ND Curriculum Initiative

Subject & Standards

Needs Assessment/Rational

Needs Assessment and Goals: According to the National Institute of Health, current statistics show approximately 15.3 percent of children (ages 6-11) and 15.5 percent of adolescents (ages 12-19) were overweight in 2000 and that figure continues to rise. An additional 15 percent of children and 14.9 percent of adolescents were at risk for overweight (BMI for age between the 85th and 95th percentile). Health concerns from overweight and obesity are type 2 diabetes, hypertension (which leads to heart attack and stroke), high cholesterol, cancer and shortened mortality. Eating habits are formed at a young age. Choices provided by fast food restaurants are not always in alignment with nutritional standards. Teaching a child to make healthy choices even when he/she is eating out meets the Family and Consumer Science Standard # 14: Demonstrate nutrition and wellness practices that enhance individual and family well being.

The media plays a large part in how children and adolescents make their nutrition choices. The portion sizes of restaurant foods have increased. A popular fast-food chain only offered one size of French fries in the mid-1950s. That size is now labeled “small” and is one-third the weight of the largest size. Interestingly, studies have shown that on average, some overweight or obese children do not consume significantly more calories (food) than their thin similarly aged counterparts do. In simplistic terms, it is not that they are eating more, but rather doing fewer activities. This leads to a positive energy state in the body, which will result in weight gain. A relatively small imbalance between caloric intake and energy or physical output can lead to significant weight gain over time. Most obese children are demonstrating a slow but consistent weight gain over several years. Fortunately, diet and physical activity are susceptible to behavior modification, and the first step is weight awareness. To meet the FACS National Standards, our students need to be able to evaluate their nutritional needs in relation to health and wellness across the life span. The following lesson will help make the students aware of the calories in many fast food choices today. It will provide them with the knowledge and ability to recognize and choose various ways to still eat out economically but lower their caloric intake while gaining a proper balance of nutrition to live a healthy lifestyle.

Understandings & Goals

Enduring Understanding: 1. Students will understand they can make changes in their usual choices of food that will enhance their physical health and help to promote good health through out their life. 2. Students will understand good nutrition does not have to cost more when eating out. 3. Students will also understand choices made now will form their eating habits and affect their physical health for their lifetime. 4. They will understand the basis of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, the recommendations of the Food Guide Pyramid, and how to use those tools to enhance their well-being.
Goal(s): 1. Students will recognize the importance of forming healthy eating habits early in life. 2. Students will be able to access information to help them make healthy eating choices when eating out. 3. Students will recognize the relationship between healthy nutrition habits and disease prevention. 4. Students will recognize that healthy eating does not have to cost more.

Questions Answered

Essential questions: 1. Why is it important to form healthy eating habits early in life? 2.  What resources are available for students to evaluate whether their food choices are healthy? 3.  How can your eating habits be changed to enhance your health?  4. What are some possible healthier choices when choosing food at a fast food establishment? 5. What possible menu selections at fast food restaurants can be made that will cost you the same as your favorite high calorie burger and fries? 6.  What are some possible health benefits from making healthier food choices?
Objectives: 1. Students will recognize how their menu choices when eating out can affect their overall health for a lifetime.  2. Students will recognize the importance of the recommendations given in the Dietary Guidelines for Americans and the Food Guide Pyramid. 3. Students will recognize the importance of their nutrition decisions and their relationship to disease prevention during their lifetime.  4. Students will be able to demonstrate their knowledge in making economical and nutritious choices when eating out, by planning a healthy meal at their favorite fast food restaurant.  5. Students will demonstrate their reasons for their healthy choices by sharing with their classmates the choices they made and the reasons why they think it will improve their overall health.

Assessment

What quiz and test items (e.g. simple content-focused questions that require a single, best answer) will provide evidence of understanding?
Assessment will not come in the form of a test. The students will be required to find an alternative, more nutritious meal choice than their typical choice when eating at a fast food restaurant. It must be for the same amount of money (give or take a few cents). Most fast food restaurants have nutrition information and calculators on their web sites. The students will have to use these tools in planning their nutritious meal. Students will need to validate their nutritious choices with the reasons it may enhance their overall health as compared to their unhealthy choice. The final assessment will be to share their menu with their classmates using a PowerPoint, bar graph or pie graph along with the reasons these choices will improve their health. They will also share their findings with the rest of the school and community by developing a bulletin board to display their findings.
What academic prompts (e.g. open-ended questions or problems that require students to think critically and then to prepare a response / product / performance) will provide evidence of understanding?
1. Students will be asked how they could change their eating habits to provide their diet with more nutrition than they are currently getting. 2. How can they get nutritious meals when eating out?  3. Does good nutrition cost more or require that you eat at a health food restaurant that serves natural or organic foods?
What performance tasks and projects (e.g. complex challenges that are authentic, mirror the real world and require a performance or product) will you include that will provide evidence of student understanding?
1. After assessing their eating habits, the students will research fast food web sites and assess the nutrition in their favorite fast food meal. 2. They will need to use the nutrition calculators provided on many web sites to verify their choices are healthier ones. 3. The cost of their nutritious meal must be comparable to their unhealthy meal. 4. When pairing and sharing, the students will also have to give the reasons why their healthier choices will enhance their overall health.  5. A collaborative bulletin board to display their findings will be shared with the school and community.
What other evidence (e.g. observations, work samples, dialogues, student self-assessment) of understanding will you collect?
1. There will be classroom discussion about the Food Guide Pyramid and Dietary Guidelines for Americans and the reasons they were developed. 2. Their completed menus, both the unhealthy and the healthy choices will be displayed on a student created bulletin board in the classroom along with the reasons we need to make healthier food choices.

Instructional Strategies

This lesson is mainly inquiry-based and problem-based. The students will keep a food log for a typical day and then pair and share what they think are the strong and weak points in their menus. What problems may their diets be causing in their overall health? What ways can they continue to enjoy their favorite fast food restaurant and improve their diets? Can they eat nutritiously and still economically? How will forming healthy eating habits in their youth enhance their health in later years?