Art Clubs and Teaching Nutrition:
Extra Answers to May's Bulletin Board Questions

Elementary Artists

I am a grade 4–6 art teacher and will be starting an art club. Any ideas about activities and how it could be organized?

-- Lorna Pezanelli
Millbury, Massachusetts

Get those kids involved in creating art needed for community events such as Chamber events, local fund raising galas, etc. These are events that are always requiring some kind of signage or art to be auctioned off, etc. Let the kids help design the posters, the namecards for the dinner guests or whatever might be needed. Have them work hand-in-hand with the organizers so that they know exactly what is required.

This is easy and would work with the school schedule as an afterschool project. It gets the kids involved with the movers and shakers of the community, too.

Also, find out who your talented painters are so that you can put out the word about them to business people who need murals done in their office area. There seems to be a constant need for that in our community, and we have kids who are more than happy to get involved with a fun project like that. We have painted community day care walls to semi's in 95-degree heat to churches with theme rooms.

For your art club, hold simple elections. Meetings are the art projects created in the art room after school or at a designated work site. Fund raise by doing projects to earn money for the art club in the community. Have kids figure out a decent price for doing the volunteer work so the funds actually benefit the club.

-- Meg Beshey
High school teacher
Fort Dodge, Iowa

I started an art club for grades 6-8 four years ago. We meet once a week during our noon hour. The students bring in their lunch, and we eat together to provide social time and then we get down to work.

To earn funds for the club, we make all of our own items (all functional and artsy) to sell once or twice a year during noon hours and usually during one concert since that draws the adults in to the school. (We do not do any of the "traditional" types of fund raisers such as candy, gift wrap, candles, etc.)

We also operate as a service-type organization for the school. Doors or bulletin boards that need to be decorated, music props for concerts, special days or people recognition, displays, or special signs, etc. are all things that we offer to do or help out with.

Often, teachers will make a donation to the art club for this service. The money is used near the end of the year for a special field trip to art museums, galleries, to visit working artists in their studios, for artists-in-residence, or for hands-on workshops.

We also provide funds for students to attend summer art camps. Attendance is taken during each meeting so students can earn points (this encourages commitment) toward the free field trip. We have no club officers -- just a secretary to take attendance. An art club is a fun way to bond with and support those students interested in the arts!

-- Barbara Bellmer
Art teacher K-8
Brandon, Wisconsin

When I taught in a middle school, I organized an art club. Students met with me once a week during their advisory period. One project that was hugely popular was letting students choose a piece of artwork from a well-known artist. Our library had many art books from which students could choose. Then they were allowed to use any medium available to reproduce that piece of artwork.

We got some amazing pieces of art that were then displayed during our yearly Arts & Science fair.

-- Janice Itzel
Wyoming, Delaware

How about a school scrapbook? Scrapbooking is a lot of fun, and it can be done with materials from the classroom. You can divide tasks among students, like have one group collect information (such as sports scores) and have another group sketch layouts for each section. You can also have each student bring photos and souvenirs of school events to add to the scrapbook.

This is a project you can keep going all year long, and even let students work on it when they're finished with class work. Plus, it will be a treasured addition to the school office or library for years to come.

-- Rebecca Burch
Charleston, West Virginia

Assuming this is a gifted/pull-out class of kids whom you have chosen, you have the opportunity to do those projects that you couldn't do with a "regular" art class of 25+ kids. Doing things like creating plaster masks on each other, a school installation/mural or group sculpture are suggestions.

Another big thing right now is doing projects in the community (check out Peter London's book). School Arts has the best ideas, as you probably know. Luckily you are in the great state of Massachusetts, where MAEA has great conferences to make contacts and get great ideas. Be sure to attend whenever you get the chance!

-- Anne Tavares-Buker
Visual arts teacher
Lakeville, Massachusetts

I am an elementary art teacher who teaches K-5 art. I have art club divided into two grade levels: 2-3 graders and 4-5 graders. Each group meets one time a month from 3:15 to 4:15.

When I organized art club three years ago, I sent a note home asking for anyone interested to come to an informational meeting. I had 126 students show up along with parents! The interest is there.

The first year I let all students be part of the club, and I had two other teachers help out who were interested in art. That is too many! The next two years, I limited the number, and the first 25 who signed up were part of art club. I still have a teacher assist me and, working with my principal, I have a small budget as well. I did receive a grant the first year and was able to obtain a large number of supplies that I still use this year.

Some of the activities I had and still do are: acrylic painting on canvas (6-inch x 6-inch piece of canvas), tin metal repoisse, watercolor paints on watercolor paper, self-hardening clay (we don't have a kiln so this is a big thing and the kids love this one), calligraphy, batik, and printmaking.

