How Drugs Work

CONTENTS OF CURRICULUM UNIT 12.05.04

  1. Unit Guide
  1. Introduction
  2. Rationale
  3. Objectives
  4. Background
  5. Strategies
  6. Lesson Activities
  7. Bibliography
  8. Appendix
  9. Notes

What Is Going On Inside My Body? An Introduction to the Central Nervous System and the Digestive System

Tracy Lewis

Published September 2012

Tools for this Unit:

Rationale

Over the past six years, I have observed many of my students bringing snacks to school that they perceive as being healthy. Instead of bringing in snacks with a high nutrient content such as vegetables and fresh fruits, students would snack on gummy snacks and hot chips, all while attempting to convince me that these items must be nutritious because package ingredients list items such as corn or fruit. For my students this has become an indication that their snacks must be healthy in light of this fact. On any given school day, I find myself having to motivate my students beyond class work, due to their energy levels and often-lethargic nature. This impedes not only their ability to experience an optimal educational encounter, but also hinders my ability to instruct.

Fully convinced that their food choices were the leading cause, I attempted my own informal experiment by eating school lunch for one year. After lunch, I experienced feelings ranging from satisfaction to disgust, illness, hunger and anger. If I was feeling this way, I could only imagine what my students were going through. I also observed the foods student would select. Most students would go for the processed "mystery" meat and packaged carbohydrates skipping past fresh fruit or packaged vegetables when offered. Sadly, on too many occasions students and I chose nothing from the foods offered, as it was simply disgusting. It was clear to me that changes needed to be made if our afternoons were to be productive.

As an alternative to the norm within the classroom, I quickly looked for the areas where we could make sustainable changes during snack time. I wanted this process to be not only about my students, but also about my own health and wellness. I started with a daily routine of snacks that would produce higher energy levels, healthier approaches to eating, and also that would be as accessible as any prepackaged snack. One of the steps that I took was to institute "Ms. Lewis Law". All snacks had to be healthy, any junk food brought to the classroom would be immediately confiscated, and there needed to be an understanding of why they needed to eat this way during snack time. In the beginning a few students and parents resisted, arguing that, after all, it was only a snack or that prepackaged foods saved time and were cheaper to buy. After some wrangling, a few parent encounters, and some time everyone began to see the value in "Ms. Lewis Law".

Educating children and their parents was the only way to make a true change. Our school now has a school garden, but the program is susceptible to closure every year due to funding. So the intention behind creating healthy alternatives is to provide my students with eating habits that can translate into their home life as well. I would like my students to know the why behind my strict snack rules in the hope that they will see the benefits to their overall health. This is reason I created this unit. The broader issues associated with my student's health need to be addressed and it is often difficult for a teacher to make this an interactive learning experience.

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