James+Shoesmith

__7th-8th Grade Language Arts__

__Description of Topic__- As a teacher and coach I see in students of effects of their home life and daily habits. I feel nutrition is an aspect of the students’ lives that is often overlooked and that students have little idea about the importance of good nutrition as it relates to their functionality. I will put together a four week unit for an English class that will have students write and reflect about their nutrition habits and what they have been told about good nutrition through various means (school, TV, magazines, etc). __Learning Goals__
 * Raise student awareness about nutritional habits and the effect on student activities
 * Students will educate peers on the importance of good nutritional habits using technology and other means
 * Students will analyze languages and word usages involved with food and drink and how they sell a produce
 * Compare and contrast differences between healthy and unhealthy foods

__Reading__- Students will be reading popular magazines, food and drink labels, interviews, as well as government documents regarding nutrition and how it impacts people.

__Research__- I will guide students to research scholarly, fact based documents that will focus on nutrition, how it affects youth activity and an analysis of how schools provide nutritional choices for students.

__Events-__ Students will be placed in the roles of advisors, promoters, educators, activists, and analysts. The goal of these roles will be for the students to provide their peers with helpful, relevant information and opinions of how to live a healthier life that fits with their students socioeconomic statuses. __Activities-__ Students will take part in reading comprehension, Internet searching, use of computer applications, proposal writing, and food label analysis. These activities will provide students a wide range of activities and the freedom to use tools they will feel comfortable with.

__Writing Activity #1__- What they know about nutrition This assignment will serve as a base for the unit as students will reflect upon what they know about nutrition. Students will create a narrative equal to a minimal of 2 pages of text about their nutritional experiences. I will give students the flexibility to use a wide range of technological tools to present their narratives, including but not limited to Microsoft Office, Windows Movie Maker, Prezi, and Xtranormal.

__Writing Activity #2__- Blog on blogger.com For 10 school days students will blog about an item they ate at any time during the school day. They can use pictures, video and any other kind of media to show what they ate and felt about it. Questions to guide these blogs are
 * 1) Why did you choose to eat this food?
 * 2) Do you consider it good or bad nutrition?
 * 3) What alternatives were available, if any?

__Writing Activity #3__- Script/public service announcement about effects of nutrition This project will take a whole weeks worth of class period at the end of the unit and will ask students to synthesize the information they have learned about nutrition and create an PSA or some sort of persuasive media preaching the importance of good nutrition.

__Student Engagement and Interaction__ Students will be given the opportunity to work with several types of writing genres and a range of technological tools. Many of the activities will be based off a literacy practice approach. The main goal of these activities is to place the students in a situation where they are in a proactive and reflective leadership position that can help others about an overlooked and critical component of daily lives. Readings will be selected from both scholarly and popular texts. This variety of texts will provide both professional research, personal narratives, public opinions and political papers. A goal of mine is to have the students find majority of texts electronically. I feel that students will have a wider range of variety of texts online and that they will have easier access to these texts when they are away from the classroom. I will provide databases for the students to begin their searches for text, two major databases will be The Nutrition Journal and The Nutrition and Food Web Archive. Students will participate in a substantial amount of writing during this unit as they will be asked to both reflect and persuade in their writings. This will be done through journals, blogs, narratives, persuasive writing and position writing. Students will be pushed by me to be influential and connected with their peers in order to provide material that will raise awareness about good nutritional habits and encourage those habits around their school and peers. As students progress through this unit their writing, reading and technology skills will be advanced as they engage in self readings, peer reviews and my assistance. The technological aspects of the unit will allow for social interaction in which the students will comment and discuss other student’s work.

__Common Core Standards that will be met-7th Grade__ Reading-


 * 1) Describe how any given sentence, paragraph, chapter, or section fits into the overall structure of a text and contributes to the development of the ideas.
 * 2) Identify the stated and unstated premises of an argument and explain how they contribute to the conclusions reached.
 * 3) Cite several pieces of textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.

