Making School Lunch Periods A Better
Experience For Students
Michele Lambrech,
PS/MS 278
Introduction:
Lunchtime
is frequently a rushed, chaotic experience for many students at PS/MS 278.
Students often do not have sufficient time to eat, depending on their place on
the lunch line when getting school lunch, as well as other factors. Although
the lunch period is also meant to be a time to socialize, students often face
difficulties in doing so productively. Class 401 will act as consultants to
PS/MS 278 administration to analyze the challenges facing students at
lunchtime.
Task:
Students
will work in 6 groups of 5 to research various factors that contribute to
lunchtime being too often a rushed, chaotic experience that leads to
frustration for both students and teachers. They will consider how this
research reflects what is happening during lunchtime at PS/MS 278, and
brainstorm alternative solutions to alleviate the problems. Within each group,
the teacher will assign the following roles for students to provide a
differentiated experience that best leverages a variety of student strengths:
Manager/Facilitator: manages the group by helping to
ensure that the group stays on task and everyone participates
Encourager/Questioner: uses probing questions to
facilitate deeper thinking and other ideas (playing “devil’s advocate”)
Recorder: restates and writes down key
findings of the group on the worksheet
Timekeeper: ensures that group stays on track
within the assigned time
Spokesperson/Presenter: shares worksheet findings with
class (and at a later time to
administration with other group spokespeople)
Process/Resources:
Process:
1) Your group will read and discuss 1-2
articles (or parts of an article, to
chunk longer ones into sections) about the impact of national and/or local
lunch policies on student behaviors, and ideas about ways to improve the
lunchtime experience at schools.
2) Your group will work together in your
assigned roles to complete the attached worksheet (to be created by M. Lambrech to map to the 6
PPA steps linked below).
3) Your group will prepare a brief
presentation to share your findings and worksheet results with the rest of the
class. Afterwards, at a later time soon, all group spokespersons will come
together to present the class’s findings and ideas to PS/MS 278 administration.
CONTENT OF THE WORKSHEET:
1) Write 1-2 sentences to define the
problem: (Ex: Lunchtime is too often a
rushed, chaotic experience for many students at PS/MS 278. Many students have difficulty balancing both
eating and socializing in a relaxed manner within limited time constraints.)
2) What is the evidence that this
problem exists? (according to your
article, what statistics or facts support the existence of students feeling
rushed or chaotic during lunchtime?)
3) According to your article, what are
the causes of this problem?
4) Think about how your findings
reflect what’s happening at PS/MS 278. What solutions or policies currently
exist that aim to make lunch a better experience for kids at our school?
5) What more could be done to
make lunchtime less rushed or chaotic at PS/MS 278? How could existing policies be changed? List
three ideas.
6) Which of your ideas in #5 seems the
most reasonable (feasible) to propose
to PS/MS 278 administration? What might be an effective (likely to work) idea to try at our school?
OPTIONAL: you may wish to click on the following hyperlinks
to further explain the 6 sections of the worksheet above.
4) Evaluate an Existing Policy
Lunchtime as a rushed, chaotic experience may result from a
combination of factors, such as students feeling pressured to eat quickly, the
lack of or limited opportunity for physical activities (especially during winter months), a lack of other structured
activities that foster positive collaboration, a lower adult-to-student ratio
to help manage behavior, and an overall larger group of students together in
one physical location.
3)
Your group will prepare a brief (3-5 minute) report to share your findings from
your article, how they relate to your experiences, and your ideas for making
positive changes at PS/MS 278.
Resources -- General Background on Lunch
Periods in Schools:
Why
Lunch, Exercise, Sleep, and Air Quality Matter At
School 
https://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2019/03/13/why-lunch-exercise-sleep-and-air-quality.html
Rethinking
Lunchtime: How To Make School Meals An Integral Part
of Curriculum 
How
Students Would Improve Their Lunch Experience 
https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/54548/how-students-would-improve-their-school-lunch-experience
Recess
Makes Kids Smarter 
https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/articles/teaching-content/recess-makes-kids-smarter/
Lunchtime
Is So Short In Some Public Schools, Students Are Going
Hungry 
Let’s
Do Lunch! 
