Nutrition: The Quest for Better Health

Design Qualities

Content and Substance: Students will be required to learn about the food pyramid and nutrition. Learning about nutrition and the food pyramid is a Kindergarten SSS. Learning about the food pyramid and nutrition encourages children to make healthy nutritional choices while they are young and into adulthood.

Organization of Knowledge: Along with the guidance and supervision of the teacher, students will go on a web quest. They will follow steps based on the web quest and also the teacher’s directions. They will learn about nutrition and the food pyramid over a five-day period.

Product Focus: Students will be asked to make actual food choices out of old magazines and also on the web quest. They should be able to link making wise nutritional choices on a website and in a magazine, with real-world choices.

Clear and Compelling Product Standards: During the five-day period, the class will meet whole group and will be given a task. Tasks will always start at the computer in the web quest and will venture into other venues, such as cooperative group work at tables. The SSS are clearly being met on a daily basis. Students will be learning about the food pyramid and also how to make wise nutritional choices.

Protection of Adverse Consequences for Initial Failures: Students will be given clear directions and will always be working in a group on the computer. Groups can work together to help solve problems. While the students are conducting their web quest, the teacher should be assisting students in any way. When students created their own food pyramids, they will work together as a group to complete it, thus protecting them from possible feelings of failure.

Affirmation of Performance: Student made food pyramids will be proudly displayed outside of the classroom for many visitors to view and appreciate. Pictures of students engaged on the computers while doing the nutrition web quest will also be displayed.

Affiliation: Students will be working in groups throughout the entire web quest. If possible, a field trip to a local supermarket should occur. Students would be able to make real-life decisions while working together in a supermarket to find wise food choices.

Novelty and Variety: Student’s tasks vary from cutting and pasting to new computer tasks. Students will work in the web quest and will interactively learn about nutrition and the food pyramid. The students will investigate the web quest on their own and also whole-group with the teacher.

Choice: There are several different ways on the web quest to learn about the food pyramid and nutrition. Students have a choice of visiting several different types of websites with various activities on them.

Authenticity: Students should be able to start making wise food choices immediately after learning about the food pyramid and nutrition. A field trip to the local supermarket is strongly recommended in order to increase authentic engagement among students.