Food Science Study
The first five weeks of the Food Science Study will include how to read and understand nutritional labels, exploring how the digestive track functions, learning about the food pyramid and exploring essential questions such as: How does food provide energy and materials for growth and repair of the body? What do organisms require to live and grow? What can be used to compare the chemical energy of different foods? What two main food components are examples of carbohydrates? What main components make up foods? The concepts addressed by these questions, along with the questions the students generate will be explored in a multitude of ways. Some of the teaching techniques that I will use include hands on learning, minds engaged experiments, interactive websites, in class demonstrations, large and small group instruction, journalingand science diary entries.
During the first five weeks before this unit is presented a chart will be kept for each of my fourth grade classes. The chart will be broken down into four areas focused on Food Science; 1) what we know, 2) what we want to learn more about, 3) what we have learned and 4) what we want to tell others (KWLT chart). This chart will be used throughout our study and will serve as an idea board for our unit.
The academic underpinning for the the student's Service Learning Projects is concentrated in five areas of information. Before the fourth grade students begin their projects I need them to understand and know the following information about nutrition.
The first concepts I will teach are the main components of the digestive system and how food provides energy and materials for growth and repair of the body. I will ask my students to write in their Food Study Journal what they already know about how the digestive system functions, what body parts make up the digestive system and how the digestive system provides energy for our bodies. The students will then write in their journals what they would like to learn more about. As a group we will discuss what the students have written in their journals and begin filling out our information on what we call a KWLTchart.
I will then show the students "Dr. Bob", my three dimensional body torso with removable parts. I will take each section of the digestive system out of Dr. Bob and show the class, emphasizingthat unlike the model, our system is one continuous closed system with most of the food being digested. I will also use the book "Under the Microscope Digesting- How we fuel the body" for its excellent "inside" pictures of the digestive system. In this system the food is chemically changed, taken inside the body and used to nourish our bodies. As you chew your food saliva mixes with it and your teeth help to break it into parts. You then swallow a food bolus and it travels past the epiglottis and down the esophagusinto the stomach. Here the digestive system uses the mechanical process (churning) and chemical processes (enzymes) to break down your food. Your food becomes smaller and smaller until it becomes a thick soup like substance called chyme. The chyme is then squeezed into the small intestine where the gall bladder and pancreas squirt it with digestive juices. It is in your small intestines where most digestion takes place. Our simple food molecules are absorbed through the walls of the small intestine through fingerlike villi (similar to a towel). The nutrients that are contained in your food are then carried by your blood to every living cell in the body. One of the nutrients is a kind of sugar called glucose which provides your body with energy. Your body gets energy and materials it needs to make new cells and replace the old ones from the food you eat.
The material that is left is mainly fiber from fruit, vegetables and grain. These enter the large intestine and are considered waste material. They travel through the large intestine where most of the water is reabsorbed back into your body. The waste material will be excreted by the body.
After learning about the digestive system the students will engage in a hands on model of the villi using washcloths. Students will examine the washcloth laid out on the table, then fan fold them to see for themselves how much more surface area is available in a smaller space. Students will write vocabulary words in their journals and work as a group to put together the digestive system puzzles. Using the web site http://www.harcourtschool.com/activity/digest/index.htm I will demonstrate how to connect the individual parts of the digestive system to complete the whole system. I will share this site with my students so that they can use it at home, in their free time, or in the Computer Lab. Students will be asked to keep a food journal of everything that goes into their mouths over the course of three consecutive days.
The second body of knowledge includes a review of vocabulary words from the introduction and a review of the essential question, "What can be used to compare the chemical energy of different foods?" The students will write in their journals their own questions and insights on this topic. We will continue to work on our KWLT chart. After a short discussion on why reading and understanding nutritional labels is important we will move to the viewing area where the students will learn how to read nutritional labels and be introduced to potions sizes on the following interactive website: http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~ear/hwm/hwmintro.html. Working as a whole group and using the lunch selections from the cafeteria that day, we will design a menu for the student's typical lunch. We will then record a typical fast food lunch. To compare these two lunches we will move to the viewing area and use the web site: http://www.fitday.com. We will then discuss some activities and how many calories our bodies use for each activity. Examples are: reading, 65 calories an hour (cal/hr), walking 246 cal/hr and running 576 cal/hr. Students will have visuals in the form of labels from different kinds of foods. Working in small groups they will select a food item (snack), then figure out what activity they would have to do in order to burn off the amount of calories in their snack. The students will then use their journals to reflect on the insights learned from this lesson.
