Merit Winner: TMA Excellence in Science Teaching Awards
Jean Ann Keen and Sue Rolf
Dunbar Primary School
Lufkin, TX
"How Sweet It Is: Awareness Today Can Defeat Diabetes
Tomorrow"
Sample Lesson Plan
Lesson Overview
This all-encompassing lesson plan will immerse children in a
life-changing research project focusing on early childhood
awareness and prevention of Type 2 diabetes and other major health
issues that relate directly to the overall wellness of the human
body. As part of their highly creative and unique science program,
first and second graders will become actively engaged in authentic
class research on diabetes and childhood obesity. Having been
inspired by the whole-class research project, the students then
will choose their own topics from among the many aspects of healthy
living and do authentic independent research in small, cooperative
groups.
The learning strategies will be anything but ordinary as the
children participate in hands-on scientific experiments on sugar
content in foods, construct creative food pyramid models, conduct
school-wide eating preference surveys, graph food label
information, write and publish a healthy kids' cookbook, produce an
original children's exercise workout video, invent brain teasers
and other MENSA type activities as part of a "brain exercise"
study, use TMA's Project Watch to learn and teach others about
cardiovascular health, study the healing effects of laughter and
create an original stand-up comedy improvisation routine, study the
importance of sleep and make a "restful hints" presentation board,
do oral interviews of medical doctors and record wellness tips in a
class book, and design a project Web page with a streaming video
link of the project in progress.
In the presentation phase of the project, the children will
impact their world with their mind-boggling findings as they
present an elaborate wellness fair, Fat's Not Fair, to other
classrooms on campus, parents, grandparents, school administration,
and the community. This highly motivational endeavor will
involve vertical teaming with advanced anatomy and physiology high
school students as mentors and will have the support of a medical
doctor as the project's medical advisor.
A field trip to the diabetes center at a local hospital also
will be a component of the project. The multifaceted lesson plan
can be adapted for use in any elementary grade as well as in a
secondary education setting. The time span is nine weeks, but
is flexible depending on how in-depth the class would like to
experience the study. This lesson will be high-end learning
at its best!
Learning Objectives
Upon completion of the project the student will be able to:
- Understand the importance of having a healthy body and be
inspired to make better choices;
- Research diabetes to become aware of its symptoms, dangers,
and prevention;
- Identify the relationship between childhood obesity and
diabetes;
- Become familiar with higher level science vocabulary;
- Research scientific information in books, articles,
interviews, and the Internet using the seven steps of the
Independent Investigation Method of authentic research;
- Integrate science, math, social studies, careers, art,
technology, and language arts;
- Predict outcomes of research;
- Analyze data and construct graphs;
- Work cooperatively in a small-group setting;
- Effectively use oral language to present to an audience;
- Use technology to disseminate information to the public;
and
- Continue ongoing research projects independently.
Materials Used
- Science informational books and medical articles;
- Internet search engines for research;
- Camcorder for videotaping different phases of the project for
a streaming video link;
- Computers, book binders, and plastic binding spirals for
publishing a healthy cookbook;
- Glucometer to monitor The teacher's blood sugar and glucose
test strips for food experiments;
- High-powered microscopes; and
- A vast array of materials for wellness fair construction and
products (PVC pipe, microphone, large charts, bulletin board
paper, trifold display boards, TV/VCR, tape recorder,
stethoscopes, etc.)
Methods of Implementation
In view of rapidly rising rates of childhood and adult obesity
and diabetes, this project could not come at a better time.
According to the Angelina County and Cities Health District,
diabetes afflicts more than 16 million people in the United States.
Angelina County statistics show that 3,414 people were diagnosed
with diabetes in 2000. The disease is strongly associated with
obesity, inactivity, family history, and racial or ethnic
background. All evidence points to the fact that effective
prevention strategies are needed. Our school is situated in a
low-income neighborhood; children of poverty fill the class rolls.
It is not uncommon to see children walking to school eating a bag
of chips and a candy bar for breakfast. There is a definite need to
educate children about how to take care of their bodies.
Our project idea began with interest surveys of students. Their
No. 1 choice for study was the human body. The idea to add the
diabetes focal point came into the study because the teacher
recently was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. Her blood sugar was
monitored throughout the study to give validity to all aspects of
the work.
In the
first phase,
the whole class explores the effects of Type 2 diabetes on the body
using a tried-and-true independent investigation method to choose a
research topic, set goals, gather facts, organize information,
document references, evaluate goals, develop an original product,
and present the findings to others. This all takes place with a
doctor as medical advisor.