https://www.responsiveclassroom.org/lets-do-lunch/
Order
in the Cafeteria: Tips For Improving Behavior and
Supervision 
https://www.educationworld.com/a_admin/admin/admin493.shtml
Lunchtime
Activities at School 
https://classroom.synonym.com/lunchtime-activities-school-6537407.html
Evaluation
(Rubric):
|
|
4 |
3 |
2 |
1 |
|
Research |
All 6 worksheet sections are
complete with relevant, accurate information from resources |
Most (at least 5) worksheet
sections are complete with mostly accurate, relevant information from
resources |
Some (at least 4) worksheet
sections are complete with mostly accurate, relevant information from
resources |
Few (3 or less) worksheet sections
are complete with mostly accurate, relevant information from resources |
|
Worksheet |
Worksheet is very neat and easy to
read, with no errors |
Worksheet is reasonably neat and
easy to read, with few errors |
Worksheet is somewhat neat and
easy to read, with some errors |
Worksheet lacks neatness or is difficult
to read. with many errors |
|
Presentation |
Spokesperson presents the group’s
findings with high accuracy, speaking loudly and clearly; teammates are quiet
and supportive during share out |
Spokesperson presents the group’s
findings with reasonable accuracy, speaking mostly loudly and clearly;
teammates are mostly quiet and supportive during share out |
Spokesperson presents the group’s
findings with some accuracy; may need to speak more loudly or clearly;
teammates are somewhat quiet and supportive during share out |
Spokesperson does not present the
group’s findings with accuracy; he/she is difficult to hear or understand;
teammates have difficulty being quiet or supportive during share out |
|
Teamwork |
Group members support each others’ understanding of the texts and stay highly
focused on the task; everyone is responsible for a specific role |
Group members support each others’ understanding of the texts and are mostly
focused on the task; most group members assume responsibility for a specific
task |
Some group members support each others’ understanding of the text; some group
members are unfocused or do not contribute fully to the task |
Not all group members understand
or can speak to the task at hand; some members may need additional focus or
do not contribute to the task |
Conclusion:
Congratulations!
PS/MS 278 administration will hear and review each group’s findings to develop
and refine school policies that impact students’ experience at lunchtime. You
have learned how to participate as part of a research team by reading sources
of information to find facts that help explain your problem and support your
ideas for creating solutions. You are now ready to apply these skills to any
non-fiction topic you wish to study! You have also increased your background
knowledge of lunchtime and recess issues that impact students nationwide. Being
informed empowers you to make better decisions and act for positive change!
Standards:
RI.4.1:
Key Ideas and Details: refer to details and examples in a text when explaining
what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text
RI4.2:
Key Ideas and Details: determine the main idea of a text and explain how it is
supported by key details; summarize the text
RI.4.3:
Key Ideas and Details: explain events, procedures, ideas, or concepts in a
historical, scientific, or technical text
RI.4.4:
Craft and Structure: determine the meaning of general academic and
domain-specific words or phrases in a text relevant to a grade 4 topic or
subject area
RI.4.5:
Craft and Structure: describe the overall structure (i.e. chronology,
comparison, cause/effect, ideas, concepts, or information in a text or part of
a text)
RI.4.7:
Integration of Knowledge and Ideas: interpret information presented visually,
orally, or quantitatively (i.e. in charts, graphs, diagrams, timelines,
animations, or interactive elements on web pages)
RI
4.8: Integration of Knowledge and Ideas: explain how an author uses reasons and
evidence to support particular points in a text
RI.
4.9: Integration of Knowledge and Ideas: integrate information from two (or
more) texts on the same topic in order to write or speak about the subject
knowledgeably
W4.4:
Writing: Production and Distribution of Writing: produce clear and cohesive
writing in which the development and organization are appropriate to task,
purpose and audience
W4.7.:
Research to Build and Present Knowledge: conduct short research projects that
build knowledge through investigation of different aspects of a topic
SL4.1.:
Comprehension and Collaboration: engage effectively in a range of collaborative
discussions with diverse partners on grade 4 topics and texts, building on
others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly
SL4.2.:
Comprehension and Collaboration: paraphrase portions of a text read aloud or
information presented in diverse media and formats, including visually,
quantitatively, and orally
SL
4.4.: Presentation of Knowledge and Ideas: report on a topic or text...using
appropriate facts and relevant, descriptive details to support main ideas
SS
4.10.10: Local and State Governments: citizens can participate in political
decision making and problem solving at the local, state, and national levels