The third body of knowledge will center on the essential questions of: What do organisms require to live and grow? What main components make up foods? What two main food components are examples of carbohydrates? Most of my students will have background knowledge that organisms need energy (food), water, and space. I will build on this background information and discuss how we get our energy through the food we eat. I will introduce two new vocabulary words- macronutrients and micronutrients. Macronutrients are needed in larger quantities and include carbohydrates, protein, fat and water. Carbohydrates, fat and protein provide our body with energy and are called the energy-yielding nutrients. This powerful trio transport energy to every cell in our bodies. They are the main components that make up our food. Water plays a vital role in processing and transporting macronutrients. Micronutrients include vitamins and minerals which our bodies need small amount of, but they play a very important role! They keep our bodies regulated and functioning properly so that the macronutrients can properly do their job. Micronutrients are mandatory for our bodies to repair normal wear and tear and to heal us from illness and infection.
Students will then be asked to work in cooperative learning groups (table groups) to create a visual to represent the information about micronutrients and macronutrients. They will have fifteen minutes to discuss, plan, and design a way to share the information. They can use thinking maps, flow charts, or create their own design.
While students are working on their project I will set up a tasting experiment using white bread and whole grain bread. Each student will be given a small portion of each of the breads. They will place the white bread in their mouths and see how the taste changes, then place the whole grain bread in their mouths. They will compare the taste of the two breads. In their Food Study Journal they will write the experiment and their experiences. We will discuss how starches and sugars are the two main food components that are examples of carbohydrates. I will use the following web site to help explain how the bread is changing in taste- http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/kitchenscience/exp/white-bread-and-the-wonder-of-enzymes/
We will review our KWLT chart and add to it as necessary. The visuals will be collected and some will be selected for the hallway bulletin board.
The fourth area of knowledge is based on healthy choices the students make daily and the introduction of food pyramids. It will begin with a review of our vocabulary words. Students will add to their journals the vocabulary words, Food Pyramid and serving sizes. We will first go to the viewing area and look at the short two minute video about my pyramid at http://www.mypyramid.gov/downloads/animation/Presentation_English.wmv. The students will think about the topic, get in pairs with other students to discuss the topic, then share why they feel the pyramid was changed and what other choice, beside what goes into our mouth, are important for us to be healthy. The students will then be introduced to Dr. Willett's New Healthy Eating Pyramid (minus the alcohol section). We will compare and contrast the two pyramids and discuss the similarities and differences. I will then pass out paper plates. The student will draw a large pyramid on their plates and select one day from their food journals. On the paper plate pyramids the students will draw pictures of what they ate for breakfast, lunch and dinner in the appropriate places then see if their individual pyramid plates are balanced. Students will then reflect in their Food Study journals how their pyramid compares to the Healthy Eating Pyramid. Students will note any areas that they may need to improve in.
We will then discuss food portion sizes. I will demonstrate using a variety of measuring tools (measuring cups, measuring spoons, food scale) and foods to discover what a potion is. For example, I will show them a bag of popcorn, pour some into a bowl, and ask the class if this is a single serving. I will then measure it. I will show them a bottle of soda and have them guess how many servings are in the bottle. I will use the web site www.calorieking.com/foods/ as a reference and show the students how they can use the website from home or the computer lab.
The KWLT chart will be reviewed and new student generated information will be added. I will briefly introduce the idea of the Service Learning Project so that students can start to think about what they might want to do.
At this point it will be time to wrap up our Food Study and look toward our Service Learning Projects. We will begin with a review of the vocabulary words and then I share with the students that we will be welcoming a guest speaker, the manager of the cafeteria. The students will write down any questions they might want to ask him in their Food Study journal. I will ask the manager to do a short presentation showing how portion sizes are determined using different scoops, scales, and spoons which are most commonly used to control serving sizes. He will be asked in advance to explain to the students how the cafeteria foods are selected and how menus are decided upon. He will also explain where the food comes from and how it is handled and prepared. As a closure, he will answer questions from the class.
We will visit our KWLT chart and update any of the areas that we can. We will focus on the "T" part of the chart- what we want to tell others. I will then introduce the Developing Student Leaders through Nutritional Empowerment unit. The Nutritional Service Learning Project Contracts (see figure 2) will be distributed followed by a discussion period where such issues as topics, partners, etc. will be addressed. A time of questions and answers will follow.
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