ESD Letter Rubric

The rubric below can be used to guide you as you put the finishing touches on the letters you are completing for the Environmental Health unit. Given how much work you have put into things already it is more of a formality than anything.

You Are What You Eat

Now that we've gone through so much information regarding the food we eat, where it comes from, how it is made and what effects it has on us and our development, it's your turn to answer one simple question: Are you, in fact, what you eat?  How might that question be true?  How might it not?  In you analysis try to focus both on the nutritional choices you make and your position and role in the food 'system' (the larger picture). "You" does not have to mean you literally, but could mean anyone. Think about it. Write about it. Be as specific as you can (with examples). Try to put it all together. Things to think about:

• Nutrients
• Food Labels
• Food, Inc topics (immigration, socio-economic status, legal issues, ethics, etc.)
• Daily nutritional choices
• Food & Exercise analysis information

Lesson Plan for April 17/18 (for use in support of teacher)

Lesson Plan B – Health (H108) – Equipment: Blue LapTop Cart

1. Take attendance

2. Ask students to review the food groups (Meat & Beans/Protein Foods, Vegetables, Fruits, Grains, Milk/Dairy)

3. Divide students into groups so that every food group is covered by one group (probably in pairs)

4. Ask each group to create a Google presentation that covers the following information (probably with one slide for each item):

a. Food Group Name

b. Examples of foods that come under this food group (including pictures)

c. Nutritional benefits of this food group (what good things does this food do for you) (e.g. high in fibre, high in calcium, etc.)

d. What percentage of your daily intake should come from this food group (there are differing opinions on this item)

e. What concerns are there regarding healthy eating habits with this group (e.g. it’s high in saturated fats, not enough energy, too much makes your blood pressure go up, etc.)

5. Once the presentations are put together the students in each group are asked to present their presentations to class

6. When they are done students need to find a new partner (in pairs) and complete the Planet Power game that can be found on the following website:

a. http://www.fns.usda.gov/multimedia/Games/Blastoff/BlastOff_Game.html

7. Once all groups are finished with the game, as a review ask students to identify elements of good daily habits regarding diet and exercise

8. Remind students that they need to keep track of one day of their eating/exercise habits so that they can input it into the Fit Day website the next class.

Food & Exercise Analysis - Lesson Plan for April 19/20

The following plan is intended for use in class on April 19/20 while I am away for Malaysia Week. By that time please make sure that you have created a Fit Day account and are familiar with the basic elements of the website. We will be doing this in class the week before.

Part of this unit's skills and knowledge, we are asking that you do some analysis of your own eating habits and activity levels. Ideally you'd like for everything you eat (input) and everything you do (outputs) to balance out, but you'll find that on a day-to-day basis this balance might not exactly be the case.

To begin this analysis we ask that you use the Fit Day website (www.fitday.com) to create a profile and input information of your dietary and activity habits. Specifically what you need to do it the following:

To Do:

Create an account on www.fitday.com (making sure that you take note of the date of input so you can access it later on if you need to)

Copy and Paste the following items on to your Blog:

1. Using http://www.mypyramid.gov/mypyramid/index.aspx find out what your calorie input should be (according to the US Department of Agriculture) and make a copy of your recommended daily food intake and caloric needs and post it on your blog.
2. Input Foods consumed (copy onto your blog)
3. Input activities done (copy onto your blog)
4. Report: Calories Chart
5. Report: Nutrition
6. Report: %-RDA/AI Graph
7. Report: Calorie Balance


ANALYSIS

Based on the above-stated items, you will now need to make a detailed assessment of how you did with your eating and activity. You DO NOT need to just answer the questions, but write a few paragraphs about your diet and exercise habits. In doing so, please make sure that you include the information given the the following questions/statements.

1. Nutrients (including fats) from the nutrients pie chart on FitDay

2. Daily allowance in relation to what you ate (largely from the food group recommendations on MyPyramid)

3. Identify three nutrients that you consumed close to 100% of RDA

4. Identify three nutrients that you either over-consumed (far above 100%) or under consumed (very low) irregularities you might have (too high or too low)

5. Use the internet to research what the nutrients in #3 and #4 and identify the following:

a. What the nutrient does for the body (what is its function?)

b. What foods you can find the nutrient in?

c. What are the long-term concerns of over or under consumption of this nutrient

d. What adjustments, if any, you will need to make to your diet in order to reach a health point of consumption for this nutrient

6. Identify long term concerns that you will need to be aware of (e.g. a high fat diet would result in higher risk of heart attack) and how you might alter your lifestyle and choices to be more healthy in the future.

