you can use in your classroom, and they also offer family lessons. One thing I really like about this site is that they’re trying to facilitate a home-to-school connection, which makes a lot of sense given the subject matter of food. It helps bridge that gap in a really organic way.
When you click into classroom lessons, you can search by food education standards, grade, or integrated subject. If you click on seventh grade, you can see the different choices available. Each lesson has a basic description, feedback from other teachers, lesson topics, and curricular connections. If you click on “download lesson plan,” you’ll see a well-constructed PDF that includes vocabulary and is quite detailed.
There’s a lot going on, especially if you want to get into the actual food in the classroom. Depending on the topic you choose, that may limit what you can do. However, thinking about summer school or clubs, there are many creative ways to pull pieces from this, even if you can’t bring food into your classroom.
Another highlight is the anchor texts, which I checked for accessibility, and they are easy to access. Both anchor texts for K-5 are available on YouTube as read-alouds, and there are linked articles as well.
The format is straightforward, with not a lot of ancillary materials or extensions. I clicked into the e-learning section, and there’s a student worksheet included for more printable flexibility. Overall, it’s a basic, text-based, printable lesson, but the school-to-home connection is really special.
They also address food equity topics and conservancy, which is important. Some recipes may include ingredients that are not familiar or accessible to all families, so that’s something to consider based on your community.
In general, I think the way they pull all the pieces together is unique, and they provide a lot of resources for free. It seems they also cover high-interest topics, like lessons about popular snacks, and explore different cultures through food, which is really neat.
It would be helpful to see a filter for recipe costs by lesson, especially given the current economic climate. The lesson I clicked into was about trail mix, which is simple and uses inexpensive ingredients. There are definitely options like that available.
As climate change becomes a bigger issue, it’s important to consider the environmental impact of food and cooking your own meals. There are many connections to different subjects that may come up in classrooms, which is really cool to see.
You can check out that review over on CommonSense.org Education. Join us next Tuesday for more videos like this! Make sure to like, subscribe, and comment below. We read all the comments, so if you like what you see or have questions, feel free to reach out!
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Let me know if you need any further modifications!
Food – Substances consumed to provide nutritional support for the body. – In environmental studies, we learn about how different farming practices can impact the quality of food we eat.
Learning – The process of acquiring knowledge or skills through study or experience. – Our science teacher encourages learning about the environment by taking us on nature walks.
Environment – The natural world, including the land, air, water, plants, and animals. – Understanding how pollution affects the environment is an important part of our lessons.
Lessons – Units of instruction or learning experiences. – The lessons on climate change taught us how human activities can alter the environment.
Education – The process of receiving or giving systematic instruction, especially at a school or university. – Education about recycling can help students make better choices for the environment.
Conservation – The protection and preservation of natural resources. – Our class project on conservation taught us how to save water and energy at home.
Equity – Fairness and justice in the way people are treated. – In environmental education, equity means ensuring everyone has access to clean air and water.
Recipes – Instructions for preparing a particular dish, including a list of the ingredients required. – In our cooking class, we used recipes that focused on using locally sourced ingredients to support the environment.
Climate – The weather conditions prevailing in an area in general or over a long period. – Studying the climate helps us understand the long-term changes in weather patterns and their impact on the environment.
Cultures – The ideas, customs, and social behavior of a particular people or society. – Learning about different cultures includes understanding how they interact with their environment and use natural resources.
