Science, Health, and Physical Education
(April 26-June 9, 2010)
In this unit, students will take part in the following activities:
- Students will devote much of this unit to researching the US Health Care System. They will read articles about Health Care Reform and create a spreadsheet that compares the current system to the new system that will emerge under the legislation that was just passed. Student must have a thorough knowledge of government and policy in order to become responsible and caring world citizens. (Florida Sunshine State Standards 01.01, 01.02, 01.03, 02.01, 02.02, 02.03, 2.04,02.05,02.06,02.07,02.08,02.09,02.10,02.11,02.12,02.13,02.14,02.15,02.16,03.01,03.02,03.03,03.04,03.05,03.06,03.07,03.08, 03.09, 06.03, 06.04, 06.04, 06.05, 06.06, 24.0,25.0,26.0)
- Students will engage in lessons geared toward teaching middle-school students about the economy. In order to fulfill out mission here at ABLE and nurture the development of responsible and caring future leaders, students will be expected to end this school year with a basic understanding of free trade, the global marketplace, and economic data.
(Florida Sunshine State Standards 07.0, 08.0, M.A.D. 1.3., M.A.D.2.3, M.A.E. 1.3, M.A.E.2.3)
Health Care Project (May 3-May 21, 2010)
Mrs. Billette’s Business Classes
NOTE: There are many parts to this project and it will take you three weeks to complete all of the work.
WHY IS DIET AND EXERCISE IMPORTANT?
There is a STRONG connection between food, physical activity and health. Taking proper care of one’s health (physical and mental) is important- even at your age!
FACTS:
- 20% of children are overweight in the US (obesity is the leading cause of diabetes)
- Only 2% of children enough fruits and vegetables every day (fruits and veggies prevent many types of cancer)
- 1 in 3 children have high cholesterol (which can lead to heart attacks)
Taking care of our bodies by eating right and exercising is very important to leading a long and medically trouble-free life. Being overweight has profound health implications. Obesity, or being very overweight, significantly increases a person’s risk of many life threatening conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, and some types of cancer.
Obesity is a preventable problem. However, two-thirds of American adults are overweight. Childhood obesity is at an all-time high. This is more than just a cosmetic concern. Ultimately, obesity can be life threatening.
The good news is that even a small weight loss, if necessary, can bring improvements in health. Often this can be accomplished by combining healthier eating patterns (your “diet”) with more active behavior.
In this project, we are going to learn about different types of foods, analyze some of the foods we eat, investigate diseases that are closely associated with being overweight, and rewrite a favorite family recipe to make it healthier.
Your objective/goal in this project is to learn how to make wise choices about food and exercise. Your goal is to become a healthy adult who does not have pay thousands of dollars and spend hours in doctor’s offices or hospitals for diseases such as diabetes, cancer and depression.
By the end of this lesson, you will understand what “physical activity” means. In addition, you will know how to analyze the nutritional information of food and think of ways to improve your diet (“diet” refers to eating habits in general, whether they are unhealthy or healthy). Furthermore, you will gain experience researching information and presenting it to your class.
Your grade will be based on these ten components (ten points each for a total of 100 points):
- Keep a journal of your daily food intake and reflections on how you felt on those days for one week (May 4th through May 21st). You will type this in MS Word.
- Analyze 5 foods available in your home on a regular basis and determine whether or not they are healthy. You will type this in MS Word.
- Analyze nutritional intake of a favorite family recipe and rewrite the recipe, making substitutions, to make it healthier. You will type this in MS Word.
- Work with a partner to compare the nutrition in 2 fast-food menu options. Present your group’s findings on 2 fast-foods and their nutritional data, with a recommendation of what you could eat instead. You will create a PowerPoint presentation for this part.
- Investigate a disease associated with obesity, and present your findings to the class. You and your partner will create a PowerPoint for this part.
- Make a recommendation (to yourself) regarding your diet and exercise habits. You will type this in MS Word.
- Explain what “physical activity” means (including examples), why it is important, and how much you should get. You will type this in MS Word.
- Opinion Essay on US Health Care System compared to Canada. You will type this in MS Word.
- Email the MS Word Documents to me by May 24th. You get 10 points just for sending this on time!
- You will present your PowerPoint on May 27th/28th. You get 10 points just for being here to present your Powerpoint!!
Below are detailed steps to help you complete all 10 of your tasks:
- Our journey begins with you keeping a journal. Starting on May 4th and continuing until May 21st, every time you eat – even if it’s just a handful of hot Cheetos from a friend, write it down. Keep track of when you ate, how much you ate, and how you felt after eating. You can use this Nutrition Journal. Click on the link, go to “File” and “Edit with Microsoft Word”. Then you can save it and just/copy paste it for each new day. Don’t forget to record your physical activity for the day at the bottom of the page.2
- After you have kept your journal for one week, look back over your food choices and write one paragraph describing whether you think you eat mostly healthy foods, unhealthy foods, or a mix of both.
