Let's Talk Turkey!

Step One: Eating a healthy diet requires you to make educated choices about the food that you eat.  Working individually, click on the  links below to assess your combined knowledge:
� http://kidshealth.org/kid/stay_healthy/food/fgp_interactive.html: Take this quiz to see how much you already know about the USDA Food Pyramid and print your results.
� http://www.nourishinteractive.com/kids/en/label-game/label-game: Play Nourish Interactive to test your knowledge of food labels and nutrition.  Print the results page.
� http://kidshealth.org/kid/misc/mission_nutrition.html: Play Mission Nutrition to apply what you know about the nutrition guidelines. 
 
CHECKPOINT #1: Turn in your quiz and Nourish Interactive results to your teacher for feedback on where you may need to refresh your knowledge.

Step Two: Use the resources below to refresh your knowledge as necessary and complete questions 1-8 of WORKSHEET #1:
� http://pbskids.org/itsmylife/video/index.html: Watch this three minute video about healthy eating habits and answer questions 1 and 2 on the worksheet.
� http://www.mypyramid.gov/index.html: Explore the website, especially �Inside the Pyramid�. It is on the left side at the top of the page.  Click on each section of the Pyramid for more information about each food group.  Answer questions 3, 4, 6 and 9 on the worksheet.
� http://kidshealth.org/kid/stay_healthy/food/calorie.html: Read or listen to the article about calories and answer questions 5 and 7 on the worksheet.
� http://kidshealth.org/kid/stay_healthy/food/labels.html: Read or listen to the article about food labels and answer question 8 on the worksheet.
� http://pbskids.org/itsmylife/body/foodsmarts/index.html: Spend some time reviewing each of the links on the right about Foodsmarts, especially Serving Size Surprises, Understanding Food Labels, The Choices are Yours, and Real World Tips and Tricks.  Revisit questions 4d, 8, and 9 and update as needed.

Take a minute to think about question 9 and work with your partner to make a prediction about the healthiness of the average Thanksgiving dinner.  Answer question 10.

CHECKPOINT #2: Turn in WORKSHEET #1 to your teacher for review.

Step Three:  Working individually, take a few minutes to create a list of your family�s favorite foods to eat at Thanksgiving.  Next, discuss your holiday meal plans with your partner and work together to decide on a combined menu that you believe is representative of a typical Thanksgiving dinner.  Don�t forget to include extras like drinks, appetizers, gravy or other sauces, butter, whipped cream, or any other items that are common at Thanksgiving Day meals.  Once your menu is identified, complete WORKSHEET #2 using the following resources to assist you:
� http://arrow.critter.net/thanksgiving.php: Use this site to identify the typical serving size involved in the average Thanksgiving dinner.  (HELPFUL HINT: Finding the serving size first can help you be more specific when entering information into the myfoodapedia site below.)  This site can also be used to validate your calorie counts.
� http://www.myfoodapedia.gov/: This site can be used to easily identify the calorie count and servings of food groups in common food items.
Use the notes column to identify anything unusual about that item or thoughts that you may have about ways to make that item healthier.

Step Four: Data is rarely useful in raw form.  Typically, we must manipulate data into a more usable form to be able to interpret it.  Graphing is one way of making data more usable and easier to understand. Assess your combined knowledge using the link below:
� http://www.smartkiddies.com.au/teachersresources/popup?path=assessment/level-4/data/&file=graphs4-900.swf&width=541&height=798: Take this quiz without your partner to see how much you already know about graphing.  After completing the quiz, click Mark Your Test in the bottom right corner, followed by Print the Test. 

CHECKPOINT #3: Turn in WORKSHEET #2 and the quiz results to your teacher for feedback prior to moving on to Step 5 and graphing.

