Science Now: A Science, STAR Grant and GEAR UP
Collaborative Project to Build Communities of Inquiry and Discovery through Technology Integration
SuperSize Me
Desired Results
Established Goals:

TEKS 8.3(B) The student uses critical thinking and scientific problem solving to make informed decisions. The
student is expected to draw inferences based on data related to promotional materials for products and services.
Understandings: Students will understand…
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They can make choices as to the foods they eat at
different restaurants.
These choices can have a positive or negative
impact on their long-term health.
Students will know…
A healthy diet is a matter of making daily choices about
what and how much you choose to eat, based on the
research students do into food choices at local fast food
restaurants.
Essential Question(s):


Is all fast food the same? Are there healthy and
unhealthy choices at all restaurants?
How do my everyday choices affect my long-term
health?
Students will be able to…



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Compare different menu items at local fast-food
restaurants for fats, calories, carbohydrates and
proteins.
Design healthy and unhealthy menus for their own
age groups.
Create a presentation including graphic displays of
data based on their research.
Draw conclusions based on information gathered in
research.
Present conclusions to an audience in an oral
presentation, supported by presentation.
Assessment Evidence
Performance Tasks: Use the Talk Moves strategy to have students discuss the results of their experiment and the data
they collected.
Talk Moves Strategy
Students share their ideas with each other. One student reports out and the teacher asks the other student to restate
his/her partner’s reasoning, “Can you repeat what he just said in your own words.”
Materials:
Technology:
Laptop
LCD Projector
NOVAs
Excel Spreadsheet
Science Now Website
Learning Plan
Procedure: (1 to 1.5 Weeks)
1. Introduction- “How do the choices you make affect your health?” Teachers will
ask the class what constitutes a typical meal at either Whataburger or Wendy’s.
Make a list, noting what size of drink and side dishes students typically order at
the restaurant of their choice. The teacher will then visit the Whataburger
(http://www.whataburger.com/browse_build_a_meal.php) or Wendy’s
(http://www.wendys.com/food/NutritionLanding.jsp) websites to examine the menu
items selected by the students. These two sites allow you to select a menu item,
customize it by indicating the size and ingredients, then update the nutrition
information.
Curriculum Management Department 354-4385 blanda@saisd.net (Updated 5/7/08)
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2. Lesson- Divide the class into cooperative groups to select a fast-food restaurant
and research the healthiest and least healthy menu items to make a complete meal.
For the purposes of this activity, a meal will consist of a beverage, a main menu
item and one side item (such as french fries or a dessert). Students will compare
total fats (including trans-fats and saturated fats, if provided), calories,
carbohydrates, dietary fiber, and proteins. Review assignment rubric to let
students know what is expected in their oral presentations.
3. Compare these meals to the Daily Dietary Reference Intakes from the US
Department of Health,
(http://www.iom.edu/Object.File/Master/7/300/Webtablemacro.pdf) and the Mayo
Clinic Food and Nutrition Guidelines by Age
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/nutrition-for-kids/NU00606.
4. Using the Novas and PlanMaker (Excel), create a graphic representation such as a
bar graph to compare the individual meals to the DRI noted above.
5. Students will write a summary of their findings and draw conclusions to include in a
Presentations (PowerPoint) document on the Nova, including their data on a table
for comparison.
6. Students will give an oral presentation to the class and be evaluated using a rubric.
(See example on STAR Grant Teacher page for SuperSize Me.)
Extension Activities
View the photos and listings of what families from all over the world eat in one week
from the book “Hungry Planet” online at NPR.
(http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5005952 What do you notice
about the photos and the listings of what people eat in different countries? How
does this compare to the family from the United States? How does it compare to
your diet at home? What could be the cause of the differences in diet? What
could be the results of eating the diets of different countries?
For larger versions of some of these photos and other photos from the book, see
the additional site
http://www.saisd.net/admin/curric/sci_now/documents/supersizeMe/worldeats.html
Compare the typical American Diet to Asian and Mediterranean diets, using the
Asian Food Pyramid at http://oldwayspt.org/asian_pyramid.html and the
Mediterranean Food Pyramid at http://oldwayspt.org/med_pyramid.html .
View different foods under the ProScope to compare and contrast them. For
instance, view the cell walls of a raw potato and contrast them to a french fry.
Compare sliced fresh fruits and vegetables. Invite students to bring in food
samples for classroom viewing. (Send any images you and your students create with
a description of the image and the magnification used to create the image to
tholcomb@saisd.net for the creation of an online gallery.)
View microscopic food images online at:
 FOODS UNDER THE MICROSCOPE http://www.magma.ca/~scimat/
 Molecular Expressions: The Vitamin Collection
http://micro.magnet.fsu.edu/vitamins/index.html
Curriculum Management Department 354-4385 blanda@saisd.net (Updated 5/7/08)
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