Explore nutrition and healthy eating habits with a study on youth obesity. Learners watch a PBS documentary on the obesity epidemic which discusses government programs aimed at healthier choices, as well as more localized efforts. Kids brainstorm a list of the top five unhealthy snacks they love, then consider why they are so tempting. Finally, they come up with healthy alternatives to these snacks and host a tasting.  

Concepts

calories, obesity, healthy eating, healthy habits, Nutrition

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Additional Tags

math

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Instructional Ideas

• Create an interdisciplinary lesson between science and language arts
• Encourage learners to keep a food diary to accurately track their eating habits

Classroom Considerations

• Be aware that discussions about obesity may be sensitive for some learners in your classroom

Pros

• Incorporates math by prompting class members to graph the results
  

Cons

• None

Common Core

RST.6-8.1 RST.6-8.7 RST.6-8.8 RST.6-8.9 RST.9-10.1 RST.9-10.7 RST.9-10.9 RST.11-12.1 RST.11-12.7 RST.11-12.9