Art
Healthy Habits Interdisciplinary Project
The following is the Art lesson planning contribution to the
Healthy Habits Interdisciplinary Project.
Name:
Period:
PLATE CRITIQUE SHEET
What elements and principles of design did you use for your plate? Describe 2 from
each category.
Elements of Design
Principles of Design
* Line
* Color
* Shape (Organic, Geometric)
* Texture
* Space
* Form
* Unity
* Rhythm (Progressive, Alternating, )
* Point, Line,
* Balance (Symmetrical, Asymmetrical, Radial)
* Hierarchy
* Scale
* Dominance
* Similarity and Contrast
Write your description here:
How does your plate illustrate the food issue you selected?
English
Healthy Habits Interdisciplinary Project
The following is the English lesson planning contribution to
the Healthy Habits Interdisciplinary Project.
Good Food/Bad Food: Healthy Habits Project
Pre-Reading & Reading Activities
Student Name:
____________________________________________________
Developed by Roberta Ching of ERWC and adapted by Natasha Paul
Reading Selections for this unit:
Brody, Jane E. “Attacking the Obesity Epidemic by First Figuring Out Its Cause.” New York
Times 23 July 2011.
Gable, Lawrence. “School Lunches Get Healthier.” What’s Happening in the USA? February
2011. Vol.18. No.6
Web Sites for This Unit:
Vocabulary.com
www.vocabulary.com
READING RHETORICALLY:
Prereading Activities (#1-4)
Activity 1
Getting Ready to Read -- Quick Write
Americans are at increasing risk of disease because of the unhealthy food we eat. What will it
take to get us to change our eating habits?
Activity 2
Surveying the Text
Surveying the texts gives you an overview of what the articles you are going to read are about
and how they are put together. This activity will help you create a framework so that you can
make predictions and form questions to guide your reading.
1. What do the titles “Attacking the Obesity Epidemic by First Figuring Out Its Cause” and
“School Lunches Get Healthier” tell you about what the articles will be about?
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
2. One of the articles was published by the New York Times in 2011. What can you
predict about the article based on the newspaper?
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
Activity 3
Making Predictions -- Anticipation Guide
Before reading “Attacking the Obesity Epidemic by First Figuring Out Its Cause” indicate in the
first column which of the statements below you believe are true and which are false. After
reading, go back and label the statements true or false based on what you learned by reading
the article. Record the number of the paragraph in which you found the information. After your
class discusses the answers and the evidence, make any needed corrections in the last column
Statement
Before
Reading
T or F
After
Reading
T or F
Proof
Paragraph
Correction
(only if
necessary
)
Americans now need far fewer
calories to be healthy than people did
in the 1800s.
Statement
Before
Reading
T or F
After
Reading
T or F
Proof
Paragraph
Correction
(only if
necessary
)
Efforts to reduce smoking show that
it’s almost impossible to get people to
change habits.
Taxing unhealthy food would be an
inexpensive way to improve American
health.
Offering healthy lunches at school
means kids are more likely to eat
healthy food at home.
Activity 4
Surveying The Text: Making Predictions and Asking Questions
Read the first paragraph of “School Lunches Get Healthier” silently.
1. What does the writer Gable suggest was wrong with school lunches prior to 2010?
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
Now read the last paragraph silently.
2. Why do you think school lunches are getting healthier?
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
Reading Activities (#5-11)
Activity 5
Reading for Understanding
The first reading of an essay is intended to help you understand the text and confirm
predictions. This step is sometimes called reading “with the grain” or “playing the believing
game.” As you read, think about the following questions:
1. Highlighting with a Purpose
● Now you will finish reading the rest of the essay.
● As you read, highlight any main idea phrases or sentences.
●
Remember: Main ideas are general statements that highlight the most
important ideas in a piece of writing. Main ideas are what the examples,
reasons, or evidence help explain or prove.
2. Reviewing Predictions
Refer to your predictions in Activity 2-4
1. Which of your predictions turned out to be true?
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
2. What surprised you?
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
3. If your predictions turned out to be wrong, what misled you?
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
4. What, if anything, is still confusing to you?
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
Activity 6
Understanding Key Vocabulary
Choose the word that best fills in the blank in the sentences below from the list of key words
and phrases. Look back at “Attacking the Obesity Epidemic” to see how the word or phrase is
used. The number of the paragraph where the word is used is given in parentheses. If you still
cannot figure out the meaning, look it up in a dictionary.