7. Compare your food and exercise data to what is recommended for your age, weight, gender and exercise from MyPyramid.gov.

8. In your analysis identify ways that your exercise and diet might affect you in the future. In particular, what "health concerns" do you have for your future? What changes would you have to make in your lifestyle to become more healthy? How easy/difficult would these changes be for you and why?

9. Finally, identify any problem areas that you felt might have given a not-so-good idea of your actual diet and exercise patterns. What there a problem with the program's database in terms of information input? Was the diet and exercise indicative of your normal weekday lifestyle choices? Note any problems in your blog.

We will be using the following rubric to assess your analysis:

Illegal Drug Classificiations

In class we are now covering substance use. You will notice that any substance that is not directly intended to nourish a body will create some form of problem. This goes for caffeine as well as nicotine, as well as alcohol and most certainly applies to the "hard drugs" that are illegal in most forms. There are a number of types of drugs characterized largely by either their source (narcotics, for example, are largely derived from poppy flowers) or by their effect on the body (e.g. ecstasy is a stimulant).

We ask that you all - with a partner - use the NIDA link on this website to identify a drug classification (group) that you would like to focus on. You can focus on it with the information you find on NIDA alone, or you can supplement that information with other (appropriate) sources. The specific information you need to know is the following:

1. What is the definition of this drug classification (characteristics)
2. What are a few examples of drug that come under this classification
   
3. Short-term effects of that drug.
4. Long-term effects of that drug. Be sure to include physiological effects on the body.
5. Street names for that drug.
6. Pictures of what that drug looks like.
7. How that drug is taken.
8. Statistics related to that drug (example: % of teenagers using in 2008)
9. An interesting/fun fact about the drug.
   
10. Overall analysis (in your own words) related to how dangerous you think this drug is. What are the dangers of this particular drug? In your analysis include what you think are the reasons a government would make this drug illegal (under some or all circumstances).
    
11. If you used additional sources than the NIDA link, you need to cite your sources appropriately.
    

Though you are both working on the same drug classification, you will both need to put this on your blog as a post. It can be the identical post, if you want, or you can personalize it if you want.

Cry For Help Reflection

Once you've seen the movie "Cry For Help" (in class), it would be a good idea to reflect on the information that was shared. In one or two paragraphs, reflect on the "big picture" and "personal meaning" of the information provided. Also, make sure that you touch on the support programs that were discussed in the DVD and assess whether or not you think these kind of programs would be beneficial at ISKL, Ampang or Malaysia.

Health in the News: Stress, Depression & Suicide

Now that we've started the Stress, Depression and Suicide unit, and you recognize just how important it is to learn to cope with our daily stressors, I would like to invite you to participate in the first of what will probably be several "Health in the News" assignments. Your job for this assignment is the following:

WHAT IS THE ASSIGNMENT?

* Your task is to locate, read and analyze one article from a recent (no earlier than 2007) news source (print or on-line) related to Stress, Depression or Suicide. Make sure that the article is from an appropriate source (e.g. well-known newspaper or university website) and of an appropriate length (the equivalent of at least one page in a magazine).

WHY?

* Extend your thinking about YOUR health outside of the classroom and into your daily life & provide fodder for intelligent & informed class discussions.

You need to be able to connect the article to health and explain the following:

What does the article say / Summary

* Summarize the information covered in 3-5 sentences



What does the article mean / (Big Meaning)?

* Analysis in terms of community or global social, emotional or physical health implications – 1 paragraph.
* 1 paragraph


Why do I care / Personal Meaning

* How does this issue impact me personally? What does it mean to me? Why did I choose this article? Do I have personal experience with an issue similar to the topic? How will I improve myself because of reading this article?
* 1 paragraph



WHAT DOES THE ASSIGNMENT LOOK LIKE?


Your Blog Entry/Post

* Heading: Blog Title
* Article info (Title, Author, Source, date)
* Article link (if an online source)
* 12 point font (on blogger choose the "small" font size)
* 3 paragraphs (1 for summary, 1 for big meaning, 1 for personal meaning) with Headings


WHAT’S IT WORTH? 15 points


* Format = 2 (Process Habits & Attitudes)
* Summary=3 (Process Habits & Attitudes)
* Big Meaning= 5 (Knowledge & Understanding)
* Personal Meaning=5 (Knowledge & Understanding)

Reflections

In your blog:

a. Reflect on the activity results that you just completed. How did your own stress levels related to the hierarchical position match up with what the video said? Do you agree that your position in a hierarchy has an inverse relationship to stress levels?

b. Use the following terms in an analysis/reflection. Go any direction you want with it.