After the whole-group research is completed, the children then
become self-directed in the
second phase
as they do independent research in small, cooperative groups on a
selected aspect of diabetes. The children follow the same steps as
in the above-mentioned research model, using several resources made
available to them. Interdepartmental partnering with high school
students from an advanced anatomy and physiology class gives
students the opportunity to compile information together and
propose solutions. The high school students become teachers/mentors
for the children as they teach with children's books they will
publish while doing a parallel research project on a much deeper
level. The children take advantage of one valuable community
resource when they take a field trip to the diabetes center of a
local hospital.
In the
third phase
the children use the information they have assimilated to create
elaborate products that present their solutions to the problems of
obesity and diabetes. This culminating activity is shared
with the school, parents, administration, and community in hopes of
making children and adults aware of the dangers of poor health
choices and encouraging them to make healthy lifestyle
changes.
These original solutions will be showcased in the
presentation phase:
the Fat's Not Fair wellness fair. Possible booths include:
-
Laughter is the Best Medicine
(
humor therapy
)
- Young stand-up comics don Groucho glasses or clown noses and do
an original kid-prov-type comedy routine while sharing with their
audience how laughter cuts blood sugar in diabetics. They
also may compile a video of funny film clips, humorous riddles
and poems, and downright hilarious slapstick scenarios.
-
How Sweet It Is (
sugar science
) - Children conduct hands-on experiments on sugar content in
foods using glucose strips and microscopes, and conduct a taste
test survey comparing sugar-free and regular Jell-O. They
present graphs that report their findings.
-
Twist and Shout (
exercise therapy
) -
Children wear workout clothes and demonstrate the importance of
exercise and a healthy life as they premiere their original,
homemade kid's exercise video.
-
Sleepy Heads (
sleep therapy
)
- Children wear pajamas, robes, and house shoes as they share
their findings on the importance of sleep; give helpful hints on
restful activities; and provide samples of sleepy-time foods
(jasmine tea, china green tea, warm milk). They also
present their original compilation tape of soothing music and
sounds.
-
Brain Fonda (
brain workout
)
- Junior Einsteins stress the importance of keeping their minds
active and healthy through their display of child-invented
puzzles, brainteasers, and MENSA activities.
-
Someone's in the Kitchen (
food pyramid
)
- Children wear chef's hats and aprons while they display their
findings on the food groups with visuals such as mobiles, and
pyramids. They also compile examples of healthy menus and
publish a healthy kids' cookbook.
-
What's in a Name? (
food label math
)
- Students dressed in fast-food apparel rate grocery items and
fast food as healthy or nonhealthy, using favorites determined by
school-wide food preference surveys. A grocery basket
displays healthy foods.
-
What's Up, Doc? (
oral interviews of doctors
)
- Students dressed as reporters present their own junior medical
journal detailing healthy living tips shared with them by doctors
from the local medical community.
-
The Heart of the Matter (
Project WATCH
)
- Children dressed as doctors share the importance of
cardiovascular health with charts and activities such as making
and using stethoscopes. High school anatomy and physiology
mentors join the students in performing blood pressure checks as
a community service.
Evaluation Tool
Students are evaluated through written science journals in which
they record scientific findings, raise questions, and express
thoughts and feelings about the whole-class research project. They
receive a participation grade on the whole-class project on
diabetes, and a grade for their ability to work cooperatively in a
group setting. Students also evaluate themselves on the quality of
the group work. They receive a grade on the written research
project and the product in their group's booth at the Fat's Not
Fair wellness fair based on the following rubric:
- Sets research goals and meets them on a planning sheet - 10
points,
- Research findings and conclusions are presented in written
form - 20 points,
- Organization of the research - 10 points,
- Product originality (for the wellness fair) - 20 points,
- Neatness of product - 10 points,
- Presentation of the product at the wellness fair
(verbal/public speaking skills) - 20 points, and
- Cites at least three references for the research (one can be
Internet)- 10 points.
Effectiveness
This high-end learning project thrills children so much that
they can hardly wait to arrive at school each day. It is as
meaningful as it is fun because it gives the students the
information and the means to use their own preventive measures to
protect themselves from diabetes. This project meets children at
the center of their world because they are naturally interested in
eating and they care about the health of their growing
bodies.
The fact that students are allowed to make some choices in their
studies adds to their interest and motivation. The project enables
the children to take some responsibility for their own learning and
allows them to soar to unbelievable educational heights. The
project is full of high-energy learning activities that take into
consideration individual learning styles and integrate many
academic subjects across the curriculum.
Hands-on projects like this one not only excite young learners,
but also inspire them to continue the learning process on their
own. We think the key to the project's overwhelming success lies in
the fact that the students take on the role of the teacher and
actually teach to peers, parents, and the community what they have
learned through their research.
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