Key words: subvert (2); culpable (5); laden (6); crave (11); push factors (13); obesogenic (13);
interventions (16); controversial (24)
Word (part of
speech)
Meaning
Examples
(What it is, Where I
see it, What picture
comes to mind)
Example Sentence
1. subvert (verb)
to destroy
completely
__________________
is so tasty that it
subverts our efforts to
eat less of it.
2. culpable (adj)
deserving blame
The television industry is
culpable for allowing ads
for
__________________ on
children’s shows.
3. laden (adj.)
filled with great
quantity
A _________________ is
laden with enough
calories for a whole day.
4. crave (verb)
to have an
appetite or great
desire for
something
In the middle of the
afternoon, the junk food I
crave is
_______________ .
5. push factors (n)
a motivating
aspect or
condition
A _________________
on every corner is a push
factor that encourages
people to eat more
calories than they use.
6. obesogenic (adj)
causing obesity
I try not to eat
obesogenic foods such
as
____________________
_
because I know they
make me gain weight.
7.interventions (n)
care, or
treatment, used
to improve a
situation
An intervention that
helps people eat more
fruits and vegetables is
___________________.
8.controversial (adj)
causing dispute
Taxing junk food is
or controversy
Activity 7
controversial because
____________________
_.
Quick Write
Do you eat healthy lunches when you are at school? Why or Why not?
Activity 8
Analyzing SOAPSTone Elements
Complete the following SOAPSTone chart noting subject, occasion, audience, purpose,
speaker, and tone for Brody’s article. When you are done, check your answers with a partner.
Add or revise information as necessary.
Text Component
Subject
What is the subject or topic of the
piece?
What theme or big idea do you
see?
What is this piece about?
Occasion
What event or occasion do you
think caused the author to write
this piece?
Audience
To whom is the author writing?
How do you know?
Purpose
What does the author want you
to believe or understand?
What is the purpose of the text?
(choose one):
● To educate or inform (if
the author’s position was
neutral)
● To persuade or convince
(if the author’s position
was negative or positive)
● To reflect on an
important event or idea
(poetry, personal
“Attacking the Obesity Epidemic” by Jane E. Brody
narrative).
Speaker
What do we know about the
speaker?
How does his background affect
his point of view on the subject?
Tone
What is the attitude of the
speaker or writer as revealed by
the choice of vocabulary?
Tone words: academic,
formal, informal, sarcastic,
humorous, informative,
reflective, persuasive, casual,
argumentative, passionate,
cautionary, condescending,
respectful, etc.
Activity 9
Annotating and Questioning the Text
Annotating the text is a way of making sure you understand the most important parts of a text.
The word “annotation” includes the Latin root “not/nota,” which means “to mark or sign.” In this
case, you are marking the text. Once you understand it, you can begin to analyze (think about
its parts) and interpret (make meaning of it).
Annotating the text is also a way to help you with your writing. By identifying and understanding
what Brody uses in her essay to make it a strong piece of writing, you will be able to make your
own writing more powerful.
You will be making marginal notes. For this activity, you will make different notes in the left and
right margins.
LEFT MARGIN: Understanding Content and Purpose
Highlight, underline, and make notes in the margin where you find the following:
● The issue Brody is writing about
●
Brody’s main points
●
Examples that show how Brody feels about the issue
●
Examples of how obesity is a concern for all Americans.
●
What Brody wants her readers to do or believe
RIGHT MARGIN: Reacting to the Text
Highlight, underline, and make notes in the margin where you
● Agree
●
Disagree
●
Have a question
●
Have a comment
●
Have any sort of reaction (This might mean feeling surprised, shocked, confused, or
interested.)
Activity 10
Considering the Structure of the Text: Reread Brody’s “Attacking the Obesity Epidemic by
First Figuring Out Its Cause,” and then do the following:
1. Draw a line across the page where the introduction ends. Is it after the first paragraph,
or are there more introductory paragraphs? How do you know?
2. Draw a line across the page where the conclusion begins. Is it the last paragraph, or
are there several concluding paragraphs? How do you know?
3. Discuss in groups or as a class why the lines were drawn where they were. In this
activity, think and reasoning about organizational structure is more important than
agreeing on where the lines should be drawn.
