School Lunches: The Saga Continues...

Ah, school lunches. All of a sudden, everyone is talking about them. I'm starting nutrition with my sixth graders this week, so I'll post how I'm incorporating this into our curriculum at a later date. For now, I'm pretty positive that school lunch is the teenage pregnancy of 2010, as far as hot health topics go. And while there was a lot of hype in in 08-09 about teenage pregnancy (specifically after what happened in Gloucester) it seems like the dialogue on that issue has faded. It did resurface a little bit during the health care debate, but the media let that fade too. Now, something new has surfaced.

School nutrition is even appearing in commercials! The American Beverage Association recently aired a commercial patting themselves on the back for eliminating full calorie soft drinks from schools across the country. Full calorie soft drinks? Are people still really concerned only with calories? What about sugar? What about high fructose corn syrup? Why should we be satisfied with less-calorie drinks in our schools when they are still serving drinks loaded with other junk?!? I laughed at this commercial. Way to go, corporate America.

And now, the media blitz of our new hot topic. I've posted on this before, and I'm not the only one. Mrs. Q is chronicling her experience eating only school lunches on her blog, Fed Up With Lunch: The School Lunch Project. If you haven't checked it out yet, please do! Then there are the countless news articles that have appeared recently. USA Today has an ongoing section on school lunch safety, which is eye opening in itself: many cafeterias are not passing health and safety inspections, food of a poor quality is making its way onto the trays of students, etc. This week an article appeared in the Boston Globe about struggling families and their reliance on school lunches. This effect is two fold: one being on the students eating the lunches, and two being on the districts who have to serve them without a reimbursement rate that is inadequate. For a comprehensive round up of what's going on in the news relating to school lunches, check out the school lunch roundup posted on Mrs. Q's blog by Brandon Smith.

Because my blog is rather young, there have only been a few posts about school lunches. This will definitely be an ongoing discussion (I have more posts in draft mode) and I hope this conversation continues. It's being hit from many angles: the First Lady, Jamie Oliver, national newspapers, and young, blogging teachers, to name a few.

There seems to be a general outrage about nutrition, but not much is being done. We can watch Jamie Oliver (I have to catch up on Hulu) all we want, but will we join him? While getting a conversation started is the first step (and a critical one!), action is what is needed. What can concerned parents do in their own communities? Here's my own list that I created, as someone with no expert experience in this type of situations. This is only from my head, and I thought about it over the last day or so. Let me know what you think! Here it is:

1. Organize. A group of fired up parents can do a lot to get something within school districts changed! If you do not like what your child is being served, find others who feel the same way you do. Talk with the administrators and teachers in your district. Most principals I know will at least hear you out, even if they can't (for whatever reason: money, etc) change anything immediately. Plan some meetings, get together, and make a game plan. It's better to have too many ideas than none at all!

2. Connect. Connect with local school officials. Tell them you want to work with them, not against them, in helping create more healthy meals for the student body, aka your kids. Reach out to local community organizations: garden clubs, health departments, community coalitions, etc. Nothing around like that? Start one! Social media has made it very simple to connect with others through e-mail, Twitter, Facebook group/fan pages, etc. There's no need to reinvent the wheel; many people have made changes to school lunches in their districts. Connect with these people and see what worked for them! Contact local representatives or other government officials and see if they can help you, too.

3. Research. Read, read, read about food and academic performance! Read articles like this one describing how one district makes fresh breakfasts, from scratch, for their students everyday. Make sure you research data on topics such as the impact of breakfast on academics (warning: company sponsored website), how food service professionals expand their breakfast offerings and be sure to find up to date information from reliable research publications.

4. Model. Want your kids to eat healthy? Eat healthy too! Many people complain about not having enough family time together, but cooking a homemade meal is one of the easiest ways to accomplish two things at once: family social time and healthy eating. My friend Matt has said this for a long time, and I'm in agreement. Realistically, most people can't eat only fresh, unprocessed foods. However, you can be aware of every food item you put into your body, and YOU can make healthy choices.

Also, please realize that schools are held to budgetary constrictions, and a lot of schools simply don't have the facilities to handle a lot of freshly prepared meals. Both are discussed in my post about what Anthony Geraci has done with the food being served in the Baltimore public schools.

Personally, one of my physical education colleagues and me and teaming up to revamp the bulletin boards in our school cafeteria to highlight different information about nutrition. We're still in the process of figuring out logistics, but once we get rolling I'll be sure to post about it, with pictures too.

Will school lunches change? I hope something about them changes. Our children are our future and if we want to have a healthy population in the future, we cannot continue on the road we are on.

As always, please e-mail me with questions, comments, or concerns.

NOTE: Michelle Obama has launched a contest called Apps for Healthy Kids. The goal is to create "innovative, fun and engaging software tools and games that encourage children directly or through their parents to make more nutritious food choices or be more physically active." Check it out, and if you're knowledgeable about that sort of thing, enter the contest!

Phoebe Prince

It appears school lunches and bullying are both hot topics this year, especially with the local, highly publicized story regarding the suicide of 15 year old Phoebe Prince. This media firestorm first occurred back in January and with the recent news that charges have been made, it's back again.

Nine teenagers have been charged with various crimes relating to the death of Prince, which are explained in detail in the linked articles below. The articles share the same common information: unrelenting bullying of Phoebe, kids and teachers who were aware of what was going on, and a fired up public. If you haven't figured it out by now, I don't rehash articles that already have the information for you. So, they're linked below. If a study or article comes out on its own, I'll do a more in depth review (like the New England Journal of Medicine article on salt) but when so many articles appear in a certain amount of time, I just add my thoughts.

Here's an editorial by Boston Globe columnist Kevin Cullen. It's more, uh, blunt than the other reports. Next, the actual articles in the Boston Globe, the Washington Post, and the New York Times. A brief story also appeared in the Springfield Republican.

It's no secret that bullying happens. In order for bullying to stop, students need to learn the skills of how to properly handle a bullying situation. What should someone do if they are being teased or bullied? What can they do as a bystander who witnesses bullying happening? Why do kids bully anyway? To me, this might be the most important question. Part of our sixth grade curriculum includes Aggressors, Victims, and Bystanders. It's a little dated, but my favorite part deals with what students can do as a bystander to a bullying situation, and how they can either prolong the bullying or help end it. We also discuss that choosing not to do anything at all is a decision that has its consequences, as many people in South Hadley have found out. Students should also learn other important life skills, such as self-esteem, communication skills, goal setting, decision making, support networks...all of which can tie into anti-bullying units.

