No Tribe Left Behind: Mark Haddad, Jackson Rakoczy, Adelia Spytkowsky, Bruno Vono, Alicia Sestili Teacher: Mark Haddad Subject: Health Grade: 8 Length: 40 Minutes Lesson: Understanding food labels Overall expectations: - C1. demonstrate an understanding of factors that contribute to healthy development; C2. demonstrate the ability to apply health knowledge and living skills to make reasoned decisions and take appropriate actions relating to their personal health and well-being; Specific expectations: - - C1.1 identify the key nutrients (e.g., fat, carbohydrates, protein, vitamins, minerals) provided by foods and beverages, and describe their importance for growth, health, learning, and physical performance C2.1 analyze personal food selections through self-monitoring over time, using the criteria in Canada’s Food Guide (e.g., food groups, portion size, serving size), and develop a simple healthy eating goal appropriate to their age and activity level Introduction (‘hook’): - - - Students will be given a random food label provided by the teacher. Instead of receiving a food label, the students will be asked to look online for the nutrition facts of a food that they eat regularly. Students will need to determine whether the food they are presented with is healthy. They will then perform a think-pair-share with their elbow partner where they will present their food and their reasons for thinking it is healthy or not. This is meant to be an icebreaker to prepare students for a lecture on how to interpret food labels and determining what is healthy and what isn’t. (5 Minutes) Lesson body: - - Students will then be presented with a presentation that will help them to interpret food labels and what they mean. This powerpoint presentation will help students to decipher what is good from bad. Emphasis will be placed on deceiving serving sizes that are presented on food labels and things to look out for such as; saturated fats, sugars, and carbohydrates. Students will - - - then create a graphic organizer to help them sort these aspects of nutrition into healthy, unhealthy, and healthy in moderation. Students will get into groups of 4 (with the pair beside them) and compare the food labels they researched at the beginning of the class. Students will be asked; which food is healthiest and why? The students will then pick one of the foods that they are examining and brainstorm ways in which that they could modify it to make it healthier. Students will also be required to fill out the ‘food label worksheet’ which asks them to calculate total values in relation to the label that will be put up on the smart board. Students will be presented with a video titled: “Grocery Store Shopping | Children's Health Crisis” which reveals various secrets about food marketing in grocery stores and how consumers are manipulated into buying certain items. (30 Minutes) Closure: - - Lastly, Students are given the opportunity to reflect on what they have learned and are asked to jot down one major idea from the powerpoint. Additionally, students will think of a food that they enjoy and would be considered healthy so that they could start eating more of that so they have an idea of healthy food to eat moving forward. Students are also encouraged to ask any additional questions they may have about the topic. The best reflections will be discussed anonymously the following class. (I believe exit cards are a great way for students to really look back and reflect on what they have learned. Students can look back at their reflections when studying for tests to refresh their memories on the main ideas of a lecture.) (5 Minutes) Materials used: - Google Slides Projector Computer Food label worksheet Paper for exit ticket Food labels Youtube Assessment & Evaluation: - Students will be assessed on knowledge and communication through observation of participation and contributions to group discussion. Students will be assessed based on the handout which they will be required to fill out and hand in. Students will also be assessed on knowledge and communication through their exit card responses which they are required to fill out before leaving. Rationale for editing the lesson This lesson, prior to being edited, already incorporates some practical instruction approaches for adolescent learners naturally by virtue of the content of the lesson itself. For example, it relates to the daily lives of the students, as everyone eats every day. Additionally, it is chunked nicely with a variety of modalities so students will stay engaged and various styles of learners are catered to. The modifications were largely made so the students were engaged in the lesson with an attempt to “connect what happens in the classroom to the students, either directly or by helping them discover links to the world beyond the classroom.” (Powell, p. 200) The first edition was made to put the learning more into the hands of the students, as they are thinking of a food that they eat themselves. As a result, they are invested in the determination of its nutritional value. Students are also using technology in this step and developing their researching skills. The next modification sees the students engage in cooperative learning where they must explain their rationale as well as listen and have an active discussion with their partner about their partner’s food and determination for health. The graphic organizer reinforces their learning in the mini-lecture and has the students apply their knowledge when they are categorizing the ingredients. They are then once again engaging in cooperative learning with an element of higher order thinking as they attempt to modify an already existing food to make it healthier. Finally, the students are connecting what they have learned today with their day-to-day lives, which allows them to see the purpose in the lesson in addition to giving them a foundation for a more nutritious lifestyle.