-- Marylynn Meredith
Normal, Illinois

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High School Eaters

I am interested in teaching an elective science course in nutrition to high school juniors and seniors. Are there programs out there like that?

-- Judd Hulbert
High school science teacher
La Mesa, California

I used to teach a nutritional science course. One site I enjoy is www.kidseatwell.org . When looking for curriculum, try keywords such as food science, nutritional science or family and consumer science. Try your local college or university Web sites or the National Science Teachers Association to get you started.

-- Jenny Miller, NBCT
Family and consumer sciences
Plainfield, Illinois

I have developed a science-based nutrition curriculum that I used to fulfill a MS in human nutrition. The course is titled "Human Physiology," and both students and parents are finding it to be an extremely useful course in learning the benefits of a healthy diet.

I'd love to share this curriculum with as many teachers (particularly science teachers) as possible. I'm not looking to make any money, and the curriculum is free to anyone who is willing to look at it — send me an e-mail.

-- Juan Lauchu
High school science teacher
Saline, Michigan
lauchuj@saline.k12.mi.us

There are great courses and texts combining science and food. They are usually called "Food Science" or "Nutritional Science." I have been teaching nutritional science for about 15 years. Kentucky has a course outline available as it is taught in many of our Family Consumer Science departments. It can also be an interdisciplinary course between FCS and chemistry teachers. Glencoe McGraw-Hill publishers and Goodheart-Wilcox publishers both have excellent texts for the course. It can be taught as a 1 credit or ½ credit class.

-- Carol Eicher
Family consumer science teacher
London, Kentucky

Yes, nutrition information for kids and teens abounds!! It is unfortunate that your school district does not offer family and consumer sciences (home economics) courses. There are several nutrition/foods courses being taught by thousands of certified FACS teachers across the country.

Unfortunately, this vital information on food choices and nutritional content is not valued enough by our government to be included in standardized testing, and therefore must be cut during the budget crunches that all school districts face.

I commend you for including nutrition science in your curriculum. There is more information out there on nutrition than you will probably be able to use!! Here are some companies you can order curricula from directly. They include textbooks, visual aids, interactive software, high-interest lab/hands-on activities, etc. You can also request a catalog from them or find links to related sites: Glencoe Publishing, Nasco Family & Consumer Sciences, Sax Family & Consumer Sciences Store.

Our health is our future!!

-- Kimberly Potts
FACS teacher
Cleveland, Ohio

I admire your interest in nutrition and possibly working with food from a science perspective. Have you checked with your department of public instruction and high school and middle school programs to see what the family and consumer sciences classes offer? There are many programs already in the works which are co-taught by the FCS teacher and the science teacher. If there are none in your area, contact me and I will steer you in the right direction.

-- Beverly Braun
bbraun@greenbay.k12.wi.us
Family and consumer sciences teacher
Green Bay, Wisconsin

A hundred years ago, Ellen Swallow Richards started courses based in scientific principles called home economics.

Since 1993, it has been called family and consumer sciences. Teachers with science education backgrounds are certified to teach nutrition courses. In my high school we have "Nutrition and Fitness" as one of the elective course offerings in the Family and Consumer Science Department. Each of our other food courses also include a large component of nutrition for our students.

There is also a FACS-related organization for students with a variety of programs called FCCLA (Family, Career, Community Leaders of America). This organization encourages chapter members to develop peer education projects in areas such as nutrition. That national program is called Student Body. The website is www.fcclainc.org .

Health teachers often teach nutrition as well as part of a comprehensive health education program. In Massachusetts, the state curriculum framework includes nutrition as part of the standards-based curriculum requirements. The teachers from the disciplines of physical education, health, and family and consumer science deliver these standards. Many staff members hold dual certifications in PE/Health or FACS/Health. There are plenty of programs already in place.

-- Kathy Lavery
Weymouth, Massachusetts

We schedule students for a really great class called "Fitness and Nutrition." This class is taught by a health/PE teacher and a foods teacher. Students alternate between PE class and an introduction to nutrition. The course syllabus includes learning how to improve their fitness levels with exercise and how to put together nutritious meals, snacks, etc.

-- Rita Arias Jirasek
High school counselor
Dolton, Illinois

Nutrition and food science can be covered by the Agricultural Science Department of many high schools, of which you have many excellent departments in California; you need to get in touch with the Agricultural Teachers Association in California for more info.

Here in NJ our foods classes are taught by our home economics teachers and our ag science teachers. These classes include foods, food science, commercial food processing, nutrition and cooking techniques. We are hoping at our high school to somehow integrate our two programs.

-- Cynthia A. Roszel
Ag science teacher