a. Decision making, self esteem, wellness

Wellness Plan

We have already talked about the basic elements of goal setting, but as a reminder, we use the SMART approach to goal setting:

• Specific
• Measurable
• Attainable
• Realistic
• Timely

For this assignment, we ask that you choose a health-related goal that you want to focus on for the duration of this semester. The goal you choose to work on should fulfill the following requirements:

a. It should be a goal that needs to be completed by the end of the semester.
b. It should be a goal that follows the SMART elements noted above
c. Keep in mind that goals that are completely under our control (i.e. losing weight) are easier to control then goals that are, to some extent, out of our control (e.g. making a team involves decisions made by others and many variables that are beyond your control)


Steps for achieving a goal

1.Select one goal to work toward.
2.List what you will do to reach this goal.
3.Identify others who can help you and support your efforts.
4.Give yourself a specific period of time to reach your goal.
5.Build in checkpoints to evaluate how you are doing.
6.Give yourself a reward once you’ve achieved the goal.

1. The area or I would like to change or improve is:

2. Pick a primary goal in your lifestyle within the above mentioned Wellness Wheel
area that you want to work on achieving.


3. What health benefits would you receive if you made a change in this area?


4. What difficulties might make achieving this goal a challenge?


5. The people you will ask for support and assistance are:

In what way will they help you?

6. Three specific steps involved in making this change/improvement are (be specific)

a.
b.
c.

7. How will you record of your progress?


8. Date you will start / have started:
9. Date you are going to complete:


10. Reward for completion (should be appropriate):

Self Esteem Self Assessment

Now that we're heading straight into the mental aspects of the wellness continuum, take a couple moments to complete the survey below.

What to do:

1. Complete the survey (link below)
2. Answer the following questions on your blog:

• Is the source a good source of information?
• How accurate do you think the results are?
• In what circumstances might results be invalid?
• Are these types of online sites good to have available? Why/Why not?

http://psychologytoday.tests.psychtests.com/take_test.php?idRegTest=3207

Health Interview

Interview an older person (at least 25 years old) you know who seems to be especially healthy. Complete the questions below as a blog post in your own blog.

What is his/her relationship to you?


1. Have you always been as healthy as you are now? Please explain.


2. What particular health habits in the following areas do you practice, that contribute to your level of health?

Nutritional Habits_______________________________________________

Fitness Habits__________________________________________________

Coping with Stress_______________________________________________

Dealing with Conflicts____________________________________________

Keeping a Positive Attitude_____________________________________

Any Additional Healthy Habits___________________________________

3. How did you develop these habits? Please explain.


4. What motivates you to practice a healthy lifestyle?


5. Create a question of your own that you would like to ask regarding this person’s healthy lifestyle. Make sure that the question allows your interviewee to expand on his/her thoughts (not a one word answer).

Question: __________________________________________________

Answer: ___________________________________________________

How Healthy am I?

Now that we've covered the basics of the Wellness Wheel, it's your turn to self-evaluate. How do you rate yourself (1=lowest, 10=highest) in each of the categories on the Wellness Wheel? Explain briefly why you rated yourself the way you did in each category and give yourself a total/final score for your overall health.

Posting Basics for your Blog

Though this blog is largely for classroom purposes and serves, to a large extent, as your portal to health-related assignments, thoughts, etc, you should also consider it a chance to share any of your own thoughts, concerns, questions, etc., about anything health-related. In the end it is your blog and putting your assignments on it is just a beginning. To get things started, I ask that you set up your first post related to things you are proud of. Feel free to list or narrate (be creative) the things that you are proud of (at least 5). They can be related to yourself or others around you.

A couple pointers about posting:

a. You have to sign in to your account before you can post. Use the email and password that you used to create your account.
b. Once signed in, you need to press on "New Post" button.
c. When you are finished with the post make sure that spelling, format, font, etc. are correct.
d. If you want to save for later, press the "save now" button at the end of your post. You can then return to finish it later.
e. If the post is ready to go, press the "Publish Post" button at the and of the post and it becomes part of the cyberworld and can be viewed by your teacher, your classmates and your family and friends around the world. :-)

That's it! Welcome to the world of Health Blogging!

Creating a Blog for Health

Just to get things online to a steady crawl, I would like you all to create your own health blog. You will later use this blog to complete assignments as they arise.

Your task is the following:

a. Go to www.blogger.com
b. Create a username and password for yourself. Please make sure you remember to note your username and password for later reference.
c. Follow instructions on creating a new blog.
d. Once your new blog is up and ready to go, paste your blog's URL (web address) as a comment on this post. Be sure to add what period you have health.
e. If you have any questions, just ask away and I'll be happy to help.
f. Have fun!