Fresh air. S’mores. Fishing. And friends. What a joy and privilege it was to join our 7th grade students at Camp Nock-A-Mixon for Outdoor School this past week. Students spent two days participating in outdoor activities such as canoeing, archery, hiking, and more - even Dr. Hoffman got in on the fun!
But the work of creating Outdoor School’s menu began last winter in Ms. Jerrom’s health and physical education class. Eighth-grade students explored an interactive nutrition lesson on food groups to help create the Outdoor School menu. Each class began with independent interactive activities where students focused on different food groups each day. This project was developed with ongoing support from QCSD Instructional Coach Mr. Silvius. Together, they designed the lesson to provide students with faster feedback, create a more collaborative experience, and allow teachers to be more present during instruction.
The interactive activities gave students choices in how they completed assessments and allowed them to select learning and testing pathways that best matched their preferences. Student scores determined the customized path forward, and while all students completed the same lesson objectives, they did so through engaging formats such as educational games, matching activities, drag-and-drop exercises, and more. The path to the finish line may have looked different for each student, but the assessment outcome remained the same. After completing the activities, students took a follow-up quiz and needed to meet a target score before moving on to the next food group.
Following the individual sessions, students worked together to highlight key facts from each day’s food group and connect them to the culminating project: designing a four-day meal plan for Outdoor School.
This lesson gave students authentic insight into nutrition and the planning involved in large-scale food preparation. Food Services Manager, Ms. Beatrice, answered student-generated questions using a podcast creation tool shared by Principal Dr. Crater. Through this work, students created menu proposals for Outdoor School with the goal of having their menu selected and earning the opportunity to attend Outdoor School to help serve the meal they designed. Students also collaborated with cafeteria staff to learn about large-group meal planning, nutrition basics, trash management, and additional food service considerations.
Once the project was complete, the top four meal-planning teams were selected to assist with serving lunch at this year’s Spring Outdoor School.
Congratulations to Ms. Jerrom and Mr. Silvius on creating this interactive lesson that took students beyond the classroom and into the real world of meal preparation and healthy food choices. Students shared that the experience had them “locked in” and enjoyed how this creative blend of technology and real-world application helped them discover healthy meals, teamwork, and strong leadership skills - especially:
Ellie B.
Morgan A.
Cameron H.
Xander B.
April D.
Carter M.
Leanna S.
Sammi M.
