Day 3:

Math- "Food For Thought"

Social Studies- “What were the Nuremberg Laws?”

English- “The Ceremony”

Food For Thought

Topic: Working with Fractions in the Baking World

Objectives

1. Students will be able to reduce recipes to meet the needs of the group.

2. Student will work together to develop problem solving skills.

3. Students will consider how traditions can shape a person, and how they are passed on from generation to generation.

Materials needed

1. Schwaninger Pfeffernusse Recipe

2. Premade Pfeffernusse

3. 5 pound bag of flour.

4. Recipe Worksheet

5. Baking Conversion Sheet

Procedure

• Introduction

1. Write the fourth recipe up on the board before students get into the classroom.

2. Tell the story of the recipe while holding up a bag of the pfeffernusse: This recipe is one of my grandmother’s that has been passed on from generation to generation. My grandma when she was younger than you worked with her mother and grandmother on making this, without a mixer, without most of the tools we take for granted. It was developed several hundreds of years ago as a way to celebrate Christmas. Because my grandmother’s family was a long line of teachers in Denmark, Switzerland, and Germany, most of the history of that side of the family was kept, including this recipe.

When I was a child, my mother wanted to put the recipe into a church cookbook that she was working on developing, however she came across a little problem: the original recipe called for 28 cups of flour! The average bag of flour (around 5 pounds) contains only 20 cups of flour (hold up the bag of flour). She quickly realized that she was going to have to reduce it to a more reasonable amount, that is the recipe on the board. Today we are going to look at how much we would have to make to have enough for our class but not have too much left over. 

• Lesson Steps

1. Discuss with the students why the original recipe might have been so large: Was it to feed a lot of people, was it simply tradition? What might have been different about life several hundreds of years ago in Switzerland and Denmark? Because it was made for Christmas time, do you think that might have made a difference as to how large the quantities were? (I honestly have no idea why the recipe is as large as it is, Grandma and my mom never told me, however, I imagine that because families were often larger back then and sending each other gifts of food during that time was common, that would account for the large quantities. Be open to the ideas that the students might have, they probably have a better idea than I do).

2. Ask the students if they can think of any recipes that they had passed on through the generations, and if the recipes would say anything about their family history. Does their family have any traditions that they passed on, and if so what? My family passed on the teaching tradition, even if it skipped a few generations, and they passed on a number of ideas about how to live life, and that has shaped me to be the person I am, a unique individual.

3. Discuss with the students how traditions can shape a person. In the book The Giver children don’t know their grandparents, they don’t have a sense of tradition other than the one of their community. Is this better for the community, or is it better to have ideas that pass on from grandparent to grandchild?

• Answers may vary, most students will probably conclude that traditions and family are important.

4. Have students get into groups of 2-4, and hand out recipe worksheet.

5. If we know that the recipe on the board is the fourth of the original, then how much of each ingredient is in the original recipe? Hand out the Conversion Worksheet, and have the students work on developing the original recipe, and hand out the baking conversion sheet to help the students calculate this. Compare it to the copy you have been provided. Did the students remember to reduce their fractions? Did they remember to convert every 3 teaspoons into a tablespoon? After making sure that each group has a correct copy of the recipe, then move onto the next step.

6. Ask the students to figure out how many students are in the class. After coming to a consensus, inform the students that we want each student to have ½ a cup of pfeffernusse. How many cups of the recipe do we need?

7. After calculating how many cups are needed (The fourth of the recipe is enough for 24 students, and the third of the recipe is 32 students), have the students calculate how much of a gallon is necessary for the class.

8. Working in groups ask the students to calculate how much of each ingredient will be necessary. Remind students that they can use the expanded recipe and then work back down to a smaller amount.

9. After each of the groups have developed their version of the recipe, compare the different recipes to what you have calculated out ahead of time. What differences are there?

10. Now inform the students that we want to make sure that we have enough for the entire 7^th grade and that you need x number of gallons (calculate the number of gallons prior to the class period). If you know that you have 50 students in the 7^th grade class, and each student is supposed to have ½ a cup of pfeffernusse, then you will need 25 cups or 2 ¼ gallons. Have the students convert the recipe again to meet the needs of the entire grade.