Step Five: Use the resources below to refresh your knowledge as necessary and use the following websites to answer questions 1 and 2 on WORKSHEET #3:
� http://beaconlearningcenter.com/WebLessons/AllTheParts/: This quick interactive lesson provides an overview of each of the parts of several different kinds of graphs. 
� http://mste.illinois.edu/courses/ci330ms/youtsey/lineinfo.html: Review this site for information specific to line graphs.
� http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hd3jjjrI5eI&feature=player_embedded:  Watch this video from YouTube for a brief explanation of a bar graph.
Once you have answered questions 1 and 2, take a few minutes to think about which type of graph could help you best display and interpret your Thanksgiving data and then work with your partner to answer question 3 on Worksheet #3.

CHECKPOINT #4: Turn in WORKSHEET #3 to your teacher for feedback.

Step Six: Next construct and display your data using two graphs.  The first graph should show the calorie count of each of your food items.  The second graph should show the number of servings offered for each of the six food groups.  Make sure to include the following information in your graph:
1. Title
2. Labels for the X and Y axis
3. Data labels and values
Use WORKSHEET #4 to help you organize your data prior to input.  Once you have organized your information, you are ready to graph.
� http://nces.ed.gov/nceskids/createagraph/default.aspx:  Use this site to create your graph. The left hand side of the Create A Graph website includes helpful definitions, tips, and reminders and even a tutorial to guide you through the process.
� http://beaconlearningcenter.com/WebLessons/HowItAllStacksUp/: If you need additional assistance, use this site to practice building and interpreting your graph. (HELPFUL HINT: You do not need to complete the graph in the last step.).
Make sure you input the data for each category correctly.  Double check your graph to make sure you have all the necessary information.  (HELPFUL HINT: Compare your graph to your original data to be sure that your graph makes sense.)  Once you have completed each graph, print them using the last tab on the right hand side of the Create a Graph website.
 
CHECKPOINT #5: Turn in WORKSHEET #4 and your printed graphs to your teacher for feedback.

Step Seven: Now that you have collected your data and completed your graphs, it�s time to interpret and analyze the data.  Use Questions 1 � 10 on WORKSHEET #5 to interpret your data, answer the questions posed, evaluate the relationship between the recommended dietary guidelines that you learned in Step Two with your specific Thanksgiving food choices, and compare your answers with your original predictions.  (HELPFUL HINT: Keep WORKSHEET #1 handy.  You will use a lot of the information that you collected to help you evaluate your graphs and the data collected in WORKSHEET #2.)

Step Eight: First Lady Michelle Obama is interested in your analysis, but she�d also like to know what you think should be changed.  Read Questions 11, 12, and 13 on WORKSHEET #5 and then work with your partner to brainstorm some possible changes.  (HELPFUL HINT: You can always revisit some of the sources from Step Two above.  The PBS Kids website is particularly helpful for identifying ways to alter your diet to make it more healthy, especially the Choices are Yours and Real World Tips and Tricks.)  Choose your best ideas to answer the questions. 

CHECKPOINT #6: Turn in WORKSHEET #5 to your teacher for feedback.

Step Nine: Now it is time to use your analysis and recommendations to design your proposal.  You will be presenting orally to the class.  Your presentation should be three to five minutes and will need to include the following pieces of information:
1. Your Thanksgiving Day Menu including the Total Number of Calories in the Meal
2. Bar Chart of the Calories in the individual items on your Thanksgiving Day Menu
3. Bar Chart of the Food Groups represented in Your Thanksgiving Day Menu
4. Your opinion with respect to the overall healthiness of the Thanksgiving Day Meal
5. Top three problems or areas for improvement that you and your partner have identified with the menu
6. Top three recommendations for addressing the problems or areas identified for improvement; be sure to include your reasoning for any recommendations that you make
You are encouraged to use visual aides such as the charts and graphs created during this webquest to illustrate your oral presentation.  

Step Ten: Once you have completed your presentation, take a few minutes to reflect on the project.  Complete the PEER REVIEW and WORKSHEET #6 to help you think about the project analytically.  And then write one page in your journal expanding on one of the topics from the worksheet.

FINAL CHECKPOINT: Turn in the PEER REVIEW, WORKSHEET #6, and your Journal Entry to your teacher.