I'm up in the air about the new legislation in Massachusetts regarding bullying because it places most of the blame in one place. Parents are still responsible for their kids, and administrators have so much on their plate already. I'm not saying teachers and administrators should not report bullying behavior (they NEED to do something about it) but I think there are more proactive ways to handle this issue, which is another post in itself! I do like the part about attempting to change the climate of a school, and ultimately, teachers need to be aware of what constitutes bullying versus simple teasing (many may argue there is no such thing as simple teasing). However, so much of bullying can occur outside of school, where teachers and administrators are not responsible for the behavior of their students. I read a report about a parent who paid two boys fifty dollars each to "take care" of someone bullying his daughter. What kind of example does this set? When bullying does occur in school, it's often (not always) very subtle. Teenagers are masters at keeping their behavior discrete. By the time it's being taken care of, another incident is probably occurring. It's a never ending battle; at least it will be until we start changing the culture of a school and community. It is going to be a multi-faceted effort, involving schools, parents, community organizations, and more. Sounds like a great opportunity for schools to work within their coordinated school health programs!

NOTE: I picked up Queen Bees and Wannabes at Borders this weekend, along with a few other books. I'm hoping to start it this week, but with middle school, track, and class all very busy right now, it might have to wait until the weekend.

Food Revolution!

I just watched the first episode of Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution on Hulu. I'm hooked!

I had no idea this show was going to happen, and I'm glad that school lunches are receiving some media attention. It's very hard to change how school lunches are served, but Jamie seems like the man for the job, filled with passion and a firm resolve to help people change. But, as we know from what's happening in Baltimore, change IS possible if you have the tools, desire, and manpower to accomplish it. On a side note, this is the second time I've seen the word "revolution" associated with school lunches; the first was a company mentioned in an earlier blog post of mine.

I just sent this link to my friend Matt Germain. If Jamie Oliver, Jack Lalanne, and Matt all teamed up, this problem would be solved!

Cough Medicine Abuse

This post is all over the place. At the end I have numerous links; links to articles and resources. For all I know, this issue will result in ongoing commentary from me right here on Middle School Health Esteem. I should be reading about standard deviation and z scores for my grad class, but this is important for me to post about.

Over the last month or so I've heard a lot about DXM, dextromethorphan. I was attending a district wide professional development class when a teacher from the high school in my district informed me about the increasing trend among our community of students abusing cough medicines. Last week, while in the middle of our seventh grade ATOD unit, I covered DXM and numerous other drugs in class. Then, an article appeared in the town newspaper, which was shortly followed by an article in the local, regional paper. The next logical step was for television media to get involved. This week the local ABC affiliate, WCVB in Boston, had a story on the evening news. The media was reporting on an increase in teenagers abusing cough medicines containing DXM.

Well, it's no secret now that I teach in Danvers, Massachusetts. Originally, I didn't want that to come out on here simply because anyone can read whatever I type here, and I don't have tenure yet. But, then I realized I really have nothing to hide, I'm promoting what I do in the classroom, and if anything, maybe we can get some conversations flowing about this issue and other issues too.

Abusing cough medicines with DXM has many negative health effects: impaired judgement, vomiting, hallucinations, dizziness, disorientation, etc. More information on DXM is linked below. Many medicines contain other ingredients that can be deadly in excess amounts as well. This post isn't really about DXM itself, but more about how Danvers is approaching this issue.

After I read the article in the regional paper, I e-mailed the director of Danvers CARES, a prevention coalition that always gets two huge thumbs up from me. I asked the director if she had any additional resources I could share with all of my students to educate them about DXM and prescription drug abuse in general. We only touch upon substance abuse in general terms in the seventh grade curriculum; they go more in depth in high school health (we focus on tobacco and alcohol). She responded with some great information that I've included below. I'm using them in some "teachable moments" coming up with all grade levels, because whenever a teachable moment exists I snag that opportunity!

It's also important to remember that DXM abuse is only one part of prescription drug and OTC drug abuse. It falls under that general umbrella, which encompasses abuse of anything from Oxycontin to diet pills. So, abuse of one drug is only one small part of a much larger issue.

We also don't really know how long this has been going on. National data about this type of behavior, according to the director of Danvers CARES, only goes back to 2006. What I do know is that we in Danvers are very lucky to have an organization like Danvers CARES to spearhead community involvement over this issue. Our police department visited all the local pharmacies to talk to the managers recently, and there is a round table discussion scheduled for next month with police officers, school officials, Danvers CARES representatives, and more. The purpose is to educate parents and citizens about the dangers of DXM abuse. I'm a big believer in involving parents in what goes in within a child's education, and I'm trying to add a little more of that each year in my own teaching. Providing these opportunities for parents to hear from people who know what they're talking about and to ask those questions is a great thing! Parents: please talk to your kids, and get them the facts.

Basically, many parts of the coordinated school health program that I'm a huge proponent of are working together on this issue. In order for any change to happen a huge effort is required; it looks like we're seeing that becoming reality here. Will it work? I hope so. Ultimately, it's up to the kids themselves to change their own behaviors. Ideally, it would be great to identify trends with risk behaviors before they happen. Unfortunately, that's not always realistic, and I'm not sure where that would even start. A reader comment I read on one of the newspaper articles online mentioned that when kids start using these types of drugs, that they have surpassed marijuana and are looking for something else. I don't know if that has any truth to it or not (anything posted online like that needs to be taken with a grain of salt), but if it is true than I'm scared to think about what could come next.

Check out the following resources below.

Resources:

DXM Stories: Make Up Your Own Mind About Cough Medicine. Provides factual information, stories from former users, and news about cough medicine abuse. The site says all information is from reliable, medical research or from first hand accounts of former users.

Above The Influence: OTC Drugs. From the "abovetheinfluence" website.

*Note: The director of Danvers CARES mentioned that some of the following are produced by pharmaceutical companies. They have great information, but remember the course as you browse them. I used the Kids Health reference sheet in class this week, as an FYI.

Tip Sheet for Giving Oral OTC Cough and Cold Medicines to Children.

Check The OTC Label.

