Applied Lesson Plan - Cognition

There are a few things that I can do to help students remember the information taught in a specific lesson. There are three specific strategies that I would use in this lesson plan to make the information stick in the student’s long-term memory. First I would use a chain method mnemonic to help the students remember the different food groups in the food pyramid. The mnemonic is DMOFVG which stands for Drinking Milk Often Feels Very Good. The students will then take the first letter of each word to help them remember the six food groups: Dairy, Meats, Others, Fruits, Vegetables, and Grains.

Another strategy I would use to make this lesson stick is elaboration. I would use elaboration to help the students understand how much different measurements are using terms they know and can relate to. Everyday the student is supposed to consume the following amounts of each food group:

Grains Elaboration
1 ounce or 1/2 cup cooked rice is the size of a tennis ball, ice cream scoop
1 one ounce pancake is the size of a compact disc (CD)
1 ounce or 1/2 cup cooked pasta is the size of a cupcake wrapper full
1 piece of cornbread (1 ounce) is the size of a bar of soap
1 slice of bread (1 ounce) is the size of an audiocassette tape
1 cup of cereal flakes (1 ounce) is the size of a *fist

Vegetables Elaboration
1 cup salad greens is the size of a baseball or a *fist
1 baked potato is the size of a *fist or computer mouse
3/4 cup tomato juice is the size of a small Styrofoam cup
1/2 cup cooked broccoli is the size of a scoop of ice cream or a light bulb
1/2 cup serving is the size 6 asparagus spears; 7 or 8 baby carrots or carrot sticks or 1 ear of corn on the cob

Fruits Elaboration
1/2 cup of grapes (15 grapes) is the size of a light bulb
1/2 cup of fresh fruit is the size of 7 cotton balls
1 medium size fruit is the size of a tennis ball or a *fist
1 cup of cut-up fruit (2 servings) is the size of a *fist
1/4 cup raisins is the size of a large egg


Dairy Elaboration
1-1/2 ounces natural cheese is the size of a 9-volt battery, 3 dominoes
1 ounce processed cheese (1/2 serving) is the size of a pair of dice or your **thumb


Meats Elaboration
2 tablespoons peanut butter-equal to 1 oz. of meat is the size of a Ping-Pong ball
1 tablespoon peanut butter is the size of a thumb tip *
3 ounces cooked meat, fish, poultry is the size of a palm, a deck of cards or a cassette tape
3 ounces grilled/baked fish is the size of a checkbook
3 ounces cooked chicken is the size of a chicken leg and thigh or breast


Oils Elaboration
1 teaspoon butter, margarine is the size of a fingertip
2 tablespoons salad dressing is the size of a Ping-Pong ball
SNACK FOODS
1 ounce of nuts or small candies is the size of one handful or 2 shot glasses
1 ounce chips or pretzels is the size of two handfuls
1/2 cup of potato chips, crackers, or popcorn is the size of one man's handful
1/3 cup of potato chips, crackers, or popcorn is the size of one woman's handful

http://www.mckinley.uiuc.edu/handouts/serving_sizes/serving_sizes.htm


A final way that I would help the students to remember what is being taught is by using distributed practice. One week out of every month the students will keep track of everything they eat as well as the amounts they eat. This will be turned in at the end of the semester. This will help the students keep the information in their long-term memory rather than simply forgetting it the day after the lesson.

This lesson goes hand in hand with the cognitive learning theory. As the students enter the classroom I will have different foods from each food group on a table at the front of the classroom. I will have the student come up and get some food and bring it back to their desks. We will then go into a discussion about the food pyramid. This activity will get the students’ attention at the beginning of class so they are actually interested in what is coming next in the lesson. As the students participate in these activities they are processing the information in their working memory. Each activity reinforces the concepts of the lesson and helps the students to really grasp the concept. Using mnemonics, elaboration, and distributed practice the students are able to put the information that has been processing in their working memory (through the different learning activities) into their long-term memory. This way they can easily retain that information whenever necessary. This lesson is especially important because it increases their procedural knowledge. Students will remember this information and know how to eat. Once they get older this will be especially important. We are teaching the students how to live and eat and we want to keep this information in their long-term memory so that it will be useful as they get older. To prevent decay and interference of this information, distributed practice is used. Because the students are processing this information in their working memory at least once a month, they are able to hold this information and gather it in their long-term memory. All of these strategies support the cognitive learning theory and help lessons stick in students’ long-term memory so they are able to transfer that information and maintain it in their working memory when needed.