ND Curriculum Initiative

Subject & Standards

Needs Assessment/Rational

In determining the greatest need for my unit of instruction, I focused on the growing trend of inactivity and obesity in our culture. Many national organizations and educational institutions show a growing concern for the health of our youth due to poor eating habits and lack of exercise. Note the following findings: From the North Dakota SUPERINTENDENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION 2001-2003
BIENNIAL REPORT, under Educational Trends- Dealing with Social Problems: “Obesity in our society is highlighted as a major social/health issue.”

“Diabetes, hypertension and other obesity-related chronic diseases that are prevalent among adults have now become more common in youngsters. The percentage of children and adolescents who are overweight and obese is now higher than ever before. Poor dietary habits and inactivity are reported to contribute to the increase of obesity in youth. … Obesity prevalence more than doubled over 25 years among adolescent males and females.” (American Obesity Association Copyright © 2002. All rights reserved)

"What is less well-known is that twice as many (14%) adolescent girls today are overweight as in 1994, a situation probably brought on by a near-addiction to fast food coupled with America’s increasingly sedentary lifestyle. ... However, whether they are too thin, too heavy, or somewhere in between, most adolescents don’t eat right." (© 2004 American Psychological Association)

"The Surgeon General’s A Call To Action To Prevent and Decrease Overweight and Obesity 2001
PRINCIPLES:
Overweight and obesity have reached nationwide epidemic proportions. Both the prevention and treatment of overweight and obesity and their associated health problems are important public health goals. To achieve these goals, The Surgeon General’s Call To Action To Prevent and Decrease Overweight and Obesity is committed to five overarching principles:
• Promote the recognition of overweight and obesity as major public health problems.
• Assist Americans in balancing healthful eating with regular physical activity to achieve and maintain a healthy or healthier body weight.
• Identify effective and culturally appropriate interventions to prevent and treat overweight and obesity.
• Encourage environmental changes that help prevent overweight and obesity.
• Develop and enhance public-private partnerships to help implement this vision."
(U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Surgeon General’s call
to action to prevent and decrease overweight and obesity. [Rockville, MD]: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Office of the Surgeon General; [2001]. Available from: U.S. GPO, Washington.)

Studies by these organizations show that our young people do not know how to choose a healthy diet and lifestyle.

This unit of instruction will help the students be able to bridge the gap between wanting a healthy lifestyle and actually having the knowledge and tools to achieve a healthy lifestyle. These skills will not only help them as they go through adolescence, but as life long skills for healthy living and weight management. The application of sound nutrition and exercise practices will result in a high degree of authentic learning and make the learning more personal and meaningful to the students. It is important to teach good eating habits and regular exercise habits as early in life as possible to help people maintain healthy habits throughout their lives.

This unit will draw from two different sets of ND Standards, Health and Physical Education. The primary focus will be on Standard 4: MAINTAINING PHYSICAL FITNESS Students understand how to maintain a health-enhancing level of physical fitness Benchmark 3 Understand how to maintain a healthy, active lifestyle from the Physical Education standards and Standard 5: BEHAVIORS AND RISKS Students demonstrate the ability to practice health-enhancing behaviors and reduce health risks Benchmark 1 Know the role of individual responsibility for enhancing health and Benchmark 2 Know strategies to use for personal health enhancement from the Health standards.

Understandings & Goals

Enduring Understanding:
The students will understand how to maintain a healthy lifestyle by implementing regular exercise and good eating habits.

Goal(s): To maintain a lifelong healthy lifestyle, students will understand how make healthy eating choices and how good nutrition impacts their overall wellness. To ensure lifelong wellness, students will understand the importance of a regular exercise program and its longterm benefits.

Questions Answered

Essential questions:
How can good nutrition and regular exercise improve my health and life?
What are the basic principles of good nutrition and healthy eating habits?
What can I do to ensure regular exercise is a part of my life?
Objectives:Given a picture or description of a common food, students will be able to identify a correct portion for the food. After recording their daily eating habits, students will analyze their current diet and identify possible nutritional deficits in 2 to 4 written paragraphs. Using the internet and local community resources, students will explore and compare the exercise and fitness options available to them in our area and their costs. Given fitness activities of their choice, students will research fitness activities and their impact on calorie burning. Students will develop a week long menu and exercise program regimen to reflect the principles of healthy eating and living.

Assessment

What quiz and test items (e.g. simple content-focused questions that require a single, best answer) will provide evidence of understanding?
  Test items will assess student knowledge of the benefits and principles of healthy eating and exercise.

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?
  Students will be asked to critique their own eating and exercise habits and develop a sound wellness plan for their own lifestyle.

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?
  Students will use a variety of software and internet tools to analyze their eating habits and physical activities and then report their analysis and conclusions.

What other evidence (e.g. observations, work samples, dialogues, student self-assessment) of understanding will you collect?
  Rubrics, portfolios and observations will be used in conjuction with a variety of student produced products.

Instructional Strategies

The students will be using both inquiry and problem based strategies to evaluate their eating and exercise habits. They will be using inquiry strategies when researching exercise and eating alternatives. They will be utilizing a problem based strategy as they record and analyze their own diets, then apply the principles of nutrition and fitness as they work together to design individualized eating and exercise programs to improve their wellness.