Preventing Teen Cough Medicine Abuse: A Parent's Guide.

Cough and Cold Medicine Abuse: KidsHealth.org

Student Feedback: Alcohol Simulation Stations

Last week, I was able to use the alcohol simulation stations activity with my seventh graders. I adapt the activity to fit our class length (45 minutes) as well as the attention span of seventh grade students. I included five stations, which I found to be enough to get the point of the lesson across.

Whenever I use activities like this, I ask for the students to write a brief reflection on what they experienced. The chart they filled out during class had the factual information they needed, so for the reflection I wanted to know their opinions on the activity, how they felt about their experience, and what they were going to do with the information they learned.

The lesson went really well! There were some logistical issues I could fix, but when it came time to go over the chart, I could see the light bulbs go off in their heads. I was very happy at how things went, and my initial concerns that the lesson wouldn't click with seventh grade students were false.

I e-mailed Dr. Whalen, who helped create this activity, with some student responses. Below are selected thoughts from some of those responses. A few are in their entirety, others are excerpts. I've included them with grammatical errors and all. Enjoy!

"I really enjoyed the station activity about alcohol. I enjoyed this activity because they were all very challenging, which makes me want to keep going."

"I didn't think it was going to be hard to complete all these challenges until I tried."

"Something that would be easy to do normally was very difficult during the activity when we were 'under the influence' of alcohol."

"This is the best activity we've done all year, I think."

This next one is from one of my brighter students, who also told me he used this opportunity to showcase his vocabulary: "Today in health class, we did various activities designed to simulate alcohol abuse. For instance, take the 'foggy glasses' activity. In this activity, the participant donned spectacles obstructed with a foreign substance, most likely petroleum jelly. The wearer was then required to painstakingly navigate an ordinary sewing thread through the literal 'eye of the needle.' However, since a needle could be potentially dangerous in a situation where one's vision was impaired, a small chain was implemented as a safety precaution. I personally felt extremely frustrated and frigghtfuly incompitant at simple everyday tasks while performing this staton. This station was ment to simulate how your vision could be adversely affected in a situation where alcohol was abused. One could easily crash an automobile or at the very least stumble and fall down while being influenced by alcohol. And so, in conclusion, I enjoyed these activities immensely. I believe that be demonstrating the negative affects of alcohol to students, more lives can be saved. In the time-honored words of Officer S., 'Smoking kills more people, but alcohol ruins more lives.' "

"I really enjoyed todays class we were up and moving and really experimenting. I would so much rather do class activities like that because we get to feel what it's like. I really enjoyed todays class I think we should have more classes like todays."

"I never really understood what an alcoholic went through. I thought that an alcoholic could control themselves, and I didn't know how much alcohol affects the body. In the end I now understand what an alcoholic goes through when drinking and this acitivty has taught me not to drink."

"The activities that we did in class today really helped show me what it would feel like to drink all the time. I liked the balloon juggling station because it showed how hard it is to juggle other things in your life when you're focused on alcohol."

Next up: some great, interactive diagrams of the male & female reproductive systems I'm using for puberty!

mrbartletthealth@gmail.com

Wordle

I entered my blog URL into Wordle just to see what happened. The result isn't too surprising, considering that recently I've posted a lot with student activities. Click on the image for a bigger version. Image courtesy of Wordle.

Impromptu Teacher Demonstrations

When I use the alcohol simulation stations activity, I make sure I demonstrate, in part, each activity. For some stations, I don't show students the whole thing because that ruins the point, but I make sure they get the general idea.

Inevitably during the course of the activity, the students say, "Well, can YOU do this, Mr. B?!" as I check in with the different stations. This is especially true when you have a video camera in order to record the activity for absent students or for parent days, and they want to take a turn behind the camera.

The two stations shown are the "Dollar Bill Station" and "Walk The Line." "Dollar Bill" requires you to tape a dollar bill to the ground (I use paper towels or index cards the same size as a dollar bill...they usually rip). You then place your fingers on your toes and attempt to jump over the dollar bill without having your fingers leave your shoes. Give it a shot! "Walk the Line" requires the participant to put their hands above their head, clasp them, look up, and spin around five or six times. Then, they try to "walk the line" of masking tape without stumbling.

Here's the video! I uploaded it as a lower quality, so my apologies if it's a little grainy. For some reason, it will not play if your browser is Google Chrome.

HIV Transmission Activity: From the Students

EDIT: I have updated the HIV Transmission Game handout (which a number of people have downloaded!) in the original post. I tweaked something to represent condom usage that I included in my blog post while leaving it out of the PDF. You can find the updated link in the original HIV Transmission Game post.

After completing the activity in class with my 8th graders, I had them write a reflection for homework. My only requirement was that it be ten sentences minimum. Some students wrote less, and many wrote more. The first two examples below are in their entirety; the others are selected quotes.

All sentences are posted exactly as written (sic):

"Today's health class (Feb. 24) was very interesting. I could tell that the whole class pretty much liked that activity. It was different, we learned something from is without having to sit in our seats. It shows how fast and how easy it is to pass around HIV or any of that. In my opinion, that is not good at all. I don't know much about the stuff in this new unit, but I can tell that we will all learn a lot. HIV, STD's, and AIDS can be very dangerous. I hope everyone learns that so they will know. It would be fun to do another activity like this in the future."

"1. At first, I was wondering about some things in he activity.

2. When we found out at the end, I thought the activity was really messed up, but on second thought, what we learn in Health is usually messed up.

3. The activity surprised me at how fast and how much HIV can spread.

4. I got HIV from Peter, who got it from Jenna, who got it from David.

5. Even though I was surprised at how much it can spread, I doubt many people really "get together" with others that often as demonstrated in this.

6. I was partly scared too find out the only way to be 100% not to get HIV is to, not, you know, "get together."

7. If this is just the beginning, I don't think I want to know what we're doing next.

8. This sentence may be off topic, but I'm glad Mr. Bartlett said we're not going to see pictures.

9. It occurred to me that if a person has HIV and doesn't know, it could turn into a big problem.

10. One thing I want to know, though, is the difference between HIV and AIDS."

Note: I told them at the beginning of the unit that I would not show them any pictures of what STD's on the body look like.

"I liked how we were actual able to understand the material we are required to learn by doing it in a fun way, rather than out of a textbook or taking notes."

