Unit Plan

Unit: My Health
Grade: 6
Level: Beginning/Intermediate

Learning Objectives

Students will be able to:

• understand the food pyramid
• identify foods from different food groups
• explain what makes foods nutritious
• analyze nutritional information and menus
• create a healthy school lunch menu that will be implemented in their school

Learning Standards

ELA Learning Standards:

Standard 1: Students will read, write, listen, and speak for information and understanding.
Standard 3: Students will read, write, listen, and speak for critical analysis and evaluation. Standard 4: Students will read, write, listen, and speak for social interaction.

ESL Learning Standards:

Standard 1: Students will listen, speak, read and write in English for information and understanding.
Standard 3: Students will listen, speak, read and write in English for critical analysis and evaluation.
Standard 4: Students will listen, speak, read and write in English for classroom and social interaction
Standard 5: Students will demonstrate cross-cultural knowledge and understanding.

Prior Knowledge/Motivation

The relevance of this unit is that personal health is of a growing concern to the American population. This unit is especially relevant to an ELL because not only are they learning a new language, but a new culture. In this new culture, they may not be living in the same manner that they have been used to and they will have to learn to make different choices and decisions regarding their personal health. They will not be eating the same way or living the same way and this has direct implications on their health. The unit will begin with activating prior knowledge by examining a food pyramid and students will discuss the foods they eat with their peers. Students will see that they all eat different foods and will learn a little about each others cultures as well. Students will be examining their own health and the foods that they eat at home and school. The motivation for the unti will be the final project - designing a new school lunch menu.

Materials

For this unit students will rely on a blog to deliver instruction. The following technological resources will be used:

Blogger
YouTube
Interactive on-line games
Electronic graphic organizers
On-line journals
Internet research (using a directory and listed resources)
Podcasting

Procedure

Session 1: Introduction/Activating Prior Knowledge

1. Teacher will introduce “My Health” unit to students by activating their prior knowledge of food groups using the USDA Food Pyramid and graphic organizer.
   
2. Using the think-pair-share model, students will complete the graphic organizer on their own and then pair with a partner to discuss the results.
   
3. After the pairs have examined each other’s graphic organizers, students will play an on-line game with their partners to see if they can identify the healthy food choices.
   
4. At the end of the introduction, teacher explains that the class will be studying nutrition over the next few days and assigns homework: students must keep an on-line journal of everything they eat for the next week.

For this activity students can choose their own partner.

Session 2: What makes food "healthy?"

Task #1

1. Students will form groups to research the food pyramid. Each student will be responsible for one category.
2. Students will research their food group using listed internet resources and complete a mini-report graphic organizer about what they learned about their food group.
3. They will become the "expert" in that category and then teach the rest of the group so that everyone has a full understanding of each food group.

Task #2

1. Students will analyze three different school lunch menus to determine if they are healthy.
2. Students will post their analysis on the class blog.

For these activities, teacher should assign groups prior to the unit. Teacher will tell students who is in their group. Groups should be heterogeneous.

Session 3: Project and Assessment

In their groups students will use the knowledge they have gained from research and analysis to develop their own menus. Students will be given a rubric and instructed to work with their groups to write menus that include nutrition information and a rationale for their menu. Students will then write and record a script that will be recorded as a podcast for the school's website. Teachers, studetns and staff will be able to vote on the best menu online after listening to the podcasts.

Reflection

This unit is based on student-directed learning. In developing this authenic learning experience, the students became excited about developing their skills in all areas, and by making the unit personal, each student could relate their learning to themselves

Lesson Plan for Students

Session #1

Good morning students! Today we are going to begin our new unit. But, before we begin, I want all of you to take a look at the diagram below:





I bet a lot of you have seen this diagram before, but does everyone know what this means? This is a food pyramid and it has six different categories for the types of foods we eat. It also shows us how the amount of foods we should eat from each category every day.

What I want you to do now is list the foods that you eat in each category: grains, vegetables, fruits, oils, milk and meat and beans. Click here to get started. When you are finished with your lists, please save and print them.

Next, find a partner and share your lists. You should talk about the similarities and differences on your lists. Do you eat the same foods? Did you put one food in two different categories? When you are finished discussing your lists you may play the game below with your partner.

Mission Nutrition!

Now that we have talked a bit about different foods, tomorrow we are going to start learning about what makes foods nutritious and how we can make healthy choices. But first, I am going to explain your homework.

Homework: You must keep a journal of everything you eat for the next week. Please track your food on your student blog page. Here is an example.

Finally, before we go, I want all of you to watch the short video below. After you watch the video I want you to list three healthy snacks that you learned about and can try in place of some of the snacks that you eat now that are not as healthy.

