Health Learning Sequence

AT 1B: Health Learning Sequence: Food and Nutrition
Background The health area of focus for this Unit is Food and Nutrition. The Unit builds on the concepts and ideas explored in Level 4. In this Unit, students will get to study the role of Food and Nutrition in enhancing health and wellbeing. According to the Australian Curriculum (2022), teaching about food and nutrition is important because the unit will help explore the relationship between food and nutrition and health. Furthermore, the content covered in this unit supports students in developing knowledge, understanding as well as skills that are important in making healthy, informed food choices and to explore the contextual factors that influence the different eating habits and food choices. This unit is designed for students in Level 5 of the Victorian Curriculum. Students in these levels of the curriculum concentrate on developing the knowledge, skills and understanding that are usually helpful in testing the strength of thinking (Brown & Whittle, 2021). As such, learning about healthy diet and its importance throughout an individual’s life will help them to understand its contribution to healthy pregnancy outcome, supports normal growth, development and ageing while helping maintain a healthy body weight and reducing the risk of chronic diseases eventually resulting into the overall health and wellbeing of the individual (Mudambi, S.R., 2007). This unit will help the students develop the capacity to deliberately manager their own thinking with regards to the health area of focus. Learning Objectives The student will: Recognize strategies for managing change and identify the influences that help strengthen identities. Investigate the different ways in which emotional responses vary and understand how to positively interact with others in different situations. Interpret health messages and effectively discuss the influences on healthy and safe choices. Demonstrate an understanding of the benefits of being healthy and physically active. Describe the connections they have to their community and identify the various local resources that they can use to support their health, wellbeing, safety and physical activity. Make use of decision-making and problem-solving skills to select and demonstrate strategies that help them stay safe, healthy and active.   Prior Learning Skills/Knowledge Required Having prior knowledge of some aspects of the unit will be significantly advantageous to any student looking to take up this unit. Particularly, students taking this unit must demonstrate knowledge of: The different food groups and recommendations for healthy eating The Australian Guide to Healthy Eating The Australian Dietary Guidelines.
This Unit Plan features three-part lessons that help explore the concepts and content for Level 5, Unit 3: Food and Nutrition unit. Here is a brief overview of the three parts of each lesion Minds On: The primary role of the minds on portion of the lesson is to get students thinking about the different concepts they have previously learned or to identify what students already know about a specific concept or topic. Most of the minds on activities require students to think independently or discuss with their colleagues. However, there are some activities that require students to collaborate within small groups.Core Learning Activity: The purpose of the core learning activity is for students to explore and critically think about a concept or topic. The core learning activity requires students to complete a reading, pose questions and research information or complete a task together within a small group. Lesson Consolidation:  The purpose of the lesson consolidation is for students to amalgamate the knowledge they have gained from the core learning activity portion and discuss what they have learned or explored in a whole-group setting.
Unit Content Victorian Curriculum Content Descriptors Explore how identities are influenced by people and places (VCHPEP105)Investigate resources to manage changes and transitions associated with puberty (VCHPEP106)   The Health and Physical Education curriculum focuses on the development of knowledge, understandings and skills that aim to promote good health and wellbeing of everyone in the community. The following focus areas provide the context for teaching about food and nutrition. Food and Nutrition (FN) focuses on exploring the role of food and nutrition in enhancing wellbeing and making healthy informed food choices.  Students will be able to develop knowledge, understanding and skills in relation to the different food groups, dietary needs, advertising and food labeling, influences on food choices, strategies and options.
Overview of the Unit Plan
#	Lesson Title	Minds On	Core Learning & Grow Know	Consolidation	Assessment
3.1	The Role of Food and Nutrition in Enhancing Health and Wellbeing	Food Chart 3.1	Activity 3.1Activity 3.2	Food and Nutrition Vocabulary 3.1	Self-Assessment 3.1
3.2	Making Healthy and Informed Food Choices	Food Chart 3.2Content Poster 3.1Food and Nutrition Vocabulary 3.2	Activity 3.3Reading 3.1	Lesson 3.2 Consolidation Content Poster 3.2	Anecdotal Record 3.1
3.3	Factors that Influence Eating Habits and Food Choices	Food Chart 3.3Food and Nutrition Vocabulary 3.3	Activity 3.5Reading 3.2	Content Poster 3.3Lesson 3.3 Consolidation	Peer Assessment 3.1
3.4	Advertising, Eating Habits and Food Choices	Food Chart 3.4Food and Nutrition Vocabulary 3.4	Reading 3.3Small Group 3.1	Lesson 3.4 Consolidation	Success Criteria 3.1
Unit Plan Details
ILOs/Objective of the Unit	Learning Activities	Assessment Strategies and Criteria	Adaptations and Considerations
LESSON 3.1: The Role of Food and Nutrition in Enhancing Health and Wellbeing
