Field-Based Application for TeachingSchool Health
by Jana Paulk
Part I
Section 1:
The Model: The teaching model that will be used for this unit is the Task Analysis Model, which was developed by Robert Gagne. Gagne’s assumptions of learning include the following: 1) skills should be learned one step at a time, 2) each new skill learned should build on previously acquired skills, 3) learning is hierarchical in nature, and 4) learning causes an observable change in the learner. The model is unique becausethe students must complete a checklist to demonstrate their learning and/or the teacher develops a concept map to aid in her instruction.
The School Site: This health unit will be taught at AllgoodElementary School, located in Stone Mountain, Georgia. This is a Title I school, the majority of the students are African American, and approximately 600 students attend the school.
The Grade Level: The grade level selected is the fifth grade, and the class selected is Mr. Moore’s class. The class consists of 23 students – 12 boys and 11 girls. 22 students are African American and 1 student is Hispanic.
Available Resources: The unit will be taught in the gymnasium. There are 30 Your Health textbooks (enough for each student).
Section 2:
Rationale Statement:
The focus of the fifth grade health unit is “Foods for Good Nutrition.” There are five lessons in the unit: 1) Your Digestive System (Digestion Investigation), 2) Food – Nutrients for the Body, 3) Using the Food Guide Pyramid to Plan Meals, 4) Using Food Labels, and 5) Calories- An Eye Opening Experience. The instructional design model selected is Task Analysis. This model is appropriate because the lessons in the unit build on prerequisite knowledge, divide a set of complex skills into sequenced steps, and incorporate checklists.
The following developmental characteristics, health interests, and health needs are shared by most fifth graders: 1) they are interested in what happens to eaten food, 2) they show concern about overweight and underweight, 3) they have a high interest in the human body and are concerned with body image, and 4) they do some of their own shopping. In addition, 9-12 year olds have these emotional and intellectual characteristics: 1) they are developing decision-making and leadership skills, 2) they are making some movement toward taking responsibility for their own actions, 3)they are beginning to think logically and symbolically but still prefer concrete ideas, 4) they are learning to use good judgment, 5) they enjoy learning by “hands on” application of skill through role play and simulation, 6) they want to use their skills to explore and investigate the world, and 7) they may express feelings through creative writing and like to share thoughts and reactions. This unit will teach students the basics of nutrition and will give them the necessary tools to make wise decisions about the foods they eat.
The focus of each lesson is presented below:
1) Digestion Investigation: This lesson teaches how to diagram the digestive system by breaking down the steps of digestion. It also teaches students the functions of each organ and the importance of water and fiber in the digestive process.
2) Decisions, Decisions: This lesson teaches how to plan a healthful meal using the Food Guide Pyramid.
3) Calories- An Eye Opening Experience: This lesson teaches how caloric consumption and exercise affect weight management. It also provides students the opportunity to see how easy/ difficult it is to burn the calories in a given snack food.
Each lesson in this unit promotes health literacy:
1) Digestion Investigation: Being able to diagram the digestive system as a group and understanding each organ’s function promotes health literacy through effective communication and critical thinking,
2) Decisions, Decisions: Being able to prepare a meal that is healthy, well balanced, and realistic promotes health literacy through critical thinking. Working with a partner on this assignment mirrors real-life situations for when they get older and have a roommate or a spouse.
3) Calories- An Eye Opening Experience: Being able to calculate energy intake and output and understanding the importance of both for weight management promotes health literacy through problem-solving, critical thinking, and consequences of behavior.
Initial Description:
1) Digestion Investigation:
Lesson Goal:The student will understand the importance of the Digestive System in providing him/her the energy he/she needs to carry out every day activities.
Lesson Objective: The students will describe how the digestive system works and will explain how two nutrients (water and fiber) aid in digestion.
Capability to support new learning:
Analysis: Students will diagram the Digestive System and examine the functions of each organ. Other capabilities include: breakdown, differentiate, dissect, and inspect.
Category of learning outcome: Diagramming the Digestive System and examining the functions of each organ is intellectually based.
Prerequisites for learning capabilities:
1) Understanding that each “body system” has a specific function.
2) Understanding that each body system is composed of different organs that have specific functions within the body system.
3) Understanding that food provides the body energy.
4) Capability to work in groups.
2) Decisions, Decisions:
Lesson Goal: The student will understand how the Food Guide Pyramid can help to plan healthy meals.
Lesson Objective:The student will plan one full meal that incorporates at least one serving of food from each food group, and the students will classify their ingredients according to the food groups.