4. Further divide the body of the text into sections by topics (what each section is about).
Activity 11
$2 Summaries v. Detailed Summaries
Sometimes all you need for a summary is to determine the essence of the text and gather the
main idea without all the details. Doing this can sometimes be harder than it sounds!
●
The teacher will assign you a paragraph from Brody’s “Attacking the Obesity Epidemic
by First Figuring Out Its Cause,” to determine the essence of the paragraph in one word
or a short phrase.
●
After recording the class’s responses, use the shared knowledge to create a $2
summary of the entire article (each word is worth 10 cents).
Your Paragraph, # _____
____________________________________________________________________________
_
Paragraph 1-25 Class Responses:
____________________________________________________________________________
_
____________________________________________________________________________
_
____________________________________________________________________________
_
____________________________________________________________________________
_
____________________________________________________________________________
_
$2 Summary of Article (20 words or fewer)
____________________________________________________________________________
_
____________________________________________________________________________
_
____________________________________________________________________________
_
____________________________________________________________________________
_
____________________________________________________________________________
_
Good Food/Bad Food: Healthy Habits Project
Post-Reading & Writing Activities
Student Name:
____________________________________________________
Developed by Roberta Ching of ERWC and adapted by Natasha Paul
Reading Selections for this unit:
Brody, Jane E. “Attacking the Obesity Epidemic by First Figuring Out Its Cause.” New York
Times 23 July 2011.
Gable, Lawrence. “School Lunches Get Healthier.” What’s Happening in the USA? February
2011. Vol.18. No.6
Connecting Reading to Writing
Discovering What You Think
Activity 12
Quick-Write
You have learned and discussed different causes of the obesity epidemic, including unhealthy
food available to students in schools and young peoples’ unhealthy eating habits. Young
people are at increasing risk of disease because of the unhealthy food we eat. What will it take
to get students to change their eating habits?
Brainstorm possible ideas to encourage healthier eating at MDHS, and select the one that you
feel would have the biggest impact while being practical to implement. Explain why you think
your solution will be effective.
Solution #1:
Solution #2:
Solution #3:
Activity 13
Getting Ready to Write and Gathering Evidence to Support Your Claims
Writing Task:
Write a persuasive letter to the principal, proposing how to encourage healthier eating at
MDHS. Your letter should address a problem that you have identified. You may want to
propose changes to the food that is available to students or ways of educating them to be
consumers of healthier food. You should provide evidence for the solution you propose based
on the two articles we read, the film and your generations interview.
The first portion of the letter will be a summary where you show the principal that you
understand the main issues of the obesity epidemic. The second portion of your letter will
discuss your proposed solution with evidence or examples of how this could work.
Directions:
1st Paragraph:
● Summarize information you have learned about obesity epidemic
● Thesis (What change you want + why)
2nd Paragraph
● Topic Sentence with your solution
●
Details of your proposed solution (How and Why)
Sample Letter:
October 7, 2013
Activity 13
(continued)
Dear Ms. Cismowski,
Obesity in children is a widespread epidemic and is aggravated by the unhealthy food served in
our schools. Schools should provide students with healthier foods because ______________
and ______________. According to an article titled “Attacking the Obesity Epidemic by First
Figuring Out Its Cause” published in the New York Times in 2011, (briefly summarize evidence
in article)
_______________________________________________________________________.
One solution to the obesity problem that could make a difference here at Mt. Diablo High
School, is
___________________________________________________________________________
_. This solution will work because
____________________________________________________.
In conclusion, _____________________________________________________________.
Sincerely,
Concerned Student (Your Name)
Reminders for the letter:
● Address the author as Ms. Brody (NEVER as Jane)
● Use your own words. Do not include quotations or direct sentences from the article.
● Write in third person NOT in first person (no I believe, I think, I feel, etc.)