Recognize strategies for managing change and identify the influences that help strengthen identities.       Investigate the different ways in which emotional responses vary and understand how to positively interact with others in different situations.	Each student to record their food intake over the last 24 hours. The students should then think about and write down what they think influenced their decision to eat each of the foods listed down.   Ask the students to compare their recorded food intake over the past 24 hours to the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating plate.	The strategy used here is reflective learning. This strategy helps students to think about an experience and learn from it by reflecting on how they can improve in future (Brockbank & McGill, 2007). The student’s ability to recall their food intake and the factors that influenced their choice will be assessed.   Questioning and scoring guides will be used to assess this learning objective. The questioning will focus on determining the students’ understanding of the Australian Guide while the scoring guide will concentrate on comparing the 24-hour recall and the guide to determine their performance.	For students with low literacy skills, they will only be assessed based on their ability to recall what they consumed over the last 24 hours. Any additional information will be an added advantage for such students.   EAL students can be added extra tasks to try and explain why they think they either meet or do not meet the recommendations provided by the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating plate from their analysis.
LESSON 3.2: Making Healthy and Informed Food Choices
Interpret health messages and effectively discuss the influences on healthy and safe choices.	Present the students with different health messages and ask them to discuss what they think the messages mean, the intended purpose and how these messages are likely to influence food choices and eating habits.	Questioning and the Webquest tools be used to assess this particular Unit objective. The questioning will focus on understanding what the students think about the health message they are analysing. The Webquest tool on the other hand will help guide their learning, keep them on track, and find resources for their research.	Students with low literacy skills will be given more time to analyse the health messages and report on their findings.
LESSON 3.3: Factors that Influence Eating Habits and Food Choices
Describe the connections they have to their community and identify the various local resources that they can use to support their health, wellbeing, safety and physical activity.	Students will be put into groups of 3 and asked to discuss the role of their family, community, gender and ethnicity in the choices they make regarding the foods they take. Each group will then be required to come up with a short presentation on the connection between these factors and their food choices and how this connection influences their health and wellbeing.	The ability to work together in a group to present a coherent report on the topic will be assessed. Furthermore, collaboration skills, leadership skills and effective communication skills will also be assessed at this point. Questions at the end of the presentation together with the Seeing Reason tool will be used to help the students understand the connection between the different factors under consideration. In this regard, the assessment will encompass a range of tools and strategies aimed at determining whether the student has improved their understanding of the topic and the unit as a whole.	The groups of the students will be designed in such a way that each group will have a blend of students from different genders, ethnicities, religious affiliations and learning capabilities. According to Rienties, Johan and Jindal-Snape (2015), grouping students into mixed groups helps them develop important skills while promoting cross-cultural competencies among the students. Furthermore, this strategy enables the students to learn from each other thus promoting the ultimate objective of the Unit.
LESSON 3.4:  Advertising, Eating Habits and Food Choices
Make use of decision-making and problem-solving skills to select and demonstrate strategies that help them stay safe, healthy and active.	Have every student come up with meal plans for the next one week and develop strategies that they will put in place to help influence their families into following through with the new meal plans that the students develop. The students should also be able to keep track of the progress for the accomplishment of the requirements of the meal plans they developed.	The Webquest tool will particularly be important in assessing the students’ capacity to learn, stay on track, and find resources for their research and the development of the meal plan. Another aspect of assessment will be the quality and quantity of food that the students will include in each of their meal plans. This will help determine how they have been influenced by the different factors into choosing the particular items on the plan. Finally, the assessment will focus on the student’s ability to make informed decisions, solve problems and effectively communicate their decisions to different stakeholders.	Students with higher learning skills will be required to write a report, apart from the meal plan they submitted, reflecting on the process and how it contributed to their overall learning. Students with low learning skills on the other hand will only be required to present the meal plan and the strategies that they will use to convince their parents or guardians into following the plan. Ethnic and gender considerations will be made especially for students from ethnic backgrounds where they cannot contribute to decision making at the household level due to their gender or age.