Writing- a. Engage and orient the reader by establishing a context and point of view and introducing a narrator and/or characters; organize an event sequence that unfolds naturally and logically. b. Use narrative techniques, such as dialogue, pacing, and description, to develop experiences, events, and/or characters. c. Use a variety of transition words, phrases, and clauses to convey sequence and signal shifts from one time frame or setting to another. d. Use precise words and phrases, relevant descriptive details, and sensory language to capture the action and convey experiences and events. e.Provide a conclusion that follows from and reflects on the narrated experiences or events.
 * 1) Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, relevant descriptive details, and well-structured event sequences.

2. With some guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on how well purpose and audience have been addressed. (Editing for conventions should demonstrate command of Language standards 1–3 up to and including grade 7 on page 66.)

3. Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and link to and cite sources as well as to interact and collaborate with others, including linking to and citing sources.

4. Conduct short research projects to answer a question, drawing on several sources and generating additional related, focused questions for further research and investigation 5. Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research. a. Apply grade 7 Reading standards to literature (e.g., “Compare and contrast a fictional portrayal of a time, place, or character and a historical account of the same period as a means of understanding how authors of fiction use or alter history”). b. Apply grade 7 Reading standards to literary nonfiction (e.g. “Trace and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, assessing whether the reasoning is sound and the evidence is relevant and sufficient to support the claims”).

6. Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas, concepts, and information through the selection, organization, and analysis of relevant content. a. Introduce a topic clearly, previewing what is to follow; organize ideas, concepts, and information, using strategies such as definition, classification, comparison/contrast, and cause/effect; include formatting (e.g., headings), graphics (e.g., charts, tables), and multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension. b. Develop the topic with relevant facts, definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples. c. Use appropriate transitions to create cohesion and clarify the relationships among ideas and concepts. d. Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to inform about or explain the topic. e. Establish and maintain a formal style. f. Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the information or explanation presented.

__Common Core Standards that will be met-8th Grade__

Reading-
 * 1) Cite the textual evidence that most strongly supports an analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
 * 2) Evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of using different mediums (e.g., print or digital text, video, multimedia) to present a particular topic or idea.
 * 3) Analyze a case in which two or more texts provide conflicting information on the same topic and identify where the texts disagree on matters of fact or interpretation.

Writing- a. Introduce claim(s), acknowledge and distinguish the claim(s) from alternate or opposing claims, and organize the reasons and evidence logically. b. Support claim(s) with logical reasoning and relevant evidence, using accurate, credible sources and demonstrating an understanding of the topic or text. c. Use words, phrases, and clauses to create cohesion and clarify the relationships among claim(s), counterclaims, reasons, and evidence. d. Establish and maintain a formal style. e. Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the argument presented.
 * 1) Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence.

__Daily Glance__

Day 1
 * Ask students to write down what they have ate the last five days at school
 * Watch short video on nutrition and health issues- [|__Child Nutrition__]
 * Students spend 10 minutes and write about what they know about nutrition
 * Read [|__"A Study of Adolescent Nutrition"__]

Day 2 Day 3
 * [|__Nutritional Survey__]
 * Class discussion about why education about nutrition is important
 * KWL about Nutrition
 * Read [|__"The Effectiveness of School-Based Nutritional Education Program among Obese Adolescents: A Randomized Controlled Study"__] - take note on statistics and research
 * Students begin personal narrative on what they know about nutrition, their nutritional habits and how they feel impacted by those habits, minimum details and 1 media tool.
 * Students work on personal narrative about nutrition.(Computer lab)
 * Listen to [|__PBS-Food Revolution__]

Day 4
 * Students work on personal narratives
 * Listen to [|__NPR-USDA to Require Healthier Meals in School__]
 * Listen to [|__Moms, Lawmakers Push Healthy Eating__]

Day 5
 * Students present personal narratives
 * Read [|__Food and Nutrient Intake in Relation to Mental Wellbeing__]

