INTRODUCTION
My name is Michelle Flashman and I am a Family and Consumer Sciences teacher at Roger Ludlowe Middle School in Fairfield, Connecticut. My content area includes grade six through eight foods. Our curriculum also covers nutrition. This is why I chose Planet Nutrition and You Are What You Eat nutrition education software from the Nutrition Company. The Nutrition Company can be reached at (877) 623-7266.
I chose nutrition software because this is the subject that students seem to have the least interest in but the greatest need! These programs offer a unique approach to instruction and can be more thoroughly explored for inquisitive students or presented simply for the learning challenged.
Planet Nutrition is a game type format software suitable for early adolescents. You Are What You Eat is software most effectively used for Diet Analysis and would be suitable for grade eight through High School. The site license for these programs is comparatively inexpensive. Both programs ideally be used for classroom instruction in a computer lab. However, if that were not possible, the accompanying lesson plan to You Are What You Eat allows for paired student groups.
The students in my geographic area are most likely to have access to the latest technology. I believe it is important to make Family and Consumer Sciences relevant by utilizing computers in the classroom. The Nutrition Company software evaluated does not have the kind of graphics, sound and animation my students are accustomed to but is good for an initial introduction to nutrition and diet analysis.