"The HIV disease never seemed very real to me...until now."

"It was fun because we go to get up and walk around but boring depending on what you got in your bag." (This student had the abstinence card)

"I thought it worked well, for after it was finished I had a lot more knowledge in the subject area. This is a little awkward to learn about, but it will be very educational."

"It's really creepy when you see the whole web of people."

Overall, the lesson was a success! Other students in the school asked me about the lesson during my lunch duty, and a teacher brought it up too. After we went over the discussion questions during the lesson, I could tell the students were thinking about what we just simulated. Hopefully it will encourage them to make good decisions in the future! I have received similar feedback from the alcohol simulation stations lesson in seventh grade.

Embrace Life Advertisement

Below is an advertisement from the UK about wearing your seat belt. I find it very moving and I like the style of this advertisement. I agree with what the Adverblog says about this advertisement and "the happy consequences of using it (the seat belt), instead of the rawness showing what happens if you don't."

I have always worn my seatbelt, and wearing one prevented a lot of trouble for me one snowy day in January, 2009 when 58 other cards and mine decided to have a small get-together on the highway. Check out the website of The Suffolk Safer Roads for information on this incredible collaborative effort going on in Suffolk. Anyone know of something similar in the United States?

Buckle up folks!

HIV Transmission Activity

NOTE: This post is in the process of being edited for reposting, due to its popularity. Please check back later this week (the week of 2/6/2011) for a re-post!

Formative Assessment in My Health Classroom

Last year, my district spent a lot of time on formative assessment. Unlike its counterpart, summative assessment, formative assessment is a great way to provide the teacher with immediate feedback on what their students are taking out of a lesson, including what the students are learning or not learning. Many formative assessment techniques also double as excellent activators or closures to begin or end class. Ultimately, formative assessment provides the teacher with valuable feedback as to how to adapt a current or future lesson in order to meet the needs of their students. Because we as teachers are constantly adapting how we teach content, formatively assessing students is a great way to achieve instant feedback without waiting until the end of a unit.

There are hundreds of ways to use formative assessment in any classroom. Below are some examples that I have tried (some successfully, others still need work) or want to try in my middle school health classroom. Through collaboration with my colleagues across all departments, I'm always able to find new things to try.

1. Boogie Boards. Regular dry erase boards are very expensive, but Home Depot has a cheaper alternative! Go to your local Home Depot or Lowes and find a big sheet of showerboard. I don't remember exactly what I used, but the workers may know what you're talking about. Have a worker cut it into 12 inch x 12 inch squares, and for about 15-20 bucks (I wasn't charged for the cutting when I told them what I was using it for) I walked out with 25-30 cheap dry erase boards! These do not erase as easily as regular dry erase boards, but that's not really a problem. I've used these in many ways:

• as a pre-assessment, using data from the Youth Risk Behavior Survey to see students' perceived attitudes about drug use in the school.
• as a review: putting questions on the Smartboard (multiple choice, true/false, etc) and having students write down the answers. They then hold up the boards and I have instant feedback on if they get the answers right or not.
• as part of the "Back Art" activity created by Tom Jackson. This isn't a formative assessment, but it's a great activity I use to introduce communication.

They've been a great tool! The students always love being able to use dry erase markers, too. I have a bunch of old ones they use...no one is touching my new markers!

2. Stoplight Cards. Stoplight cards are on my to-do list for February break. These are easy to make and last a pretty long time if you laminate them. As you may have gathered from the name, each student will need a set of three small index cards or pieces of construction paper: one green, one yellow, and one red, preferably. Youcould also just make index cards with "A" "B" "C" "D" on each one. Some colleagues of mine will use a hole puncher to punch one hole on the corner of them and hold them together with an individual binder ring. These cards can be used to check for understanding in the middle of a lesson. I can pose a question to the class and receive immediate feedback based on their answers. If needed, I can spend more time on a section or move on. The color scheme helps me understand how students feel about overall concepts we're discussing in class as well.

3. Sheet Protector Anatomy Review. This idea came from a geography teacher from across the hall, who uses this as a study technique for reviewing locations on maps. Each student has a typical sheet protector and a dry erase or wet-erase marker. It saves money if you have one classroom set, but it's not unreasonable for students to provide their own, either. For this, I conduct a review after we go over the parts and functions of the male/female reproductive systems. I'll hand out a diagram of the male and female reproductive systems, with numbers next to each. Students will then take their marker and try to fill in as many of the blanks as possible. Next time, I'll probably use a word bank for this. This allows me to see which parts/functions the students are aware of (some of them are obvious...) and the parts I need to clarify.

4. GO-GO-MO: Give One, Get One, Move On. I initially learned about this during day one of The Skillful Teacher course. During that class, we used this to share different classroom management strategies. This activity is a great activator and gets the students out of their seats and moving around. Each student has a handout with a 3x3 table on it. At their desks, they fill in the top three boxes based on a prompt you give them. I might tell them, "Think of three positive strategies you can use to help stop bullying in our school." They jot three ideas that they can think of down, and then go around the room getting other ideas from their classmates. They can only write down ideas not already on their lists. After this activity is completed, we have a pretty comprehensive list of strategies we can use to help stop bullying! It's a great way to see how other students in the class think if you're looking for opinion type data. Another example I could use is to list examples of tobacco's effect on the cardiovascular system. A science colleague of mine uses this when he talks about different types of cells. Here's a link to a PDF of a GO-GO-MO sheet.

5. Popsicle Sticks. A simple, cheap tool with multiple uses. At the start of each trimester, I'll have my students each take a popsicle stick (I buy the large ones at a craft store) and write their name and period on them. I'll use them to randomly call on students during a lesson, asking them to summarize points I've made or to explain a concept to a friend. This is helpful to me when we talk about subjects such as the effects of alcohol on the human body because not all students have a grasp of the human body systems. It also helps keep the students paying attention, although I have found that many hate the "dreaded popsicle sticks" and will willingly participate instead of being called on randomly. But, I like it because it helps with universal participation. I use them to split students up into random groups, too. Take out the absent students and thrown down sticks like we used to do for pond hockey. I also have a separate set that are colored for the same purpose.

