Short description of activity: Use the healthy question posters as prompts for classroom discussion, collage or drawing, opinion or research paper projects.

Type of activity: Content Connection

Minimum Time Needed for Activity: 15 minutes +

Grade Level: K – 12th

Subject Area: ELA, Math, Health

Materials:

• Print Healthy Question Poster #1 or  Healthy Question Poster #2 on letter or legal paper, or write the question on the board/online student portal.
• If collaging or drawing, supplies appropriate to that class. Magazines, newspapers, pictures students take and print. Glue, scissors, colored pencils, markers, etc.

Set up:

1. Introduce a discussion around what “healthy” means, and that it can mean something different to different people.
2. Introduce discussion about physical activity and exercise. these can be through play, chores, intentional intense workouts or mindful movement.

Play:

Drawing/collage:

1. 1. Students can use an 8.5 x 11” sheet of paper with the prompt printed at the top and draw a picture of themselves doing a healthy activity, or illustrating why it is important to be healthy. Encourage students to fill the page and add captions or explanations.
   2. Students can cut and paste pictures from magazines, newspapers, etc to answer the prompt. Have the picture tell a story or explain the importance of healthy activities.

Variations:

ELA/Health:

1. Have students use the question as a prompt for an opinion writing.
   • Paragraph with opening statement, supporting ideas and closing statement.
   • Essay with an opening paragraph, two supporting paragraphs that more fully explain supporting ideas and a conclusion.
   • Research paper that uses information from a source (Scholastic News, USDA, MyPlate, etc) to support the student’s point of view.
2. Use sight words, spelling or vocabulary words in the captions of the pictures collaged or drawn.
   • Write a short story to use vocabulary and spelling words.

Math/NGSS:

1. Have students create a list of possible answers to either of the questions/prompts. 
   • Have students survey their peers to identify if they agree or disagree with the answers. 
   • Rank answers in order of importance, etc.
2. Represent the answers using a graph or table.
   • Identify average, median, range, etc.
   • Calculate percentages
   • Can students identify trends?
3. Is there any research similar to these questions that could be used as a prompt for the survey to compare the student population to the research population? Look for cited research in articles from Scholastic News, Sports Illustrated Kids, Junior Scholastic, Discover, etc.
   • In what ways does the surveyed student population match the research population? How is the population different? Does that explain similarities or differences in the answers?
   • In what ways are the answers similar or different between the two populations? Can students suggest why, or what it means?

Standards:

ELA Standards > Reading: Informational Text > Key Ideas and Details; Integration of Knowledge and Ideas; Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity

ELA Standards > Writing > Text Types and Purposes; Research to Build and Present Knowledge;

ELA Standards > Speaking and Listening > Comprehension and Collaboration; Presentation of Knowledge and Ideas

Math Standards > Measurement & Data > Represent and interpret data; Geometric measurement: understand concepts of volume

Math Standards> Statistics and Probability> Develop understanding of statistical variability; Summarize and describe distributions; Use random sampling to draw inferences about a population; Draw informal comparative inferences about two populations.

Health Education Standards: 1, 3, 4

PE Standards> The physically literate individual demonstrates the knowledge and skills to achieve and maintain a health-enhancing level of physical activity and fitness; The physically literate individual recognizes the value of physical activity for health, enjoyment, challenge, self-expression and/or social interaction.

NGSS Standards> Life Sciences> From Molecules to Organisms: Structures and Processes