● Use some of your vocabulary from Activity 6 (subvert, culpable, laden, crave,
push factors, obesogenic, interventions, controversial)
Evidence You Will Use to Support Your Solution
Proposed Solution
Evidence/Example #1
Evidence/Example #2
Writing Rhetorically
Activity 14
Composing a Draft of Your Letter
Referring to the materials you have gathered from your previous work and the directions for the
writing assignment, now draft the letter to the principal:
Activity 14
Date
_________________________
Dear _____________________________ ,
Paragraph 1
___________________________________________________________________________
__
___________________________________________________________________________
__
___________________________________________________________________________
__
___________________________________________________________________________
__
___________________________________________________________________________
__
___________________________________________________________________________
__
___________________________________________________________________________
__
Paragraph 2
___________________________________________________________________________
__
___________________________________________________________________________
____
___________________________________________________________________________
____
___________________________________________________________________________
____
Activity 14
(continued)
___________________________________________________________________________
__
___________________________________________________________________________
__
Paragraph 3
___________________________________________________________________________
__
___________________________________________________________________________
__
___________________________________________________________________________
__
Closing
___________________________________________________________________________
__
___________________________________________________________________________
__
___________________________________________________________________________
____
___________________________________________________________________________
____
___________________________________________________________________________
____
___________________________________________________________________________
____
______________________________ ,
______________________________
Activity 15
Revising Your Draft
Now that you have written a first draft of your letter to the principal, you will type a second draft
using Google Docs.
Steps:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
Login to your Digital Safari Gmail Account.
Find the black bar at the top of the screen and click on “Drive”
Click on the red “Create” button and then click on “Document”
Click in the area that reads “Untitled Document”
Rename your document to read “_Your Name_Letter to Ms. Cismowski” (example:
N.Paul Letter to Ms. Cismowski)
Click on the blue “Share” button in the upper right hand corner.
Invite your English teacher:
a. Ms. Paul -- npaul@digitalsafari.org
b. Mr. Castro -- mcastro@digitalsafari.org
Click the green “Share and Save” button.
Click the blue “Done” button
Now type your letter!
Remember to check spelling and grammar.
Your document will automatically save for you as you type.
Logout of your email before your leave today.
Healthy Habits DSA Project
Generations Interview
15 points
Due:
Directions:
Talk to a person who was born before 1965 (over 50 years old). This can be a
family member, family friend, neighbor, or other adult in your life. Ask this person
questions about their eating habits as a child and teenager. Write down the
responses and summarize the interview in a paragraph.
Interview Questions:
Name:
Age:
1. How many home cooked meals would you say you ate per week growing up
(we eat 21 meals a week)? Who cooked?
2.

What was a typical:
breakfast?

lunch?

dinner?
3.
How much time did you play outside every day?
4.
Did both your parents work outside the home?
5.
In your experience how has the food we buy at the store and in restaurants
(fast food) changed over the years?
6.
Do you know there is an obesity epidemic in the U.S.? (1 in 3 children are
obese) What do you think has caused this?
7.
What do you think the government could do to help Americans become more
healthy eaters?
8.
What can schools do to help this effort?
9.
Additional Question:
10.
Additional Question
Reflection Paragraph:
Reflect on your interview. Summarize the information you collected and make any
conclusions you can about food and eating habits in America prior to the 1980s.
(You may attach a separate sheet of paper for this.)
October 8, 2013
Dear Ms. Cismowski,
Obesity in children is a widespread epidemic and is aggravated by the
unhealthy foods served in school. School should be providing students with the right
nutrients and vitamins. According to an article titled “Attaching the Obesity Epidemic
by first figuring out its cause” published in the New York Time in 2011, had evidence
that fast foods is very unhealthy for young children, teens, and adults. Obesity is the
main problem for americans. The fat and grease for the fast food is unhealthy and
fatty for you.
One solution to the obesity problem that could make a difference here at Mt.
Diablo High School is a salad bar that has fresh fruits and vegetables. This solution
will work because instead of students eating junk food or unhealthy snacks they will
eat salad or fresh fruit. The salad bar can have fresh fruit and vegetables like
bananas, strawberries, watermelon, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower etc. The salad bar
is available for all students, it will be free.
In conclusion I think we should have a salad bar available at lunch for
everyone to eat.
Sincerely,
Kathy Nguyen
Data : Octorber 8,2013
Dear ms.cismowski
Obesity in children is a widespread epidemic and is aggravated by unheatly foods
served in our schools.School should provide students with healthier foods because
obesity and unheatly foods.According to an article titled ‘’Attacking the obesity
epidemic by the frist figuring cause published in new york times in 2011.attacking
obesity epidemic. one obesity problem that could make a difference here at mt
diablo high is the food here mt diablo high.the soultion will work because kids like to
eat looks good or taste good they really don’t care about there weight and have food
that’s cooked not frozzen foods.They also like to eat hot chetos that has a lot of salt
all that fat goes to different parts of your body.In conclusion most kids dont really
care what they eat now days so they eat unheathly rathere then heatly foods and
there parents also dont care what there kids eat also they just buy food that keeps
them fool for the
time.
