Lesson Title: Exercise Cycles

Lesson Title: Exercise Cycles

Grade level: 8

Subject: Physical education (exercise)

Lesson Overview: As teens make decisions about physical fitness exercise, they need to know how to locate and evaluate relevant information. They also need to think about their privacy as they seek such information. This lesson examines the communication cycle, and notes how information technology impacts it. It also addresses how communication is recorded and shared, which can impact privacy. Both legal and ethical issues are addressed.

Time Frame: 2 class periods

Learning Objectives: learners will

- Describe how to find information about exercise issues.
- Evaluate sources of information.
- Explain the impact of technology on locating and sharing information.

Physical education Standards:
- Analyze the validity of exercise information, products, and services.
- Use a decision-making process to examine barriers to making healthy decisions

about exercise and exercise products.
- Use a decision-making process to analyze when it is necessary to seek help with

or avoid an unhealthy situation.
- Support others in making positive and healthful choices about exercise.

Library Standards:
- Select and use appropriate tools and technology to locate resources.
- Use a variety of print, media and online resources to locate information

including encyclopedias and other reference materials.
- Analyze media for purpose, message, accuracy, bias, and intended audience.
- Determine whether resources are designed to persuade, educate, inform, or sell.
- Recognize and protect the private information of oneself and others.

Common Core Standards:

-  Conduct short research projects to answer a question (including a self-generated question), drawing on several sources and generating additional related, focused questions that allow for multiple avenues of exploration.

-  Read and comprehend science/technical texts in the grades 6-8 text complexity band independently and proficiently.

-  Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, using search terms effectively; assess the credibility and accuracy of each source.

-  Present claims and findings, emphasizing salient points in a focused, coherent manner with relevant evidence, sound valid reasoning, and well-chosen details; use appropriate eye contact, adequate volume, and clear pronunciation.

-  Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 8 topics, texts and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.

Resources:

-  Technology: Internet-connected computers, demonstration computer with projector/screen

-  Worksheet:

1. Issue:
2. Communications channel:

Public or private? Likely to be recorded/archived?
Potential number of people who could access/receive the message:

1. Audience/receiver:

Likely type of information to be provided:
Likelihood of keeping communication private:
Likelihood of sharing communication (making it public):

1. Consequences of interloping (to interloper and target person):

5. Recommendations for locating and sharing information:

Planning for Diverse Learners:

-  Learners can work in same-sex pairs.

-  Choice of information sources varies by reading level.

-  TLs provide more structure for the task or divide the steps into substeps.

Instructional Strategies and Learning Activities:

0. Before the lesson, TL sets up computers. TL prints worksheet.

1. Teacher librarian (TL) explains the communication cycle. The communication cycle begins with an idea that someone tries to communicate to another person, usually with in the intent that the receiving party responds. The communication channel can impact the message and its receiver/audience. While a response to the sender is typically completes the loop, the audience could communicate to other parties. An image of the communication cycle is found at http://www.media-visions.com/communication.html.
This model also works for seeking information, with the intent that the receiver provides the sender with the needed information. The sender’s choice of communications channel impacts who will receive the query. The communications channel may be public (open to anyone) or private (directed to an intended receiver), and the message may be documented or not. The sender also needs to think about the receiver in terms of whether the message will be sent only to the sender (a closed cycle) or might be communicated to others (an open cycle).
Learners as information seekers/senders need to think about the communication channel, the receiver, and privacy factors. Particularly since issues of relationships and sexual health may be sensitive in nature, learners often do not want their communication to be made public. Furthermore, they might not realize the consequences of sharing such information. This lesson helps them understand these issues.

2. TL and physical education (PE) teacher ask learners to brainstorm exercise plans, products and services that require information seeking. Here is a beginning list (which may be used as the lesson topics):
- A middle school boy wants to build up muscle. He wants what exercises he can at home without buying equipment.
- Friends tell a middle school girl she has baby fat. She wants to lose it immediately, and is thinking of buying pills to speed up the process.
- A family is going to buy some home exercise equipment, and the middle schooler wants to research what would be appropriate for his age.

3. TL asks learners to brainstorm technology-based communication channels that could be used to get the desired information. Alternatively, the following list may be used as a guiding or final list.
- telephone conversation
- smart phone texting
- email
- Internet searching
- Facebook/social network query

4. TL and PE teacher split the class into groups according to communication channel. Have each group identify if their channel is public or private. Have student groups also identify whether their channel records/archives the information. Have them research how many people might potentially access the information (e.g., http://www.facebook.com/press/info.php?statistics).

5. TL and PE ask learners to brainstorm likely receivers/audience of the query. Examples include: parent, teacher, friend, recreation center, doctor, commercial gym, social agency. Have each student within each group choose to be one receiver. Have each identify the likely kind of information that they would give (e.g., clergy would advise abstinence, doctor would give medical information, etc.). If learners are unsure about what kind of information that would be given, have them research it (e.g., using Internet search engine or database aggregator key word combinations such as “exercise OR fitness” and “equipment”). Have each group discuss their findings.

6. TL and PE ask learners to predict whether their source of information (receiver/respondent) would be likely to: 1) respond directly to them; 2) tell others about the communication. If learners are unsure about what kind of information that would be given, have them research the answer (e.g.,

7. TL and PE teacher ask learners to discuss within their group about the consequences of the communications cycle being open/public.

8. TL poses the question: “What if someone were to overhear/access the query?” What might be the consequences? For instance, if someone saw a teenage girl walking into a Jenny Craig center, and told others that the girl was a fatty when she really was waiting for her mother, what would be the consequences for the: 1) girl who visited, and 2) person/interloper who told others untrue gossip? Have groups discuss the issue and ramifications. Some of the terminology that might arise includes: libel, slander, false representation; these terms can be researched by the groups.

9. TL and PE teacher ask each group to report out their findings and predictions about consequences of actions. If the class is large, split them into two or three groups, each with a separate issue.

10. TL and PE teacher conduct a class debriefing about locating and sharing information via technology about exercise issues. Have the class develop guidelines for behaviors relative to technology use.

Variations:

-  Another health topic can be addressed.

-  Boys and girls can compare their perspectives and information found.

-  The class can focus on just one aspect of exercise: one part of the body, one reason for exercising (muscle vs. weight).

-  The class can focus on exercise equipment.

-  The class can locate information on the Internet, comparing sources of information.

-  The class can compare information found on the “free” Internet vs. subscription databases.

-  The class can start by doing the following WebQuest on diet and exercise: http://www.viterbo.edu/academic/ug/education/edu250/vawall/

Student Assessment:

Learners are assessed in according to their communication thoroughness, validity, and justification for the following criteria:

-  following directions

-  documenting work

-  information/conducting research

-  understanding the communication cycle

-  understanding the impact of technology

-  understanding issues of privacy

-  making recommendations for decision making.

Additional Resources:

-  http://www.bam.gov/index.html

-  http://www.shapeup.org/

-  http://www.lensaunders.com/aces/aces.html

-  http://kidshealth.org/kid/

-  http://www.presidentschallenge.org/challenge/active/index.shtml