11. Once again compare the recipes and make sure that the groups would have enough for the entire grade.

• Closure

1. Pass out enough pfeffernusse to each student (if desired prebag them so that you can make sure that each student has enough). While students are munching discuss why this might be useful to know for future reference, that is why learning how to convert recipes might be helpful.

• If we ever want to cook for our families or friends, then we need to know how much we will need to have to feed our families. Knowing how to convert recipes will help you meet the needs of others. No one wants to go hungry.

2. Share the recipe that you have calculated out for the entire middle school. Watch as the student’s eyes bug out at the sheer quantities involved. Remind the students that when the recipe was made in full, that they were mixing it by hand. A lot of hard work went into making pfeffernusse, so they can share with friends and family. They thought of others first instead of complaining about how hard it was. Now that is food for thought.

Assignment:

• Basic- The assignment is for the students to find a family recipe and convert it such that there would be enough for the entire class could eat some. Extra credit could be considered if they also made the food and brought it to the class (this is completely optional, but who doesn’t love food?). Also, have the students journal on the idea of traditions that their family has, and how those traditions shape the way they think about things.

Extension: None.

Evaluation:

• Students should be evaluated on how well they work with their peers, and on whether or not the assignment has been completed. They should also be evaluated on their responses in class: is tradition important, are they understanding the importance of working to meet the needs of others? Did they develop a method of solving the problem at hand with little teacher guidance?

What Were The Nuremburg Laws?

Objectives:

1. Students will know what the Nuremberg Laws were and how they came about.

2. Iowa State Standards: Essential Concepts and/or Skills for Grades 6-8

• Understand the role of culture and cultural diffusion on the development and maintenance of societies. (History)

• Understand the influences on individual and group behavior and group decision-making. (Behavioral Sciences)

Materials:

1. Computer

2. Projector

3. My class example of the Nuremburg Laws can be found at http://web.jjay.cuny.edu/~jobrien/reference/ob14.html

4. The Adolph Hitler clip found in the PowerPoint is from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4iY56JpRkD0 (Note, this clip is in German with no subtitles but allowing students to see the actions and power that Hitler held over people while giving this speech can still be understood despite a language barrier.)

Procedure:

• Lesson Steps:

1. The teacher will begin with a short class discussion about what was discussed in the pervious Social Studies lesson. Discussion questions should include the following.

•  Who was Anne Frank?

•  Where was she from?

•  Why was she and her people persecuted?

•  What were the Jews forced to do during their oppression by the Nazi’s?

•  Where were the Jewish people sent to?

•  What were the 5-superpower countries that fought in WWII?

2. The teacher will then show a copy of the Nuremberg Laws and a video of Adolph Hitler addressing his problem with the Jews in Europe. The teacher will explain what is going on in both documents.

Click here for the Nuremberg Laws

Click here for the Hitler video

3. Students will be divided in groups and will answer the following questions and then discuss them within the groups. A copy of the Nuremberg Laws will be displayed on the overhead for the class to look at when discussing.

•  What were the Nuremburg Laws?

Answer: Laws created to limit the power that the Jews had, restricted the freedom that the Jewish people had.

•  What is Section 1 about? Why didn’t the Nazi’s want marriages between Jews and Germans?

Answer: The outlawing of marriages between Jews and German citizens, because they didn’t want more Jews around and wanted to limit their power.

•  What is Section 4 about? Why weren’t allowed to display pride for their race?

Answer:  Because the Nazi’s wanted to destroy all hope and motivation for the Jews. They didn’t want them to rise up and defend themselves at all.

•  What were the consequences for the Jews breaking these rules?

Answer: Jail, death, persecution, concentration camps.

•  How did this result in life being more difficult for the Jews? (After all, these rules were just a guide, but life did become much more difficult for the Jews.) Why?

Answer: They were not allowed to defend themselves at all. They were forced to submit to the persecution. They were no longer able to legally live the way that they always did.

4. Students will now begin to brainstorm about creating a modern-day Nuremberg Law that would limit their own freedom. What laws or rules could you make that would completely change your life? What would life be like? Students will begin brainstorming in the groups they are split in and then it will be a homework assignment after the time allowed in class. An example could include thoughts about what laws could limit our power here in America. Laws such as no Christian schools, no church, no freedom, and no opportunities to do whatever job you wanted to do.