Sincerly
Joshua Villalobos
October 8, 2013
Dear Ms.Cismowski,
Obesity in children is a widespread epidemic and is aggravated by the unhealthy
food served in our schools. Schools should provide students with healthier meals
because the students are adapting unhealthy eating habits and that may cause them
to become obese. The problem with these children is that they crave these foods.
Stores and television commercials have push factors that persuade people to buy
the obesogenic food that are advertized. According to an article titled “Attacking the
Obesity Epidemic by First Figuring Out It’s Cause” published in the New York Times
in 2011, the change in obesity in America children throughout the years.
One solution to the obesity problem that could make a difference here at Mount
Diablo High School, is to stop selling obesogenic like hot cheetos, pizza, cheese
zombies, slushies, and other snacks similar to the ones listed. This solution will work
because without the junk food, hungry students will have no choice but to buy
healthier options to eat.
In conclusion, this school needs to provide healthier food options while eliminating
and educating junk food and it’s cons in order to stop obesity from spreading across
our school. Thank you for your time, I do hope that you consider my proposition and
thank you for reading this.
Sincerely,
Digital Safari Student, Katherine Banuelos
October 8, 2013
Dear Ms. Cismowski,
Obesity in children is a widespread epidemic and is aggravated by the lack of
exercise opportunities and unhealthy snacks provided here at the school. Schools
should provide students with more ways to stay fit and eat healthier snacks so
healthy habits develop and they can live a long, disease free life. According to an
article titled “Attacking the Obesity Epidemic by First Figuring Out Its Cause”
published in the New York Times in 2011, obesity has developed over the years and
is now a nationwide problem due to unhealthy foods and little to no exercise.
One solution to the obesity problem that could make a difference here at Mt.Diablo
High School, is to have a physical fitness field carnival day at least once a semester.
This solution will work because it promotes eating right and being active. Food
stands will be scattered around the field serving nutritious,easy to make, yet
delicious snacks. In this way students will learn to crave better foods. All other
stands will be hosting fun activities in which the student can exercise and have fun
without the need of electronics.
In conclusion, by promoting healthier eating and exercise habits here at Mt.Diablo
High School, it could subvert the ongoing obesity epidemic. Thank you for your time
and consideration.
Sincerely,
Concerned Student Elisa Gomez
October 8, 2013
Dear Ms. Cismowski,
Obesity in children is a widespread epidemic and is aggravated by the
unhealthy food served in our schools. Schools should provide students with healthier
food because students are getting unhealthy and unfit. some children are developing
diseases still as young children. children eating all this obesogenic food “will keep
getting bigger and implode.”
According to an article titled “Attacking the obesity epidemic by first figuring
out the cause” published in the new york times states that children of this generation
are a lot more unhealthy compared to the generation of the say the 1950s . Since
then the obesity rates have gone up alot and kids and adults are going to keep
getting more unhealthy over the next 50 years, but we can help keep our students
from getting diseases in older ages by giving them healthy food now.
One solution to the obesity problem that could make a difference at Mount
Diablo High School is, we could serve fresher fruits and vegetables in our cafeteria
and snack houses. i believe this solution would work because kids will be eating and
possibly start losing weight and/or maintain a healthy weight. in conclusion i believe
we should serve healthier, fresher food and meals in our cafeteria and in our schools
Sincerely,Concerned student Dalton Tolen
October 8, 2013
Dear Ms. Cismowski,
The obesity epidemic has been increasing and the unhealthy food in the school is a
reason why. Schools need to provide healthier foods because it will help maintain
their weight and help with eating habits around school, at home, and outside of
school. In the article it states that most kids were always active back in the day.
A solution to the obesity problem that can help here at Mount Diablo High School is
to sell more healthy snacks at lunch. The school can also have less obesogenic food
for sale on certain days so the students would want the healthier ones. The solution
will work because people won’t crave as much junk food as before.
In conclusion it would be smart to change the snacks that are sold. This change can
help students eat healthier snacks and get healthier eating habits.
Sincerely,
Jose Padilla