Deborah Taylor

EDMA 633

Proposal

Left Over Food:  A Profit Proposition

Grade level:  First Grade

Time: 6 Weeks in class work four days a week 45 minutes per day

Purpose:  Students will find a way to use left over food to make a profit.
Importance: Discarded food is a huge problem.  There are many ways to use this product to create energy, feed to animals, or to turn into a compost.  The amount of food thrown away is better served in those ways than it is to take to a landfill.  Plus, the school district spends a large amount to haul it to the dump. 

Student Grouping:  Students will work in groups of four and come up with a proposition to make use of the food that is discarded at the end of each lunch.

Science and technology, and engineering used:  I went to the State of Alaska website to look for a specific standard that would address first grade.  What I found was a third grade standard that suits this lesson.  A1-Science as Inquiry and process:  SA1.1 The student demonstrates an understanding of the process of science by [3] SA1.1 asking questions, predicting, observing, describing, measuring, classifying, making generalizations, inferring, and communication and [3] SA1.2 observing and describing the student’s own world to answer simple questions (http://www.eed.state.ak.us/standards/ ).  Students will need to construct a model of their solution.

Alaska State Math Standards ( and Common Core as used in Anchorage) addressed:  :  2.MD.3. Estimate, measure and draw lengths using whole units of inches, feet, yards, centimeters and meters.

CC.1.OA.5:  Relate counting to addition and subtraction.

CC.2.MD.8:  Solve word problems involving dollar bills, quarters, dimes, nickels, and pennies. 

CC.2.NBT.7.  Add and subtract within 1000, using concrete models or drawings and strategies based on place value properties of operations, and/or the relationship between addition and subtraction; relate the strategy to a written method.  

Method of sharing ideas:  Students will create a model, draw a poster, share their idea to the class via a recorded video.  Students will vote to select the method that is the most practical and cost effective. 

Grading rubric:  problem addressed, solution outline, model built to scale, presentation, and individual group effort

*  I will help them brainstorm ideas, show them what other communities are doing, and support them with their math solutions.  I will NOT tell them the answers, however.  I believe with base ten blocks and other models for the math, we can do this activity.