Nutrition, Metabolism, and Diabetes

CONTENTS OF CURRICULUM UNIT 08.06.04

  1. Unit Guide
  1. Introduction
  2. Demographics
  3. Objectives
  4. Rationale
  5. Content Area 1: Calories In
  6. Content Area 2: Digestion
  7. Content Area 3: Calories Out
  8. Strategies
  9. Classroom Activities
  10. Endnotes
  11. Teacher Resources
  12. Appendix A
  13. Appendix B
  14. Appendix C
  15. Appendix D
  16. Appendix E

Getting an Early Start to a Healthy Life

Kathleen Geri Gormley

Published September 2008

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Objectives

This unit will be used as an introduction to the topic of the human body. I expect my third graders will have limited prior knowledge on this topic and I will continuously adjust the pacing of the delivery of the information to ensure comprehension. Through teaching this unit, I would like to give my students basic building blocks that they can use to understand how to make informed decisions regarding the foods they choose. At the end of this unit, they will be able to determine the caloric content of foods they eat and tabulate the caloric intake for the day. They will be able to recognize which foods contain carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins, and minerals in order to create a varied diet.

As the unit progresses, students will develop and use procedures to gather information for their research projects. They will independently extract information from a variety of sources to gain knowledge about the digestion process. Students will produce nonfiction research text following standard language conventions. Students will form groups and use technology to create a final project expressing the ideas and experiences gained through this research project.

In addition to learning science content, this unit will deliver mathematics instruction. My students will collect data in several areas of the unit and organize this data. They will graph the data and extrapolate information from their graphs. Imbedded in this unit will be many occasions for my students to add, subtract, and multiply numbers.

Physical education is another important content area for this unit. Students will create and record personal fitness data, caloric intake, and sleep patterns in an individualized journal. The information collected in these journals will enable students to note and monitor changes as their knowledge of nutrition and physical activity broadens. Students will be able to explain the relationship between body types, physical activity, and food consumption, thus gaining a preliminary understanding of the balance of calories in versus calories out.

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