6. Crumpled Paper. Fun for the kids, but not very green. Have students take some scrap paper and write down a question they still have towards the end of a lesson. Once it's written down, they can crumple it up and toss it to the front of the room. Then, pick the

m up and open the question. You could also have the students throw them randomly around the room and have each student pick one up to see if they can answer it. As always, you should set some ground rules before you do this. I don't use this too often (maybe twice a year), but the kids love it. I've used this as a mini-activator for the first day of school with my sixth graders, who responded to the prompt, "What about middle school makes you nervous?" The anonymity helped kids be honest.

These are only a few examples of the countless ways you could use formative assessment in your classroom. This post is only a guide with a few ideas. Please try these out in your own classroom, and let me know how it goes! Last year, all the science teachers read a specific book about applying formative assessment to their curriculum, and I have been able to use some of their ideas in my own classroom. Experimentation is part of what makes teaching fun!

Digital Wish: Flip Video Cameras, Two for One!

FYI: I am in no way affiliated with the Digital Wish organization. I just came upon a great opportunity I wanted to share!

About two weeks ago, the technology specialist at school sent out an e-mail with an absolutely can't miss offer. This link explains everything, but here's the short version: Thanks to this promotion, I obtained two 120-minute Flip Video Cameras for $150 bucks! It's a two-for-one deal, and I'm very excited about it. If you are a K-12 teacher in a non-profit school in the United States, you're eligible (as far as I know) for this promotion! The cameras technically become a property of your school, but they're for your classroom. After seeing these in action as used by the aforementioned technology specialist, these cameras are easy to use, hook right up to your computer's USB port, and require no memory sticks. I'll be able to use these in my classroom by recording student role plays and presentations, as well as possibly being able to allow some students to use them for projects (after a strict sign out procedure...I might not let the students touch them for a while). I can upload their work and place them in a drop folder the students can access through their school accounts. This will be a big help when students are creating their electronic portfolios for the end of the year that showcase their accomplishments in various exploratory classes (health, physical education, computers, technology education, C.A.D., band, chorus, music technology, drama/public speaking, and art).

There are a few accessories that were recommended to me for using the camera as well, such as rechargeable battery packs and USB extender cables. Luckily, there are some grant opportunities in my district that can pay for these extra accessories, as I paid for the cameras out of my own pocket. To me, it is an easily justifiable expense! I'm not sure how long this offer lasts, so check it out! If you are part of a nonprofit organization that is not a school, this link has some great information on using Flip cameras as part of your mission.

Shoot me an e-mail with any questions, comments, or concerns. I'll have a project relating to sun exposure/melanoma I'm using in class right now posted sometime this week.

NY Times Article: Making Healthy Lunch, and Making It a Cause

Short post today.

A few days ago an article appeared in The New York Times highlighting a company in California called Revolution Foods.

Revolution Foods seek to switch the paradigm of school lunches into healthy, bountiful servings of quality food (and fuel) for students. The company entered the market at the right time around 2005; in recent years, attempts to revamp school lunch have gained support from Arnold Schwarzenegger (locally in California, where Revolution Foods is based) and Michelle Obama.

Revolution Foods has partnered with the chain Whole Foods, and their lunches contain no high fructose corn syrup. They also make foods available for those who brown bag their lunches. I'd continue on, but the article has all the information you'll need. For more information on Revolution Foods, check out the article here.

Now that companies are entering this market, will the government step up its support of changing school lunches for the better? Time will tell.

New England (Journal of Medicine) and New York City Agree on Salt

Big news hit headlines this week as the result of a study published yesterday in the New England Journal of Medicine. Big news, yes. Surprising? Not really.

The study, available for personal use on the NEJM website, found that, "Modest reductions in dietary salt could substantially reduce cardiovascular events and medical costs and should be a public health target." There is no doubt that excessive salt in one's diet can lead to a host of medical problems. The study also highlighted the drastic cost savings of $10-$24 BILLION dollars annually, which are sure to gain attention in this economy.

I will admit that I have not yet read the full article, but I plan to as it fits right into what I'm reading about in my current research class. The big thing that sticks out to me is the "modest reduction" of salt intake. It's nothing drastic and certainly doable; this small reduction adds up to big benefits over the course of a lifetime. An editorial in the same issue of the NEJM by Appel and Anderson does mention that this still would not place people within the recommended zone for sodium intake:

"The findings by Bibbins-Domingo and colleagues support a population-wide reduction in salt intake, but is such a reduction achievable? To answer this question, one first needs to understand currentlevels of intake. Mean salt intake in the United States is extremely high in most age groups, including children, and is well above the current daily recommended upper limit of 5.8 g (2300 mg of sodium) (Figure 1).⁶ In several age groups, reducing salt intake by 3 g per day would not achieve the recommended upper limit of intake for U.S. adults, much less the goal of 3.8 g (1500 mg of sodium) per day, which applies to 69% of U.S. adults.^7"

Interestingly, earlier this month New York City announced that it was leading an initiative to assist with companies voluntarily reducing salt levels in both packaged foods and restaurant foods by 25% over five years. Although not finalized yet, similar programs have had success in other countries, notably the United Kingdom. Appel and Anderson also mention similar programs in Ireland and Finland.

New York City seems to be spearheading quite the effort for improving overall health! It first eliminated trans fats from all city restaurants and also implemented a high tax on cigarettes in recent years. They even require calorie information on chain-restaurant menus! Their recent salt effort to reduce is a substantial effort that has gained support from numerous organizations, a full list of which can be found here. The newly published study in the NEJM serves as further evidence to the importance of their initiative.

Also of note is how sodium reduction fits into both Healthy People 2010 and Healthy People 2020, both of which are major health initiatives. For Healthy People 2010, focus area 19-10 was aimed at decreasing total sodium intake. The following was found:

"For the objective aimed at decreasing total sodium intake (19-10), 1999–2000 data suggested that average intake by persons 2 years of age and older remains well above the Dietary Guidelines' recommendation to consume less than 2,300 milligrams daily.² Most of Americans' sodium intake comes from salt added by manufacturers to processed and prepackaged foods rather than from the natural salt content of foods or salt shakers used at the table or in cooking.² With respect to objectives 19-8, 19-9, and 19-10, consumers need access to information about the fat (including saturated fat and trans fat) and sodium content of the foods they eat, both at home and away from home."

Based on this information for Healthy People 2020, objective NWS HP2020-10 is to "reduce consumption of sodium in the population aged 2 years and older." It is a retained, yet modified, version of objective 19-10 from Healthy People 2010.