I hope to see some of these healthy snacks in your food journals!

Session #2

Hello class! Yesterday we learned about the food pyramid and talked about the foods we eat. Today we are going to learn about why it is important to eat healthy foods and what makes those foods good for us and look at some menus to decide which ones are the healthiest.

Task #1

• Get into groups of six



• In your groups, assign each member one category of the food pyramid



• Use the resources below to research your food group



• Complete the Mini Report Worksheet for your food group



• Share your research with the rest of your group - IMPORTANT: All group members must be able to talk about all of the food groups in the pyramid so you must work with your group to learn everything that you can!

Before you get started, please look at this list of vocabulary words that will help you understand what you are reading.

Resources:

Kids Food CyberClub-This interactive site provides students with information regarding the Food Guide Pyramid, serving sizes, shopping with a budget, food facts and cool links.
Dairy Council of California - Nutrition Education for Healthy Diets and Lifestyles -This site is a thorough resource for kids, teachers and parents about nutrition in the dairy food group.
Dole 5 A Day - Nutrition Education for Kids, Teachers and Parents -This fun site provides an encyclopedia of fruits and vegetables.
Sports and Nutrition - Pregame Meal Planner -This page is great for the serious athlete. it provides guidelines for competitive athletes and the unique nutrition they require for success.
The Food Timeline -A totally cool resource that shows us how what we eat has changed over the years.
Smart Kids Health Zone -This site offers nutrition and eating lessons including an individual interactive calorie profile.
Welcome to the Vita-Men! -This site is a fun, animated site about vitamins and nutrients.
The Healthy Refrigerator - Open the door to a healthy heart. -This site offers nutrition news and information about how to maintain a healthy heart.
Food Guide Pyramid -Here's your food guide pyramid-plain and simple!
Cookie Food Label-A picture of a food label for cookies.
Cereal Food Label-A picture of a food label for cereal.
Dietary Guidelines for Americans -What we should be eating.
Food Pyramid--Calorie Database This site offers a Food Pyramid Guide and calorie information for specific foods.
Yummy, Healthy Food-This site brings us another food pyramid
Fast Food facts-Do you really want to eat that?

Task #2

• With your group, evaluate the school lunch menus listed below and answer the following questions:
  
  Are all food groups represented?
  Is there variety?
  Are there a lot of fatty foods? Sugary?Are these meals you would like to eat? Why?
  What do you think is the healthiest option on the menu? The least healthy?
  Which menu is the healthiest over all?

School Lunch Menu 1

School Lunch Menu 2

School Lunch Menu 3

Homework: Please type your answers to the above questions and post them on our class blog. Be sure to include everyone's name from your group. Don't forget your food journals!

Session #3

Good morning Students! We have spent the past few days learning about the food pyramid and healthy food options. Today you are going to work with your group to plan a new and improved lunch menu for CIS 303! Remember, this menu include the healthy foods we have learned about this week and it should also be full of options for students.

Before you get started, I want you to take a look at the rubric below. Your final presentation will be based on the research that you have done, showing your work, working as a group, and the quality of your final presentation.

Please let me know if you have any questions about this rubric.

Now, here are the instructions for your final assignment.

In your groups you must complete the following based on what you have learned from this unit and through your research:

• Plan one week of healthy school lunches to be served at our school
• Include nutrition information for each day as well as a brief description about what makes it a healthy meal
• Write a script for a podcast that will be broadcast on the CIS 303 website. You should include the menu, why it is nutritious and you should make it sound appetizing! Review this website about adjectives for some help selling your menu.

Here are three examples of a students podcasting the school's daily announcements. Some are better than others. Please listen to this podcast and consider the following while you are creating your own:

• Is it clear and easy to understand?
• Is the intonation and inflection correct?
• Is it interesting for the listener?
• Does it broadcast relevant information?

When you are finished recording your script, it will be uploaded to the CIS 303 website where students, teachers and staff can listen to all of the options and vote for their favorite menu!

What is a story?

Good morning students! Today we are going to learn about what makes a story. Before we begin I want everyone to think about what you must have in order to have a good story.

Now I want you to click here and read the short story on your own.

When you have finished the story, you will complete this graphic organizer. When you are done, save your work and be ready to discuss what makes a good story in class tomorrow.

Remember to save your work!

ESL Podcast Review

Podcasting in the classroom is quickly becoming a common practice with some researchers in the field arguing that it is only a matter of time before podcasts are dictated by state curriculum and standards. As a result, it is important that educators are aware of how podcasts can be used in the classroom and take time to review examples of this technology. I have reviewed three different podcasts below.