Caring For Our Bodies

Schools and Teachers

Central Boulevard School                             Teacher: Keri Kemmann

Description

Students will explore ways to care for their bodies, inside and out, through narrative and informational text. We will discuss how to fuel our bodies with healthy food sources, how to incorporate movement into our daily lives and how to maintain proper hygiene. 

Procedure

Many of the students in this group have learning difficulties and are classified as students with a disability. Throughout the unit, concepts were retaught, explained and supported with visuals. Students’ responses were scaffolded and students were given additional time to think and respond. Relevant vocabulary was previewed, pre-taught and revisited throughout the unit. I adjusted my level of questioning and students were offered sentence stems, word boxes, native language support, graphic organizers and opportunities for think-pair-share when responding in English. 

Through project-based learning in this unit, students will interact with each other using authentic language, hands-on experiences, realia and opportunities to explore personal interests in food.

Phase 1: 

• Students will work in partnerships or small groups to brainstorm a list of healthy food options for breakfast, lunch and dinner. They will be encouraged to use native language support for unfamiliar vocabulary. Students will examine their list and arrange the foods from most to least nutritious using their background knowledge. 

Phase 2: 

• Students will generate a list of questions centered around foods that they perceive to be most nutritious. Some of their questions might include where are these foods found, how much do these foods cost, which foods are the most popular or delicious, which foods are offered in school. 

Phase 3:

• Students will use FathomReads, Brain Pop, Discovery Education and Nearpod to build their understanding of nutrition. We will discuss what a typical day of eating looks like for them, and potential obstacles that families may encounter when attempting to eat healthfully. 

Phase 4:

• Students will work in groups to examine grocery circulars using text and pictures. They will notice foods that they categorized as more or less nutritious.

Phase 5:

• Students will work in groups to compile a grocery list of foods that they could buy using budgets of $25, $50 and $100. Groups will present their findings and explain which foods took up most of their budgets. 

Phase 6:

• Students will use Google Slides to generate a menu to showcase a balanced day’s worth of food for each budget point. Groups will present their menu presentations to the class and ask and answer questions about each group’s menus.