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A WebQuest for 4th Grade Health To view the original click here. Introduction | Task |
Process | Evaluation | Conclusion | Credits | Last night, your family had a meeting to talk about why they don't have as much fun together as they used to. What you all decided was that you just don't have the energy to get out and do things anymore. Everybody is so busy with school, work, meetings, practices and lessons that when they have free time, they just want to sit on the couch and watch TV or read a book. You learned in school that better nutrition can give you more energy. When you shared this information with your family, you all made an agreement to eat better.
Your task is to create a practical eating plan for your whole family. You realize this won't be easy, but once it has been accomplished, you will all be much happier. There is a lot of work to be done before you can create the plan. You will have to find out what nutrients are most important and why. Which foods contain them? How much of these foods should you eat? If you don't change your eating habits, what will happen to your family's health? What foods does your family like and dislike? What is your family food budget? How much time does your family have to prepare meals? After gathering this information, you will need to create a practical eating guide for your family to follow. In order to be better motivated, you will all need to understand why this guide is better than your old habits.
  The class
will be divided into families, and choose family roles. The
families will use their information to create a family food plan.
Each family member will compare his/her normal diet with the family
food plan and reflect upon what they have learned.
Healthy recipes will be compiled into a class cookbook.
(1) You
must each accept certain responsibilities in order to achieve your
family goal. The first step is a food journal. During the next week,
you must document (write down) everything you eat on the Food Journal Page. (2) You have been placed in a family. Have a meeting and discuss your family name (last name) and what role in the family you play (mother, father, aunt, grandma...). You can create any type of family you would like, but each family must include at least one adult and one child your age. (Sorry, in this project, no babies allowed.) Make up a name for yourself. Check out your name with your teacher. From now on in the project, you will be referred to by your new name. (3) Take a look at a food pyramid. The pyramid shows you different food groups. For other Food Pyramid displays, look at: Kid's Health or It's My Life. As a family, you need to investigate the different food groups. To make things easier, you each need to choose one food group to study. When you look at the food pyramid, you notice that the fats and oils group is found in the foods from other groups. Therefore, nobody should research the fats and oils group. Depending on your family size, you may have one person working on two food groups, or two people working on one. Make sure the work is divided evenly. You need to learn as much about your food group as you can. (4)
In order to conduct your research you may use the following sources: When you present your
information to your family, it should be written in a way that is clear
for you to present. To help organize your information, you may use the Mini Report
Worksheet. (5) You have learned important information about your food groups. It's time to share. Have a family meeting and present all of your information to the rest of the family. When you are all finished,
go to step six to see what you have learned. (6) Check what you have learned. Try My
Pyramid Blast Off and My
Pyramid Game during your computer time or at home.
Sometimes we forget how much junk food we eat. An easy way to avoid this is to create a master shopping list. If you only purchase foods from this list at the grocery store, your food choices will always be healthy. Create your list by combining foods from different food groups that the majority of the family enjoys. You can organize your list by either food groups or meal groups (breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks). Your end result should be typed. Be sure to check for spelling. Okay, you know what to buy,
but what do you choose? What meals will your family eat this week? (8) You have done a great job creating a healthy eating lifestyle for your family. Now that you know what you should eat, find different ways to eat them. Each family member needs to come up with three meals (breakfast, lunch and dinner). You can use any recipes you want. Have some fun. Find some old favorites or some new things to try. When you put the three meals together, make sure that all of the food groups have been represented with the appropriate number of servings. Missing servings can be supplemented with snacks. Your research can include getting recipes from people you know, looking through cookbooks, or from the following sites: (9) Wow! You have gathered lots of information; now it is time to use it. You are to create a seven day eating guide for your family. Assume that your family follows this eating plan:* The adults
prepare five dinners and one lunch each week.
* The
family eats out twice a week.
* Students
eat five lunches each week at school.
* Family
members fix their own snacks and meals for the remainder of the meals.
Put your
meals together using a table format.
(10) By
now, you know that it is easier to grab food at a fast food restaurant
than plan your meals ahead of time. As a group, come to a
conclusion about fast food. Your information should include the
pros and cons (good and bad) of eating fast food. Does it really
matter? How many times per week can your family eat out and still
stay healthy? If you need to eat out, what are your healthy
choices? Be prepared to discuss your findings with other
families. Return to Step 4 for resources, or try this:
Product Rubric
Individual 2 3 4 Content Individual Contains very little information about the food group Contains information about the food group with little
detail, may not be clear and organized Contains organized, and clear information about the food
group with some detail Contains detailed, organized, and clear information
about the food group 2 3 4 Individual 2 3 4 Food Survey Individual 2 3 4 Individual 5-10 items, somewhat organized, some mistakes 11-15 items organized with some mistakes 15+ items, neat, few or no spelling errors 2 3 4 Individual 2 3 4 Discussion Group 2 3 4 Group 2 3 4 Individual 2 3 4
Process
Rubric
Congratulations! You have finished your Nutrition WebQuest. Through your activities, you have learned about proper nutrition and have gained a greater understanding about your eating habits. |
