Understanding by Design

Nutrition, Your Body, and Your Lifestyle

By Pauline Corzilius

Unit Title: Nutrition, Body Fat, and Lifestyle

Grade Levels: College -GenEd

Topic/Subject Areas: Nutrition Energy balance and weight, nutrition for active lifestyles Key Words: BMI, calorie, energy balance, fitness Designed By: Pauline Corzilius Time Frame: 2 weeks (6 contact hours)

School District: White Mountains Community College, Littleton NH

This is an ongoing community college class with 14 students. Students represent a wide demographic ranging from a high school senior to a 40+ individual for whom this science elective is the last class needed to complete his degree in accounting. This class is fragmented philosophically, with some individuals interested in maintaining and/or improving their health, and others (one of whom is morbidly obese, and another who is a serious bodybuilder) continually wanting to question and refute everything I say. This unit will tie together all aspects of the class to date and make the connection between clinical nutrition and lifestyle.

Unit design status:

Completed template pages stages 1, 2, 3 X XCompleted blueprint for each performance task xCompleted rubrics x Directions to students and teacher Suggested accommodations x Materials and resources listed x Suggested extensions Revised draft (date: ____________)
Validated Anchored

Status:

Initial draft (date: ___________)

x Peer Reviewed x Content Reviewed

Field Tested

Page 2
Stage 1 Identify Desired Results
Established Goals:
Students will be able to:

Articulate the connection among calories, energy balance, and body weight Explain the relationship of physical activity and nutrition to health Evaluate food options and make healthy food and fitness choices Describe the factors that contribute to achieving and maintaining a healthy body

What understandings are desired?

Students will understand that:

Overall health is closely connected to body weight and fitness levels Energy balance is essential in maintaining a healthy weight Individuals can improve their overall health through diet and exercise Physical activity is related to diet Calories relate to health

What essential questions will be considered?

Why is it important to understand the connection among diet, physical activity, and overall health?

What key knowledge and skills will students acquire as a result of this unit?
Students will know

How their diet and physical activity choices affect their overall health
Students will be able to

Articulate the relationship among diet, activity, and health Set goals regarding their own energy balance Share their learning with others

Page 3
Stage 2 Determine Acceptable Evidence
What evidence will show that students understand?
Performance Tasks* -Small groups of students come to consensus on the most common physical issues resulting from poor nutrition in local area; conclusions to be shared between groups in a discussion session. -Students to review snack foods that are available on campus, analyze nutrition and calories of those snacks, survey their peers regarding snack preferences, and make written recommendations for changes in the snack offerings. -Students collaborate to create educational materials which illustrate the connections among energy balance, exercise, and health.

Other Evidence (quizzes, tests, prompts, observations, dialogues, work samples)

Test: Final exam will include questions from this unit Exhibit: Students will create educational exhibit of their choice (poster, educational pamphlet, podcast, etc.) demonstrating the connection among energy balance, weight, and physical activity. Letter: Students will create a collaboratively written document summarizing changes that should be made to snack offerings.

Student Self-Assessment and Reflection:

Individual students will complete the rubric for their posters and submit same. Journal reflection: How does the connection between energy balance and health apply to you? In what ways are you doing a good job maintaining energy balance? What things should you be doing differently?

Page 4a
Performance Task - Relating Physical Condition to Energy Balance
What understandings and goals will be assessed through this task?

Energy balance incorporates both calorie intake and calorie utilization.

Energy balance is linked to physical disorders and diseases

What criteria are implied in the standards and understandings regardless of the task specifics? What qualities must student work demonstrate to signify that standards were met?

Understanding of relationship between calories and energy

Nutrition is directly related to overall health

Through what authentic performance task will students demonstrate understanding?

What are the most common health issues which are caused by or exacerbated by diet in our local area? Students will brainstorm in small groups, come to consensus, and report to the class.

What student products and performances will provide evidence of desired understanding?

Student groups will make brainstorming charts to track discussion.

Students will report out verbally to whole class.

By what criteria will student products and performances be evaluated?

Students will be asked to revisit the list the group creates as an essay question on the final exam.

Students will be encouraged to give feedback to one another in large-group discussion.

Page 4b
Performance Task - Snack Foods Analysis
What understandings and goals will be assessed through this task?

Students will be able to distinguish among snack choices and identify those which are most healthy.

What criteria are implied in the standards and understandings regardless of the task specifics? What qualities must student work demonstrate to signify that standards were met?

Some foods are more nutrient dense (they offer more nutrients per calorie) than others.

Different foods offer different levels of calories, and different balance among fats/carbohydrates/proteins.

Through what authentic performance task will students demonstrate understanding?

Analysis of actual snacks offered on campus, development of list of alternative offerings, survey of fellow students regarding whether they would purchase alternative offerings, creation of formal letter including written recommendations to be presented to the college site coordinator.

What student products and performances will provide evidence of desired understanding?

Student- generated written recommendations of healthier snack offerings.

By what criteria will student products and performances be evaluated?

Students will be asked to collaborate in using the rubric to develop a consensus on what grade the final letter should receive.

Page 4c
Performance Task - Educational Exhibits
What understandings and goals will be assessed through this task?

Students will be able to articulate the connection among health, food choices, and energy balance.

What criteria are implied in the standards and understandings regardless of the task specifics? What qualities must student work demonstrate to signify that standards were met?

Understanding what optimal health is.

Energy balance is connected to body weight.

Through what authentic performance task will students demonstrate understanding?

Pairs of students will collaborate to create educational materials of their choice (poster, pamphlet, podcast, etc) illustrating the connection between energy balance and health. These materials will be put on public display on campus when complete.

What student products and performances will provide evidence of desired understanding?

Materials will be put on public display.

Students will journal to illustrate their understanding.

By what criteria will student products and performances be evaluated?

Students will complete self-grading rubric for their final product.

Journal will be evaluated with a rubric.

Page 5
Stage 3 Plan Learning Experiences and Instruction Consider the WHERETO elements Week 1 (one 3 hour session) - Students will be randomly divided into groups of 3 to 4. Groups will be given poster paper and markers, and asked to brainstorm their responses to the question: In our local area, what are the most common health issues that are related to diet? Groups will be given fifteen minutes to discuss and come to consensus. Groups will be asked to report out to the class and a master list will be compiled. Groups of students will then be asked to survey the different snack offerings available to students on campus. Lists will be made, divided among the groups, and each group will be given the task of sorting the list into foods that are acceptable and foods that should be removed from the offerings, with justifications. Groups will then be asked to generate a list of alternative choices. Groups will collaborate on a common document via a Web 2.0 collaboration tool (Google docs or twiddla.com), with the goal of developing a formal letter containing a set of recommendations to be presented to the site coordinator. Students will be asked to use the rubric (see attached excel rubric) to develop a collective grade for the final letter. This grade will be used for reference purposes only; it is intended to help students understand how to evaluate a product using a rubric. Week 2 (one 3 hour session) Students will pair off and collaborate to create educational products (student choice of poster, pamphlet, podcast, etc) for public display. The educational product will be designed to educate others on the connections between calorie intake, calorie burn, and overall health. Students will be asked to evaluate their own educational products with the rubric. (See attached excel file.) Students will be asked to write a journal reflection: How does the connection between energy balance and health apply to you? In what ways are you doing a good job maintaining energy balance? What things should you be doing differently? After unit ends Material will be revisited on the final exam with an essay question. Possible Exam Question: Discuss the connection among calories, body weight, and health. Include specific examples which are drawn from what you have eaten this week.