It's clear that with the original objective, not enough was being done to help accomplish the goal of decreasing total sodium intake. I believe that initiatives such as the one in New York City (aimed at packaged food and restaurant foods, which data found is where most Americans get their sodium) are taking a huge step in the right direction. Access to information is not enough to change behavior. By actually changing the sodium content of foods, we get somewhere. Most people will not want or be able to eat all fresh, natural foods due to convenience or cost, so changing processed foods that the majority of the population consumes makes total sense. The editorial mentioned above notes that:

"In broad terms, there are two complementary strategies that could be used to lower salt intake: a public health approach, in which food manufacturers reduce levels of salt in processed and prepared foods, and an individual approach, which relies on each person to select and prepare foods with little or no salt. Given that approximately 75% of dietary salt comes from processed foods, the individual approach is probably impractical."

I couldn't agree more!

It will be interesting to follow this over the next few months and years. Can people change on a large scale? Will companies comply? If major medical organizations and large corporations can work together, everyone can benefit!

As Appel and Anderson concluded in their editorial:

"As we deliberate health care reform, let us not neglect this inexpensive, yet highly effective public health intervention for the prevention of disease."

Interactive Activities: ATOD Unit (Part Two)

Today I'm going to post a link to the lesson plan that may be my favorite classroom activity. This activity was partly developed by one of my outstanding professors at Springfield, Dr. Shannon Whalen. The activity, "Alcohol Simulation Stations" is located in a book she co-wrote with Dominick Splendorio and Sal Chiarello entitled, Tools for Teaching Health. I used this book during undergrad and I've used different lessons from it in my job, too. It's located at Amazon.com for purchase; if you would like a preview of the book Google Books has a few pages scanned in. I really hope that she writes another book in the future. She has so many great ideas!!

When talking about alcohol, it's easy to list, lecture, or show videos demonstrating the short-term effects alcohol has on the body. With such a captivating topic, who wants to sit and lecture to students?! (Lectures do have their place, sometimes) Wouldn't it be better if they could actually experience those effects in a safe, controlled manner? The simulation stations combine activities from many sources in order for students to see how alcohol can effect them in the short term. Some of these activities I have seen in Tom Jackson's books, one of which I mentioned in my last post. Others, I'm sure the Dr. Whalen and her colleagues came up with themselves.

This activity requires extensive preparation, and I highly recommend that you try out the activities yourself beforehand. This lesson definitely deserves a test run before you teach it. If you're short on classroom time, simply select a number of activities that will fit your schedule. You may need to adapt it in other ways, too: I would never bring in sewing needle into my classroom, so for the station needing a needle I just have students thread a button with string sans-needle.

I've taught this lesson to colleagues at the MAHPERD Conference and to college freshmen as a senior during undergrad, as well as an adapted lesson to eighth grade students in middle school. I find this activity ideal for high school age students. Each time, it was well received.

As a side note, the formatting on the PDF might be off. As always, personalize the document! Revamp the accompanying worksheet to make it yours. I always reformat documents with my own unique style. Lastly, I feel okay posting this for many reasons. One, Dr. Whalen always said the best teachers were the best stealers. Two, we passed out lesson plans for this lesson at MAHPERD in 2007.

Also, for me the post-activity discussion was when the light bulbs went off. It's so important to debrief the activity and emphasize the dangers of what could happen if students consume alcohol (or, for a college crowd of of-age drinkers, if they consume it irresponsibly). Connecting the effects with their resulting dangers is a main point of this lesson.

So, here it is! Click here for a PDF of "Alcohol Simulation Stations." If you use this in your classroom of want any pointers, let me know!

Interactive Activities: ATOD Unit (Part One)

The ATOD (Alcohol, Tobacco, and Other Drugs) Unit is my favorite to teach. I could easily spend an entire course just on this, but unfortunately I am not able to do so! Today's post deals with tobacco education in my classroom.

Tobacco education may be the first thing (besides sex ed) that comes to mind when someone hears the term, "health class." There are many substance-abuse programs out there. Perhaps the most famous, D.A.R.E. (Drug Abuse Resistance Education), is surrounded by controversy. A meta-analysis by Ennett et al. generally found that the short term effectiveness of DARE was less than other, interactive prevention programs. However, I only skimmed the well-known article and they do find some positives for the program as well.

Our school district uses a curriculum component from The Michigan Model for Health entitled, "The Power is Your to Be Tobacco Free" in seventh grade. The curriculum focuses on teaching students the skills they need to stay away from tobacco, make decisions to protect themselves and others from tobacco, and how tobacco can harm their bodies. It doesn't come with a lot of the "facts," so we supplement.

Below I've outlined two sample activities that I've used in my classroom during parts of our tobacco unit. I'll have another post later this week with a second set. I adapted a lot of these from other sources. After all, the best teachers are sometimes the best stealers! As an aside, I make sure that I never say smoking is "stupid" or anything along those lines in order to remain sensitive to students who have family members who smoke. One main objective of my job is to give the students the tools they need to make healthy, positive decisions. Ideally, it helps promote behavior change too. If adults want to smoke, then that is their educated choice (presumably).

During my lesson on smoking's effect on the body, each student has a worksheet with fill ins, charts, and blank sections. They write in information I have on a PowerPoint as I go through each effect.

Is Your Money Up in Smoke? (Homework Activity) Click here for a PDF of the assignment.

The cost of a smoking habit is expensive. As a homework assignment, I have the students research the local price of one pack of cigarettes. Students may ask an adult, use the internet, or look for prices at local stores/gas stations. After they find the price, they do some math to determine how much a person who smokes one pack a day spends on cigarettes for a year and ten years.

Students then "go shopping." They find out what they could spend all that money on. Some students make the argument that all of the money spent on cigarettes could be spend on issues such as education or world hunger. A post-homework reflection could be added, but I choose to use a discussion instead. Some students will mention that for people who smoke more than one pack a day, the cost would be far more expensive.

Extension: Compare the cost of a pack of cigarettes in different regions of the country, such as in New York City where tobacco taxes are very high. We could then discuss that in NYC's situation, smoking has decreased dramatically (a blog entry on this last link will be forthcoming if I can find more up-to-date data, especially after their controversial ad from last year; I used that in class last year). You could also have students graph differences based on location, which ties in cross-curricula activities with geography and math. However, in my opinion this is spending too much time on a very small aspect of the tobacco curriculum. The Michigan Model has this as an in-class, teacher-led activity. I choose to do it differently.