Capability to support new learning:
Synthesis: Students will create and plan a menu. Other capabilities include: assemble, combine, construct, formulate, and prepare.
Application: Students will classify their ingredients according to the food groups. Other capabilities include: determine
Category of learning outcome: It is a skill to create and plan a menu.
Pre-requisites for learning capabilities:
1) Understanding the Food Guide Pyramid and how it works
2) Understanding the concepts of variety, balance, and moderation
3) Capability to work with a partner and in groups
3) Calories: An Eye-Opening Experience:
Lesson Goal: The student will understand the significance of caloric consumption and exercise in maintaining a healthy weight.
Lesson Objective: The student will use a food label to determine the total calories contained in one snack food and will demonstrate that foods containing fewer calories require less exercise to burn than foods containing more calories (using a pedometer).
Capability to support new learning:
Application: Students will determine the total calories contained in one snack food. Other capabilities include: compute, find, and predict.
Category of learning outcome: It is a skill to determine the total calories in a snack food and to interpret the results from a pedometer.
Prerequisites for learning capabilities:
1) Understanding how to read a food label
2) Understanding that energy in food is measured in calories.
3) Understanding that energy is gained through food and energy is expended through exercise.
4) Capability to work cooperatively with a partner.
Section 3:
Day / Topic / Objective / Cue 1 / Cue 2 / Cue 3 / Cue 4 / Cue 51 / Your Digestive System
(Digestion Investigation) / The students will describe how the digestive system works and will explain how two nutrients (water and fiber) aid in digestion. / Your body is a car, and it needs fuel to run – so do you. You run on nutrients (substances in food that provide you with energy and other things your body needs) / Breaking down food to get energy is your digestive system’s function. / Trace the steps of digestion. (Mouth, esophagus, where peristalsis takes place, stomach, small intestines, where other enzymes complete digestion, blood, large intestine) / Why does your body need water? (To digest food, to transport nutrients to your cells, to build new cells, to keep body temperature stable, to help remove carbon dioxide, salts and other wastes from your body) / Why does your body need fiber? (Although fiber itself cannot be digested, it helps move other food through your digestive system)
2 / Food – Nutrients for the Body / The student will identify the six nutrients, describe what each nutrient does and where it is found, and explain what happens if the body does not get enough of these nutrients.
3 / Using the Food Guide Pyramid to Plan Meals
(Decisions, Decisions) / The student will plan one full meal that incorporates at least one serving of food from each food group and the student will classify the main ingredients according to the food groups. / What does it mean to eat healthy?
(Eating a variety of foods, eating very little sweets, fats and oils, following the FGP, eating in moderation) / As you grow older, you will become more responsible for the foods you eat. When planning your own meals, you should make good decisions. / You should use the Food Guide Pyramid when meal-planning so that your meals will have balance, variety and moderation. / Review the meanings of balance (eating foods that contain all the nutrients your body needs), variety (eating an assortment of foods from each of the food groups), and moderation (eating an appropriate amount of food-not too much, not too little). / Review the six food groups.
(Bread: 6-11servings daily; Vegetable: 3-5 servings daily; Fruit: 2-4 servings daily; Milk: 2-3 servings daily; Meat: 2-3 servings daily; Fats: small amounts)
4 / Using Food Labels / The student will demonstrate the ability to use food labels to evaluate nutritional values of foods.
5 / Calories and Exercise
(An Eye-Opening Experience) / The student will use a food label to determine the total calories contained in one snack food and will demonstrate that foods containing fewer calories require less exercise to burn than foods containing more calories (using a pedometer). / The energy in food is measured in Calories. Foods high in Calories give you lots of energy, but they may contain lots of fat and/or sugar. / According to the RDA, children should eat about 2200 calories per day. / Eating more calories than you burn through activity will make you gain weight. Eating fewer calories than you burn will make you lose weight. Eating the same calories as you burn will maintain your weight. / You will use a pedometer during exercise and your ability to read a food label to determine how easy/difficult it is to burn the calories in one snack food and to complete a checklist for the lesson. / What did you learn about calories and exercise? Were you able to burn the calories in your food in 30 minutes? What types of foods are better “snack foods?”
Part II: Lesson Plans
Digestion Investigation
by Jana Paulk
General Area of Health: Nutrition
Grade Level: Fifth Grade
Georgia QCC’s: N.5.20: Determines the function and sources of each of the six nutrients (carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins, minerals, and water)
National Health Standards: Standard 1
Goal Statement:
The student will understand the importance of the Digestive System in providing him/her the energy he/she needs to perform every day activities.
