Energy, Environment, and Health

Subunit 3: Comparing Local Student Diets to Global Diets

1. Comparing Global Resources: Students will be given a world map that demonstrates graphically Per Capita GDP printed in black and white, and then a colored transparency that overlays this map which shows calorie supply by country ⁴⁷. Students will make the connection that there is a negative relationship between GDP and calorie supply. Students will then complete an anticipation/reaction guide based on ten posters that include pictures of a person's daily diet and statistics on that country to predict how these ten countries (Bangladesh, Canada, China, Israel, Japan, Kenya, Latvia, United States, Venezuela, and Yemen) rank in both life expectancy for females and national percentage of overweight males ⁴⁸. Students will then take a closer look at the countries and record the actual ranking and statistical data. Students will receive a chart that includes statistical information on these countries and then they will be responsible for a bar graph that shows a comparison by country of health expenditure per capita in U.S. dollars versus overweight females and males ⁴⁹. Finally, students will be given a reading about each country from the book What I Eat ⁵⁰ and fill out an inference chart that demonstrates their understanding of the text about that country. An inference chart answers a question on the left, and then students quote from the text to help them identify sources from the reading that prove their inference response on the left.

2. What I Eat: Students will take notes on a Powerpoint presentation based on Peter Menzel's book. Throughout the presentation, students will be asked what they notice about people's diets around the world. Then, students will be shown a meal that the teacher eats. The meal will be broken down by macronutrients (lipids, carbohydrates, and protein) and the mass of each food type and calorie intake will be shown. Students will choose one of four people from the book What I Eat. Students must fill out a graphic organizer in expert groups that include the person's statistics (name, age, height, weight and total calorie intake). Students will read about that person's country (the geographic setting and environment; the history and food; the foods of the country; food for religious celebrations; mealtime customs; and politics, economics and nutrition) ⁵¹. Then, students will break down the foods in the meals of the chosen person, classify the food type by macronutrient ⁵², and then the number of ounces that person consumed. Then, students will total up the number of ounces per macronutrient, then convert this to grams (1 ounce = 30 grams), then convert these numbers to calories (1 gram of fat = 9 calories, 1 gram of carbohydrates = 4 calories, 1 gram of protein = 4 calories). The students would then calculate the percent of each macronutrient, then graph these percents in a bar graph. Finally, students would give a written analysis of the health of their person's diet in comparison the FDA's daily recommended daily value of 29% lipids, 18% protein, and 53% carbohydrates ⁵³.

3. Student Diet Presentation: In pairs, students will create a Powerpoint presentation of one meal and one snack that the student actually eats. Students will be responsible for taking a photograph of these foods (if students do not have access to a camera, a drawing would suffice). This photograph will be diagrammed similar to the one the teacher has created, including information about lipids, carbohydrates, and proteins, as well as food additives in their snacks. Caloric intake and macronutrient information can be obtained using the Internet for information not readily available ⁵⁴. Students will then create a profile similar to the ones found in the posters viewed in class (Student Name: The Football Player followed by a paragraph about that student). Students will include statistical information about their state (prevalence of obesity, heart disease, percent of people reporting poor health, and physical activity). This pair of students will be responsible for presenting their final presentation to the class.

Following this outline, I am hoping that students will have a relevant, meaningful experience about what is being put in the foods that they favor.