Cilia "Volleyball!"

Adapted from "Cilia Volleyball" in Activities That Teach by Tom Jackson

Cigarette smoke greatly affects the cilia in a smoker's lungs. Cilia are tiny, hair-like structures who have the job of sweeping foreign material such as mucus, dirt, and other harmful material out of the lungs. Cigarette smoke damages the cilia, and as a result there's often a buildup of mucus in the lungs. This results in the body's next method of removing gunk from the lungs of a smoker: smoker's hack.

This activity involves blowing up balloons before class. Because of my classroom setup, I blow up about eight. I label each one "Mucus" with Sharpie beforehand. After I talk about what I just mentioned and smoker's hack, I take out my balloons. I divide my class into thirds (I have three sections of two columns, with a space between sections), and have them demonstrate being cilia. I usually do this first by waving my arms and hands like in the "wave" seen at numerous sporting events. I get into it; it's more fun that way!

After the students get the hang of this, I have one third of the room do the wave. The front of the room acts as deep in the lungs, and I have a student stand behind the last row to represent the mouth (complete with hacking sound effect). Then, I drop the balloons, and as a result of the wave motion, the balloons find their way through the rows and out the mouth. I explain that this is a normal, healthy lung; when there is mucus and other gunk the cilia are able to expel it.

Next, I go to the middle of the room. I do the same thing this time around, but now I select a small number (maybe three out of nine or ten in the section) to sit on their hands. They're not allowed to touch the balloons in any way. This group tries to expel all the "mucus" and is usually pretty successful, but not fully. Then, I go to the last group. This time, I make sure that all the students except one in the front and one in the back sit on their hands. Usually, none of the "mucus" goes anywhere.

After this demonstration I explain that the last group represents the lungs of a habitual smoker. After they were able to experience being cilia in the lungs, having a discussion about the activity is very important. Some students don't make the connection right away, so I use images of cilia in the lungs to further explain their role in the body.

NOTE: Tom Jackson, who created this activity, has the balloons represent particles of smoke/tar that pass into the lungs. His activity is slightly different; mine was adapted to fit the space of my small classroom.

I was planning on documenting some more activities in this post, but I feel that I have rambled on long enough! As always, please feel free to comment or e-mail with questions, comments, or concerns.

"Good Food in the City"--Baltimore Public Schools

After opening the most recent issue of Educational Leadership, I took a look at the article, "Good Food in the City" by Anthony Geraci, Director of Food and Nutrition Services for Baltimore City Schools, Baltimore, Maryland. Instead of reviewing the entire article with citations and all that "official" stuff, here are some thoughts as I read through the article.

The best part about this program? They get the most out of it. A farm provides fresh fruit and vegetables and so much more, as I mention in more detail below. I think that this program in Baltimore should be a model used in other cities across the country. The other big plus from my end is that this program is aiming to change the perception of students in their school district while providing them with the tools, skills, and information needed to make healthy decisions. They don't just serve fresh food. At the risk of sounding cheesy, this isn't simply a food program: it's a movement!

• This program guarantees that every school lunch served in Baltimore city schools will come with at least one piece of fresh fruit. This is only the beginning.

• "Today, 'peach' more often refers to a flavor for candies and frozen desserts than to the actual food. That's what we need to change for kids in Baltimore and all over the United States." Don't get me started on high-fructose corn syrup. Yes, I do consume foods with HFCS, but not intentionally. My consumption is far lower than most people my age.

• Geraci explains that in the 1970s, many school districts felt the need to operate in a similar fashion to the McDonald's corporation; not in the food they provide but in the way they operate their business and individual franchises. Scares about contaminated food led to frozen, ready-to-eat meals that also reduced labor costs. However, as he explains, "But with every level of convenience comes a level of the process that dilutes food to something unrecognizable." I'm sure we can all remember our first mystery meat experience. What exactly was that anyway?!

• A major problem today has to do with the kitchen facilities in schools. The school I work in was renovated about five years ago. It's a stunning building, serving as the unofficial flagship school for our district. When the kitchens were designed, they set them for small prep work (for sandwiches, etc) and mainly for reheating and serving food from the freezer. So, how is a school without the facilities supposed to create fresh meals? Baltimore's schools faced this problem, with only 20 out of 200 schools with fully operational kitchens. Due to budget issues and the size of a lot of schools, simply renovating was out of the question. Their eventual goal for Baltimore is to create a central kitchen and many subkitchens that can create fresh made meals that can be delivered to schools without facilities. The example Geraci gives is the central kitchen making chicken the sub-kitchens can put into burritos or the beef for a stew, etc. More school districts should consider kitchen space when they design plans for a new school. Adequate meal preparation space and a wellness center for student/staff use would be great additions to any school!

• As I mentioned in my last post, companies and organizations that decide to help public schools promote health and wellness are extremely important for districts without a lot of money. Baltimore was lucky enough to receive gifts worth a staggering $1.3 million from the Mid-Atlantic Dairy Association: nine refrigerated trucks, milk coolers for all 200 schools, and a technology grant to help keep track of everything. Further proof that companies or organizations can, and will, help out their communities.

• The Baltimore City Schools now contracts to obtain all of its fruits and vegetables locally.

• A local supply program has numerous benefits! Less fuel for delivery and fewer man hours for manning those deliveries create cost savings. Because less fuel is used, fewer greenhouse emissions are created. Supporting local farmers contributes to the local economy. In Baltimore, a contract to supply only locally grown fruits and vegetables means over half a million dollars stays in state. I could go on and on!

• Geraci and his colleagues knew that changing the perception of fruits and vegetables among students was not going to be easy, especially in urban areas filled with easily accessible fast food restaurants and convenience stores. So, he set out to see what the kids liked with a "No Thank You Bite" program in the elementary schools. This is based on an old mom's trick! Students were given a small cup (about a bite and a half of food) of different ingredients to try out. If they liked it, they could have more. If they didn't like it, they tried something else. Kids tracked what they liked and the more they tried, the better chances they had at winning prizes. A reward system works well for younger kids, especially when they are stepping out of their comfort zone in trying something new.

