LUNCH AND LEARN PROGRAMDurant-Tuuri-Mott Community School

HISTORY Almost 20 years ago,

DTM School Staff decided to try out a very unique lunch program, which we call “Lunch and Learn.”

The program was shared by a group from Texas as part of their “accelerated school” philosophy.

It has become the highlight of the school day for our students.

SPECIFICS Our students are divided into

2 lunch and learn groups: 1st session – 3rd–6th graders and 2nd session – kindergarten–2nd graders

The opposite group picks up their lunches in the cafeteria and heads back to class to enjoy lunch with their teacher and classmates.

Each activity runs for a 2-week period where students are able to sign up for the activity of their choice.

Each session runs for 39 minutes (includes travel time) Our non-load bearing staff plan for and supervise the

activities. (Includes Title I staff, parapros, attendants, coaches, fine arts teachers, special education teachers, volunteers, and even our own administrators.)

WHY SOMETHING DIFFERENT? TRADITIONAL LUNCH PROGRAM

Difficult to supervise large group of students

Very little actual eating going on during lunch

Too many students outside on the playground at one time

Large amount of behavior and discipline problems during the lunch period

Led to decrease in instruction / learning time due to teachers having to deal with problems after lunch

EFFECTS NOTICED OVER THE 20 YEARS OF IMPLEMENTING “LUNCH AND LEARN”

INCREASES IN:1. Lunches that were actually eaten by students2. Time for students to be engaged in

conversations & social discourse3. Students’ manners and healthy eating choices4. Staff involvement in ALL students’ education5. Meaningful connections between students and

staff (in addition to their classroom teacher)6. Number of adults that know and are invested in

all of our students’ lives (creates a “village” atmosphere)

7. Leadership roles taken by our paraprofessionals and attendants in the activities

8. Amount of time students are engaged and focused during instructional time

EFFECTS CONTINUED …

INCREASES IN:9. Student exposure to

enrichment and extracurricular activities10. Amount of time for physical education (not only due

to activities, but also to time not lost due to students eating in gym and clean up afterwards)

11. Collaboration and cooperation across grade levels and abilities – heterogeneous groups

12. Student motivation – want to be involved in lunch and learn

13. Amount of time general education students are able to swim in DTM’s pool (lunch time is the only time the pool is not used for adaptive P.E. for our special needs students)

EFFECTS CONTINUED …

DECREASES IN:14. Behavior problems during lunch time15. Amount of instructional time devoted to lunch time

problems16. Opportunities for student disengagement or isolation

that occurs in a conventional lunch setting17. Absenteeism (students look forward to being at school,

especially for this part of the day)

EXAMPLES OF ACTIVITIES Math for Fun

Web-Based Learning

iPad Fun

Accelerated Reader (Reading for Fun)

Creation Station (Art)

Puzzles

Swimming

Crim Walking Club

Outside Sportsand

Outside Playground

Jungle Gym

MORE EXAMPLES OF ACTIVITIES Gentleman’s Pride Girl Power Chess Club Board Games Poetry Fun Double Dutch Golf Sledding School Newspaper Book Club / Literature Circle Random Acts of Kindness

(RAK) Club

EXAMPLES OF ACTIVITIES CONTINUED … Dominoes Spanish Cooking Sign Language Story Time Peer Mediation Movies Student Government Wii Interactive Games Music (specific

instruments)

We LOVE Lunch and Learn!!!