- Humans are creatures of habit. Some things we really like, and some things we can’t stand. Therefore, you should start to see some patterns in your eating habits after a few days. Maybe you eat cereal everyday for breakfast or you have pizza for lunch at least twice a week. Whatever foods you eat, pick 2 that you eat most often. Go to http://www.nutritiondata.com/ and use their database to find the total calories as well as calories from carbohydrates, fat, and protein for each of your 2 foods. Be sure you check the serving size at the top of the page before you record your nutritional information. (I will show you how to use this database in class). Click on this link and save your Food Analysis worksheet for you to log your nutritional information in.
- Now that you know how to analyze individual foods, we’re going to look at a bunch of foods together. Time to break out the favorite family recipes! Think of your favorite meal at home…what’s in it? If you don’t know, ask the person who cooks it!! Bring a copy of the recipe to school. Revisit http://www.nutritiondata.com/ in order to analyze the different ingredients that go into your family recipe. Once you have done that, go to the Healthy Substitutions List and see if there are any foods you can change in the recipe. If there aren’t any listed, get creative! What could you replace hamburger with? What could you use instead of canned peaches in heavy syrup? Change your family recipe to include the new substitute ingredients. Did it get any healthier?
- We all love fast foods every now and then. Some of us would like to eat them everyday! But is this good for our bodies? Can fast be healthy? Working with a partner (I will pair you up in class), you will each pick out your favorite fast-food menu item. When you have chosen what your favorite fast-food item is, head to http://www.fatcalories.com/ and look for the nutrition information about your food. If you can’t find your favorite fast-food item there, pick one that is similar to it. For example, if you love burritos, check out the nutrition information for a burrito at Taco Bell. Now that you and a partner have researched and recorded information about your 2 favorite fast-foods (scary, isn’t it?), it’s time to look for a healthy alternative. Try to think of a fast-food restaurant that you think might have a healthy alternative (for example a salad instead of a burger). Check out their menus and look for a replacement item. Record the nutrition information for that one. Put all this information into a PowerPoint with images of the foods you have chosen. You and your partner are almost ready to present your findings to the class!
- So you’ve learned about foods. But why do people always talk about exercise? Why is it important to get moving? Go to http://www.mypyramid.gov/pyramid/physical_activity_why.html and find out (1) what is physical activity, (2) why is moving important, and (3) how much exercise should you get, and how often (use the links on the right side of the screen) and 4) how many days during your journal log activity did you actually get enough exercise? Type your findings in MS Word answering the four above questions.
- OK, so not all foods are good for you. Also, we now know that we probably should exercise daily in order to stay healthy. What happens if we don’t eat healthy and exercise? What happens if we just sit in front of the TV and eat whatever we want? Well, studies have shown that people who don’t eat well and who aren’t active are at risk for many diseases that can cripple or even kill them! Go online and see the short list of the most common diseases related to being overweight, at MedicineNet.com. You should be able to explain what the disease is, what causes it, and any ways that are known to prevent it. Use this Disease Notes Template to help you organize your research.
- What happens when citizens get very ill in the United States? Most people cannot afford the thousands of dollars in medical bills that often emerges from a stay at a hospital. For that reason, most people buy health insurance in the US. If you work for someone, your boss usually provides you and your family with health insurance. If you work for yourself or your employer does not provide you with health insurance, you have to try to buy health insurance on your own. Read here to find out more about what health insurance is: http://www.investorwords.com/2289/health_insurance.html . After reading the definition of health insurance, use the search box at the top of the screen to find the meanings of “deductible”, “premium” and “co-pay”. There are many people who cannot get insurance on their own because the insurance companies have decided that they are too “risky”. If someone has a history of cancer and they apply for health insurance, they will probably be denied coverage because insurance companies believe they will lose money on this person since they are most likely to need medical care. Considering what you just learned about diet and exercise and its connection to health, do you think insurance companies should only insure people who eat healthy and exercise? Is it fair to deny coverage to someone who is overweight? Do you think insurance should be free to everyone regardless of their diet/exercise and other habits (such as smoking). In Canada and other countries, this is precisely what happens. Everyone has insurance (but the whole country pays for it through higher taxes). So, if you are a Canadian who eats well and exercises, part of your income is going toward insuring people who eat too much and don’t take care of their bodies. On the other hand, if you are a child in Canada, your parents do not have to struggle to pay for medical bills if you become ill whereas in the US many families go bankrupt if their children develop disease (and many of these diseases are not a result of poor diet). Which system do you think works better? Organize your thoughts and answer all of the above questions in a 3 paragraph essay in MS Word.
Students will come to school every day with the following:
- Pens/Pencils
- Loose leaf paper
- Folder with pockets or binder with pockets
- USB Flash Drive
Grading
Homework: 20%, Assessments: 20%, In-Class Activities: 20%, Unit Project: 20%, Critical Thinking Exercises: 10%, Professionalism:
------------------------------PLEASE DETACH AND RETURN TO MRS. BILLETTE BY MAY 3, 2010-----------------------------
We have read the SHAPE unit outline for Mrs. Billette’s Business class.
PARENT SIGNATURE_____________________________ Date_________STUDENT SIGNATURE______________________________Date___________(printed name___________)
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