• Geraci even combined forces with the Baltimore Ravens and Orioles for a separate breakfast program. A reward for participation was a breakfast with stars of either team; this also created a perfect opportunity for role-models to speak about the importance of good nutrition. Purchases of breakfast boxes ("containing 100% fruit juice; a carton of milk; and a whole-grain, high protein snack with no artificial colors or preservatives") increased from 8,500 to 35,000 in less than two months!

• Baltimore also created the Great Kids Farm. This farm is 33 acres of organic farmland that is owned and operated entirely by the Baltimore Public Schools! This farm provides HUGE benefits for the community: selling produce to the community (restaurants, farmers' markets, etc), thereby serving as another source of income for the district; providing vocational training for students; service-learning opportunities, etc. It was also the site of an eight week summer internship program!

• At one point, Geraci explains the well-known phenomenon that people living in urban areas are disproportionally affected by diseases that are diet related. Baltimore itself finds approximately 37% of their high school students are obese; higher than the state and national average. Because these rates also fall in line with the city's poverty rates, he writes, "It only makes sense that doing right by children's health can help them perform better in the classroom."

I clearly have difficulty being terse, but there's so much going on here! The Baltimore City Schools has a great thing going with this program. If you teach health or anything related to nutrition, I urge you to check out this article!

Opiate Abuse: Massachusetts Suburbs

I'm taking a break from writing about the Educational Leadership articles to show you a series of newspaper articles from The Enterprise of Brockton, Massachusetts. The TV show Chronicle (of the local ABC affiliate WCVB) aired an episode tonight on the epidemic of oxycontin and heroin addictions (opiate abuse) currently ravaging the suburbs.

This news certainly isn't new. Locally in the north shore of Massachusetts, opiate abuse came to the forefront in the early 2000s as many pharmacies reported thefts of prescription drugs such as oxycontin. Once pills on the street became too expensive, addicts turned to cheaper heroin; a downward spiral ensued. The addiction of high school pitching ace Jeff Allison added media attention to the issue, and the District Attorney of Essex County even created a curriculum for area high schools about oxycontin.

The original articles from The Enterprise appeared a few years ago. The newspaper put them online with additional information about opiate addictions and where to go for help. The newspaper has continually reported on this problem, and below are the links to check out.

There are no easy solutions to opiate addictions, or any addictions ravaging communities. Schools need to teach the consequences associated with drug use and students need to learn the skills to avoid becoming involved with drugs. Families, communities, and individuals all need to take proactive roles in helping prevent this problem from increasing. It is a multifaceted effort! How many lives are too many to lose?

"Wasted Youth" Interactive Site

"Wasted Youth" Ongoing Coverage

Article: Obesity won't improve without reforming PE

I came upon an article today while checking out AAHPERD's Facebook page. The article, written by NASPE board member Bryan McCullick, is short, to the point, and effective. Although I do not teach PE, I'm obviously a big advocate for anything health/PE related in schools.

Click here for the article.

McCullick writes that,"PE is at the core of promoting healthy choices. A comprehensive school program includes PE, health education, healthy food options, recess for elementary school students, intramural sport programs and physical activity clubs, and interscholastic sports for high school students. Ideally, schools would also include physical activity breaks, walk/bike to school programs, appropriate physical activity in after-school child care programs, and staff wellness programs."

Many choices listed here tie into a coordinated school health program. Each unit operates in support of one other. Tennessee has made funding available statewide for development of a CSHP in each district. Will this set a precedent for other states? We'll find out (more on the Tennessee thing later this week).

I also like McCullick's point that, "The days of the ball-rolling, coffee-swilling, game-prepping PE “coach” have contributed to the current obesity rate increase." Today's physical education classes should focus on lifestyle activities and participation in physical activity, and are no longer for the "jocks" or athletes. Anyone is capable of moving their bodies and finding an activity they enjoy doing, and exposure to those activities in physical education classes is one way for students to find that out!

On a side note, a great example of an after school program is ING's Run For Something Better. Here a company is offering 50 $2,000 grants to either begin a school-based running program or to enhance one that already exists. Financial assistance from major corporations is a great way to fund programs for cash strapped districts.

"If schools are places where responsible citizenship is fostered, they should also have an obligation to help children develop the skills, knowledge and confidence necessary to maintain a healthy lifestyle that can prevent or reduce costly future health care."I

Jing

There are a lot of happenings going on right now with health and physical education in the news that I'll be writing about over the next week or two. The most recent issue of Educational Leadership is filled with articles about the coordinated school health program, school lunch programs, and other similar topics. I'm working on getting a copy of the journal, so for now here's something I use in my classroom. Also, check the comments on my last post for some additional info on the article by Jay Mathews.

Technology is rapidly changing the way teachers reach their students in the classroom. As younger teachers work their way into the working word, they bring with them podcasts, blogs, and numerous other interactive media and technology. Many students are knowledgeable about the world wide web, iPods, downloading, and basically any technology out there. For the most part, they grow up in a digital world. SMART boards have replaced black boards, and cell phones provide instant communication anywhere in the world.

I am lucky to be in a district where I can use technology in my classroom frequently. My most recent discovery, thanks to our technology specialist, is Jing. Jing is a free, downloadable screencasting software you may have seen used before without knowing what it is. Screencasting software is used anytime someone wants to record a video and narration of their computer screen. It's often used in tech tutorials and "how to" videos on sites like YouTube.

Jing is a free download available for Mac or PC. Teachers can record at school or at home and share the video as a download or through a URL. The free version provides 2GB of space users can use to upload their videos to an account on the site, Screencast. Users can always download their videos and burn them to CDs if the 2GB starts to run out. Videos on the free version are limited to five minutes in length.

There are countless ways to use Jing in the classroom. A world history teacher could record an animation found online showing the rise of the Roman Empire, all while providing narration emphasizing key points from class. An English teacher may go through a Power Point slide by slide, repeating the lecture from class that day. A librarian can record herself going through steps of the research process. The possibilities are endless!

Embedded below is a brief example of Jing that I made, so you can see how it works. For this, I simply put up a video on how to access the MyPyramid.gov Blast Off Game, which my sixth graders enjoy for a review of the food groups, and embedded it into this blog entry. If this was for school, I would post a link to the online homework calendar set up by my district for students to access at home. I made this one on a whim, so I speak a little quickly. My apologies!