• Closure: Students will go back to their regular seats. Explain to the students the assignment one more time. Then ask them questions about the lesson and generate a short discussion concerning feelings about this lesson in relation to the Jewish persecution. Some thought provoking questions may be:

1. Why did the Nazi’s create this law? Do you think it would work well or would it not work well? Why?

Answers could include anything pertaining to limiting Jewish freedom and power. The opinion about if it would work is open for the students own interpretation but should be thought out.

2. How did this change the life for the Jews? Do you think that this will be all the German’s would do? Why or why not?

Answers should include anything resulting in a change in Jewish life. Concentration camps, Star of David marks and Jewish beards are all answers.

Assignment:

• The creation of their own Nuremberg Law. This will not be focused around creating a law to discriminate against race but rather it will focus on what laws could be created for you and your family to loose power? Also students must answer how they would feel in a situation like this. The response paper must be at least half of a page but can be more.

Evaluation:

• The evaluation will be based on participation and discussion in the class during our reflections and answers to the questions concerning the Nuremberg Laws. A formal evaluation will be taken by the assignment that the students will complete. This may be done in class if time allows but will likely be a homework assignment. This assignment is worth 10 points and will be graded like this:

5 Points: Students have thoughtfully considered what a modern Nuremberg Law may look like. Students understand how the laws discriminated against the Jewish people.

5 Points: Students completed the project and it includes evidence of an understanding of how the Nuremberg Laws were laid out. The project is also visually appealing.

The Ceremony

Topic: Calling/Career (chapters 4 and 5)

Objective(s):

1. Students will be able to understand important character themes from The Giver by inferring traits, feelings, and motives of the characters (Iowa Content Standard).

2. Students will be able to wrestle with the idea of calling and vocation, recognizing that God created individuals with different, important gifts.

Materials needed:

1. Job Personality Quiz Online

2. Laptops or computers with Internet access for each student (computer lab)

3. Character Worksheet

4. A Bible

5. Student Journals

Procedure:

• Introduction

1. Remind students that last time we talked about colors and how there are no colors in the society in The Giver.

2. Ask students what they noticed about colors in the first few chapters

Expected answer: the color of the apple or the color of Jonas’ eyes.

3. Ask students what these details about color tell us about Jonas.

Expected answer: that he is different/special.

4. Ask students what event Jonas is anticipating in the book.

Expected answer: Jonas will find out his role/career in the community during the ceremony.

• Lesson steps

1. Tell students they will be doing a simulation to The Ceremony.

2. Tell students that there is a quiz online that will tell them what job they are best suited for.

3. Have each student go to a computer and go to the Job Personality Quiz Online.

4. Give students time to react to quiz results (2 min.).

5. Tell them that these quizzes aren’t necessarily accurate; they are more of a suggestion then a command.

6. Tell students our jobs are not assigned to us and we can pick a career that interests us.

• God has assigned us a job by giving us special gifts and talents that will be used in that job.

• We have more freedom than the people in The Giver.

7. Tell students the elders in the Giver look at each of the citizens very carefully to find the best placement for them.

8. Divide students into groups of 3 or 4 and give each student the Character Worksheet.

9. Tell students to think about what they have read so far. Ask students to write down personality characteristics they notice about Jonas, Lily, Asher, and Fiona that might give clues to where the Elders will place them. Students may look in their books for more characteristics.

10. Tell students to leave the second table empty. They will fill that out when the read the next chapter at home.

• Closure

1. Tell students that God has given us each unique gifts that will be used in our careers in the future, and each of these gifts are important in the body of Christ.

2. Read 1 Corinthians 12: 4-26 as a blessing for the students for the day.

Assignment:

1. Students will complete the rest of the worksheet while reading chapters 7 and 8 in The Giver

2. Students will also write a 300-word journal listing what job they believe the elders would give them and personal characteristics that support this placement.

Evaluation:

• Students will receive 5 points for the worksheet if it is handed in completed.

• Journal Assignment-