Day 6
 * Introduce [|__Edublogs__] for students to begin blog about daily nutritional habits
 * Read [|__10 Best and Worst Foods to Eat__]
 * Read [|__10 Worst Food Ingredients__]
 * Present slideshow [|__Worst Foods for Heart__]
 * Read [|__How Junk Food Industry Hooked America__]

Day 7
 * Roundtable discussion of classes’nutritional habits from previous day
 * Read [|__Study of Food Consumption in America__]
 * Analyze various food labels

Day 8
 * Roundtable discussion of classes’nutritional habits from previous day
 * Students select one popular fast food item and research nutritional information. (Computer Lab)
 * Listen/watch [|__Inside McDonalds Empire__]
 * Share fast food items with classroom

Day 9
 * Roundtable discussion of classes’nutritional habits from previous day
 * Analyze and discuss how government informs people of nutrition
 * [|__USDA Brochure__]
 * [|__Choose MyPlate__]
 * [|__Government Dietary Guidelines__]
 * Read column- [|__Mark Bittman__]
 * Read [|__Doctors trying to prevent food stamps from buying sugary drinks__]

Day 10
 * Roundtable discussion of classes’nutritional habits from previous day
 * Read [|__Harvard-What should we eat?__]
 * Skim and analyze handout- [|__What should we eat?__]
 * Athlete nutrition
 * [|__Sample athlete snacks__]
 * [|__Olympic Athlete diet__]
 * Vegetarian nutrition
 * [|__Vegetarian Nutrition__]
 * Students choose to reteach next day
 * [|__Athlete nutrition article__]
 * [|__Vegetarian article__]
 * [|__Nutrition and school finances__]
 * [|__Global nutrition guidelines comparison__]

Day 11
 * Students present articles from previous day

Day 12
 * Read [|__What does Organic mean?__]
 * Read [|__Organic vs Natural__]
 * Watch [|__Nutrition Controversies__]

Day 13
 * Watch [|__Nutritional Commercials__]
 * Read [|__How Disney is promoting good nutrition__]
 * Write how advertisements affect you and what you purchase

Day 14
 * Mini lesson on persuasion
 * [|__Persuasion matters__]
 * [|__Science of Persuasion__]
 * [|__Good advertising tips__]
 * [|__Top Super Bowl Commercials__]
 * Students will choose topic for nutrition advertisements/ PSA

Day 15
 * Work on projects in computer lab, students narrow topics
 * Read [|__8 foods we eat that are banned in foreign countries__]

Day 16
 * Work on projects in computer lab

Day 17
 * Work on projects in classroom/possibly computer lab

Day 18
 * Present projects to class

Day 19
 * Present projects to class

Day 20
 * Complete KWL charts
 * Students design their ideal meal

__Assignment Descriptions__

Personal Narrative on Writing
 * Students need to describe
 * What they think about importance of nutrition
 * Any foods they think they must have
 * Family specialities or favorites
 * Where they look for food
 * How they think nutrition affects them physically and mentally
 * 1 digital media program or device incorporated into project
 * Stress that digital aspect is used to enhance, not to do all presenting

Edublog
 * Students post at least 3 blog entries in a 5 day span
 * Students respond at least 4 times in a 5 day span
 * Graded on
 * Responses to their entries
 * Typing accuracy
 * Clearness of thoughts

Nutrition PSA/ Advertisements
 * Create a paper or digital mode that conveys an idea or points to good nutrition
 * Students have option as to mode they use
 * Must be something that can be displayed in hallway or on Internet
 * Must be clear and concise in positions
 * Will turn in an outline of goal and reasoning for topic chosen
 * Nutritional topics could be but not limited too-
 * Snacks
 * Energy drinks
 * Fast food
 * Supplements
 * Vegetables
 * Athletic nutrition
 * Brain power nutrition
 * Nutritional justice
 * Government role