Obesity in Children

“The problem of childhood obesity in the United States has grown considerably in recent years. Between 16 and 33 percent of children and adolescents are obese. Obesity is among the easiest medical conditions to recognize but most difficult to treat. Unhealthy weight gain due to poor diet and lack of exercise is responsible for over 300,000 deaths each year. The annual cost to society for obesity is estimated at nearly $100 billion. Overweight children are much more likely to become overweight adults unless they adopt and maintain healthier patterns of eating and exercise.”

http://www.aacap.org/cs/root/facts_for_families/obesity_in_children_and_teens

Mr. Bacon

4^th Grade

PPA Webquest

Allen Road Elementary School

sbacon@nscsd.org

Introduction

First Lady Michelle Obama is concerned about the health of children. You and your partners will review this problem.

Tasks

Create a video public service announcement for the morning show.

You and your partner will complete a Public Policy Analysis (PPA) Web Quest where you will learn about obesity in children. Upon completion of the webquest, you and your partner will create a public service announcement (two minute oral presentation) that will inform students about obesity in children and what they can do to help put an end to it. Your PSA should also include a poster or other visual aid that contain facts about obesity. You will present your public service announcement on the Thursday morning announcements.

Process

Complete the PPA worksheet using six-step Public Policy format.

Once a solution is found, prepare a public service announcement in the form of a video presentation. Write a script and create visuals (posters, charts) for the announcement. Your PSA should include the following information:

A definition of obesity.
Possible causes of obesity.
Common foods that contribute to obesity.
Possible solution that children can use to lower obesity.

Record your video with a Flip video camera. Your PSA should be approximately two minutes long. Both partners should both speak during the announcement. Make it interesting and entertaining!

Resources

· Let's Move

· Kidsdata.org

· CDC.gov

· Time for Kids - Bye, Bye Junk Food

· Time for Kids - Tube Food

· Time for Kids - Healthier Happy Meal

· Time for Kids - First Lady Fights Fat in Kids

· CDC Body and Mind

· Mayo Clinic

· US Dept. of Health and Human Services

· WebMD.com

Sample of a public service announcement

Evaluation

Scoring Rubric

	4 - Outstanding	3 – Successful	2 - Progressing	1 – Difficulty
Appeal & Organization	The Public Service announcement is interesting and well-organized.	The Public Service announcement is mostly interesting and organized.	The Public Service announcement is somewhat organized.	The Public Service isn’t interesting or organized.
Accuracy	All facts in the Public Service announcement are accurate.	99-90% of the facts in the Public Service announcement are accurate.	89-80% of the facts in the Public Service announcement are accurate.	Fewer than 80% of the facts in the Public Service announcement are accurate.
Writing - Organization	Each section in the Public Service announcement has a clear beginning, middle, and end.	Almost all sections of the Public Service announcement have a clear beginning, middle and end.	Most sections of the Public Service announcement have a clear beginning, middle and end.	Less than half of the sections of the Public Service announcement have a clear beginning, middle and end.
Spelling & Proofreading	No spelling errors remain after one person other than the typist reads and corrects the Public Service announcement.	No more than 1 spelling error remains after one person other than the typist reads and corrects the Public Service announcement.	No more than 3 spelling errors remain after one person other than the typist reads and corrects the Public Service announcement.	Several spelling errors in the Public Service announcement.

Conclusion

Mrs. Obama appreciates your help in lowering childhood obesity. What are your eating habits like?

NYS Standards

ELA - RL.4.1. Refer to details and examples in a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text.

ELA - W.4.6. With some guidance and support from adults, use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing as well as to interact and collaborate with others.

ELA - W.4.7. Conduct short research projects that build knowledge through investigation of different aspects of a topic.

ELA - SL.4.5. Add audio recordings and visual displays to presentations when appropriate to enhance the development of main ideas or themes.