Objective Statement:
The students will describe how the digestive system works and will explain how two nutrients (water and fiber) aid in digestion.
Anticipatory Set:
Materials Needed: 1 or more packages of cereal, paper plates, hand lenses
Ask a volunteer to read the list of nutrients on the cereal package. Divide the class into small groups, and have each group examine the cereal with a hand lens. Ask students if they can see any of the nutrients that are in the cereal. Then ask how people’s bodies find the nutrients. Explain that our bodies must first break down the foods we eat in a process called digestion. Explain that that in this unit, we will be learning about digestion and how nutrients are important to our bodies.
Lesson Concept:
You can use your knowledge of digestion and nutrients to help your body get the energy it needs to stay healthy.
Lesson Cues:
1) Your body is a car, and it needs fuel to run – so do you. You run on nutrients (substances in food that provide you with energy and other things your body needs).
2) Breaking down food to get energy is your digestive system’s function.
3) Trace the steps of digestion. (Mouth, esophagus, where peristalsis takes place, stomach, small intestines, where other enzymes complete digestion, blood, large intestine).
4) Why does your body need water? (To digest food, to transport nutrients to your cells, to build new cells, to keep body temperature stable, to help remove carbon dioxide, salts and other wastes from your body).
5) Why does your body need fiber? (Although fiber itself cannot be digested, it helps move other food through your digestive system).
Teacher Modeling:
1) Each student will be given a color-coded card with a “digestive organ” on it (5 colors, each color will contain 5 different organs)
2) Students will be grouped according to color (5 groups, 5 organs in each group).
3) Each group will be given a large piece of butcher-block paper to trace one member’s body outline.
4) Each group member will read about his/her organ in the textbook (location, description, and function(s)).
5) The group will work cooperatively to diagram the digestive system on their outline (illustrating and labeling each organ, noting the function(s) of each organ).
6) The group will complete a lesson checklist together.
7) Which part of digestion happens first? second? third? etc.
8) Why do you think it helps to do things in order? (It makes it easier to understand, some things MUST happen in the same order for it to work. Example: To make a car go you must: fill it with fuel, turn a key for the car to start, put in gear, then press the gas pedal))
9) Does digestion happen in the same order every time? Why? (Yes, because that is the only way digestion can work)
10) How do the nutrients, fiber and water, aid in digestion? (Water - to digest food, to transport nutrients to your cells, to build new cells, to keep body temperature stable, to help remove carbon dioxide, salts and other wastes from your body; Fiber - it helps move other food through your digestive system)
Student Activity:
The Task Analysis Model is being used to teach this lesson because there are sequential steps the students must take in order to complete the assignment. In addition, there are sequential steps in the digestion process. A checklist will be used during the student activity to aid in group interaction and student learning.
The students will be working individually and in groups. Because each member will research only one organ, he/she will be able to learn the information quickly and will become “the expert” on that organ. When all the group members work together to complete the checklist and the diagram, they will teach the stages of digestion to each other.
This lesson and model is age and stage appropriate because students this age are interested in what happens to eaten food, they have a high interest in the human body, they are beginning to think logically and symbolically but still prefer concrete ideas, and they enjoy learning by “hands on” application of skill through role play, illustration, and simulation.
The following materials are needed for this lesson: Your Health textbooks, 5 pieces of butcher-block, variety of permanent markers, checklists, and pencils.
Closure:
The student will conduct a “Fiber Search” at home. He/she will list the food items in the kitchen that contain over 5 grams of fiber in each serving. The student will report his/her findings to the class. The class will offer suggestions to improve the fiber intake of the household.
Evaluation:
The “Digestion Investigation” checklist will be used to evaluate the instructional objective. Each group member will be graded individually according to his/her assigned portion of the project, using a rubric. The group will also be graded on their ability to work cooperatively. Each group member will earn the same grade. The grades will be calculated by dividing the points earned by the total number of points.
Re-teach:
Students who require additional help will read the lesson from the textbook and will complete the checklist with the teacher’s assistance.
References:
Gibbons, C., Middleton, K., Ozias, J.M., Stockton, CA. (1990). Foods for good nutrition (Chapter 4). Your Health. Orlando, FL: Harcourt Brace.
Names ______Date ______Teacher ______
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Checklist for Digestion Investigation (9 points maximum)
Directions: Complete each item in order and check it off in the space provided after completion.