What I Teach

5-12-2013

Astronaut Food

This is one of those "end of school" weeks where I can't take any more grades and I don't have any more tests to give, yet I still have 130 children to keep interested.  So, on Friday I let the students help me plan what to teach for next week.  Hopefully the fact that they chose the topics of space travel and black holes will help to keep them interested.  Most of the kids wanted to do a lab activity and I  had told them that I didn't have another one planned, but I fibbed.  I had one in mind, but not necessarily planned.  So tomorrow, I'm going to surprise them.

My kids love food.

I know all 6th graders LOVE food, but my kids are exceptional in this area. They think that I absolutely hung the moon whenever I provide some activity with snackage at the end.  So, Monday, I will be a celebrity among 6th graders.  All the kids will want to be in my class.  Talk about a power trip for the teacher!

Monday I will surprise the kids with a lab activity about what astronauts can and cannot eat in space.  We will test some easy to find dried and packaged foods that are similar to astronaut food.  I'll bring jerky, tortillas, dried fruit,, cliff bars, and tang.  We will discuss why astronauts have to eat tortillas and not bread (because of the crumbs!).  We will then try to brainstorm other foods that astronauts could take in space.  Things like milk would never do, because that spoils and requires refrigeration

Check out the introduction here!.   

It's going to be a fun little activity for the kids and it will lead into Tuesday's talks on space travel.  Then we will discuss Black Holes.  I'm looking forward to that.