Science Friday

Yeah I know it is not Friday but I post Math/Science stuff on Mondays.  This site has a weekly podcast that usually highlights something science based that is in the news.  At the bottom of the website's page they have a clickable  icon for each category of science.  To see the website click here.

Respectfully Disagree

If you are teaching a controversial topic or something where students might vehemently disagree with the other person discussing their opinion, you might want to look at this site from Teens Health.  It is titled, "5 Ways to (Respectfully) Disagree" and can be found by clicking here.  You might also want to look around their website if you teach Food, Fitness or Health class as they have information there also.  If you teach Spanish, you can click on the "en español" box to get the article in Spanish.

Blue Zones Life Expectancy Calculator

If you go to Blue Zones and take their short survey it will calculate how long you will live and give you some information on how to live longer based on your input.  To see the calculator and take their quiz click here.  You will have to register but it is free.  If you are teaching a health  or foods/nutrition class, this might be something to have your class try.

Too Much Sugar

If you teach Health, Physical Education or Foods you might want to look at these sites/videos that Richard Byrne posted.  They all deal with sugar and our bodies.  The first one is Rethink Your Drink which is a pdf document dealing with how much sugar is in most drinks and lists alternatives.  To see the website click here.  The next two were videos.  The first is a TED ED lesson called How Sugar Effects the Brain and is embedded below.

Untamed Science offers another similar video on why we crave sugar and is embedded below.

Sugar Stacks is a great site to visualize how much sugar is in what we consume.

To see their website click here.

Food for Health

The Food for Health exhibition and website from the Canada Agricultural Museum takes a look at the foods we eat and answers many of the questions Canadians have about their food choices.  To see the exhibition click here.  To see the Canada Agriculture and Food Museum click here.

Ted Ed - What are Carbohydrates?

From the popular Ted Ed series of videos I noticed this video on Carbohydrates and how they impact your health by Richard J. Wood.  It might be good for your Foods or Health Science class.  The video is embedded above and if you are a teacher the Ted Ed page has 5 multiple choice questions under the  topic Think on the right hand side as well as some more resources under Dig Deeper also on the right hand side of the webpage.  To see the webpage click here.

Causes of Untimely Death

I saw a tweet from Bill Gates that led me to this Wired article on deaths by various causes.

You can read the Wired article by clicking here.  There are some very interesting interactive visualization tools to compare this data.  This might work well as a starting point in a health class or science class.  Note Suicide is a large block than Violence.  Look how large Road Accidents are, which I imagine include drinking and driving which really are not accidents.

World Malaria Day

World Malaria Day is April 25, so I thought I would post this with a couple weeks notice if you wanted to use this information in your class.  The Seattle Times has a ton of information for teachers and students on Malaria.  To see this information click here.

Explore more infographics like this one on the web’s largest information design community


Lastly

Fitness Gram Brochure Project

Here is a project that you might use in your Physical Fitness class in a health unit.  The students will produce a brochure.  Included with this word document is a rubric.  Topics included are: Cardiovascular Endurance, Muscular Strength/Endurance, Flexibility and Body  Composition.  To download the file click here.

The Olympic Diet

If you have been watching CBC to get your winter Olympic fix you will have seen their ASAP science shorts.  Here is one you might use in your health or foods class.

Is This Product Healthy?

The following comes from Mrs. S. on TeachersPayTeachers.  It could be used in a Health class or Foods class.  This lesson has been downloaded over 11,000 times!  If you are not a member of TeachersPayTeachers you should as it is free to register and there are many free items like this there.

Ever had a student ask, "Is this product "healthy?"

This lesson includes everything students should know about reading food labels and gives the formulas to figure out if a food is healthy enough to be in school vending machine (if a school is classified as a "Healthy School" a product must be less than 35% fat end less than 35% sugar, or no more than 15 grams of sugar).

Have fun with this easy to follow lesson that teaches skills students will use for life!!

THIS LESSON IS INCLUDED IN THE BEST HEALTH CURRICULUM: A COMPLETE SEMESTER OF HEALTH LESSON PLANS AND IS ALSO PART OF THE "NUTRITION UNIT." (See links below)

The lesson starts with a 23-slide PowerPoint lesson and follows up with a worksheet where each student will pick a product or label and read it on their own.

28 pages of step-by-step teacher directions follow the PowerPoint and make teaching this lesson easy!

The PowerPoint will teach students how manufacturers may try to deceive consumers and why it's important to know how to discern the information on a label (beware of unrealistic serving sizes, deceptive servings per container, misleading container information, etc). Students will learn how to pick what's worth reading on a food label and how to understand a food label.


To download the Teachers directions in Word click here.  To download the student presentation powerpoint click here.  Mrs. S. link to this on TeachersPayTeachers can be found by clicking  here.

Know Your Skin

This infographic might be useful in a Health or Science class.

Resources on Food

Here are a few resources that can be used in a Foods and Nutrition class or Health unit in Physed.

How much sugar is in the food we eat.  They have many different categories and show graphically with sugar cubes how much sugar is in that particular food or drink.  To see the site click here.

The following is an Iphone app called Chew or Die created by The Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago.  From Itunes, "Mouths crammed with hot dogs. Tears streaming down pie-smeared faces. Stomachs stretched to the bursting point. These are the less-than-savory images that "competitive eating" conjures. But MSI's new mobile app will change that. Download Chew or Die and you can start challenging your friends—and yourself—to eat healthier.

Chew Or Die is a food challenge app that encourages users to make small changes to their daily food choices. Regularly eat pepperoni pizza for lunch? How about trying veggies on top instead? Ok,you’ve got that down… now why not dare your Facebook friends to out-veggie your pizza?"

Too read more or download the app click here.