Overview
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Nutrition & Fitness Unit
"As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation As we discuss and rediscover inquiry, as JFK says so eloquently regarding gratitude, we must live by inquiry not just give talk about it, but live it. Part of planning an inquiry lesson is inquring ourselves and then guiding our students through the process. As Kuhlthau discusses in her writings about the information search process there are many emotions that go with this process both positive and negative and we need support as do our students to successfully engage and complete them for optimum growth (accessed 12/1/08 http://www.scils.rutgers.edu/~kuhlthau/information_search_process.htm). Through information inquiry, discussion and direct instruction, students will explore healthy living especially regarding nutrition and exercise. Group work and pairing with a local elementary school to interact in a physical activity for fun and exercise and providing a healthy snack will be the culminating part of the unit to allow for an additional authentic learning experience that is meaningful to both the ninth grade students and the elementary class. Prior to this activity the ninth grade students will use the research process and work with the media specialist to develop either public service announcements, commercials, or newsletters to be displayed in the school and in local businesses that focus on some aspect of healthy living. The health teacher will in turn be collaborating with the elementary teacher to plan for their group activity and will transition from the project presentations to how they will present findings to their younger audience.
The Health teacher will be responsible for classroom lessons, discussions and planning for the collaboration with the elementary school. The media specialist will connect that planning with an inquiry project that encourages students to explore some aspect of healthy living in depth and prepare a final product, again, either public service announcements, commercials, pocket guides or newsletters. The standards addressed will be many throughout this intensive unit. Connections will also be made with their science class that is working with the school gardens to plant a fall crop of vegetables at the beginning of the school year, however, because not all the students are in the class it will be limited and through discussion and sharing among classmates. In order to be successful in this unit and increase students understanding of the inquiry process putting them on the path to increased information literacy handouts, lessons and other scaffolding tools will be used that increase their thinking about learning as well as their process practice. Wolf et. al. studied the effects of using Big 6 as a scaffolding tool for problem-solving and concluded that in their study it did positively affect student engagement and metacognition (Wolf, 2003). As Callison, Preddy, Lamb and others discuss questioning is at the heart of inquiry and the basis of a wondering, wonderful school media center. Student come in looking for the answer to a questions or a good book. (Callison, 1997) Because questioning will be a big focus on the skills the media specialist will work with students on and is the cornerstone of inquiry question rings and other handouts will be incorporated to scaffold student learning and maturation in the information inquiry process (Callison, Lamb Question Evolution http://virtualinquiry.com/scientist/scientist3question.htm ). |