References List

Brockbank, A., & McGill, I. (2007). Facilitating reflective learning in higher education. McGraw-Hill Education (UK).

Brown, T. D., & Whittle, R. J. (2021). Physical literacy: a sixth proposition in the Australian/Victorian Curriculum: Health and Physical Education?. Curriculum Studies in Health and Physical Education, 12(2), 180-196.

Mudambi, S. R. (2007). Fundamentals of foods, nutrition and diet therapy. New Age International.

Queensland Government. (2022). Physical activity and health. Queensland Government. Retrieved 6 September 2022, from https://education.qld.gov.au/curriculum/learning-at-home/physical-activity-and-health.

Rienties, B., Johan, N., & Jindal-Snape, D. (2015). Bridge building potential in cross-cultural learning: A mixed method study. Asia Pacific Education Review, 16(1), 37-48.

Tan, S. Y. (2012). Enhancing critical thinking skills through online tools: A case of teacher trainees. OIDA International Journal of Sustainable Development, 3(7), 87-98.

The Australian Curriculum. (2022). Structure. Australiancurriculum.edu.au. Retrieved 6 September 2022, from https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/f-10-curriculum/health-and-physical-education/structure/.

“Next to Normal” is a True Reflection of Modern-day Families

Watch Next to Normal Musical Online

Next to Normal is a rock musical that I came across last weekend during my YouTube rounds and decided to settle in and watch what would turn out to be a fantastic musical.

Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey music from the beginning of the musical sets the music for what turns out to be a fantastic show full of emotions and themes that identify with our everyday interactions. Boasting of an amazing cast, an awesome score, insightful lyrics and an unlikely but brilliantly engaging story about a family that is struggling with depression and bipolar disorder, the show sets itself apart from the beginning keeping viewers at the edge of their seats.

With its amazing cast of 6 main members, the Musical would have been fit to be an operetta but still, it was captivating enough to win a 2010 Pulitzer Prize for drama in its illustration of American life. The musical primarily focuses on the pain that paralyses the members of a suburb family with such intensity that it gets the viewer fully involved in the anguish and suffering that shutters the core of the lives of members of this family. In essence, “Next to Normal” is not a feel-good musical that the American theatre lovers might have been accustomed to. The show’s central figure is a manic-depressive mother who loves the people around her and still damages them to an extent that as a viewer, you would consider doing something about it to save the people from the suffering. Through the show, viewers get to not only discover what really hurts most in family relationships but also get to know where it hurts most. Listening to the musical’s theme song, lines such as “I don’t need a life that’s normal, that’s way too far away. But something next to normal, that would be okay” quickly brings the kind of suffering that the Goodman’s family is undergoing in a bid to cope with wife and mother Diana’s mental illness.

In the musical, Diana Goodman is the tenuous mother who struggles to lead an ordinary life for herself, her husband who is called Dan and her daughter called Natalie. Her son’s death 16 years ago caused her a lot of trauma and she always hallucinates about him. Through Diana’s struggle with the bipolar disorder, the audience gets to appreciate the losses that occur when injured people are put under anesthesia. The musical does goes deeper to reveal the different kinds of metaphorical anesthesia that wounded people are subjected to and some they subject to themselves. Diana is provided by pharmaceutical and medical treatments; however, as if that was not enough, she starts using recreational drugs, alcohol and everyone can see she is struggling to put a smile on her face even as she incessantly denies that she is sad and depressed. This clearly reflects the modern-day society that would do anything to hide their vulnerabilities from the public eye.

When Diana visits a physician and she is given a lot of medication that disgusts her, she is encouraged through hallucinations by her dead son to dispose them secretly. When her hallucinations become worse to a point of her trying to commit suicide, she is subjected to Electroconvulsive Therapy treatment to lessen the progression of her mental illness. This treatment renders unable to perform her parental duties as normal as she would love to and takes a toll on her daughter Natalie who resorts to drinking and drugs. According to Natalie, she was invisible to her parents who were concerned so much about the recovery of her mother. She also considered herself mentally ill in a way. This illustrates the kind of effect parental health may have on the growth and development of their children. Families with mental health patients often concentrate so much on the patient that they make the children feel unappreciated. This feeling may drive the children into indulging in activities that are harmful to their health.

Diana’s husband, Dan, seems to be the only sane person in the whole family. Throughout the Musical, he works industriously to remain sane and optimistic in the eyes of his family but he is truly struggling inside. While he shows hope for a better tomorrow, there is no doubt that at times he wonders in his mind whether that tomorrow will really come for his family. Through Dan Goodman’s character, we can appreciate the vital role a man plays as the head of a family – especially one that is on the brink of collapse.

Next to Normal perfectly explores the theme of mental illness and bipolar disorder while paying homage to the various groups of people that are directly linked to the patient. With one of the doctors admitting that he actually had no idea of what Diana was ailing from, the Musical presents a delicate subject on the need for medical practitioners to stay updated with the latest medical practices and the progression of diseases. Rock music that is used in the musical was artistically composed and paid homage to the rock society in America linking the music with a very emotive health issue that is on the rise within the society.

In conclusion, Next to Normal has a lesson for every American family. From the lives of the Goodman’s family, we can all appreciate that there is no real “normal” in life and the moment we start recognizing that fact, we will without a doubt start finding a balancing point and comfort in our occasionally messy lives. The musical also leaves us with an invaluable lesson on the power of pure, selfless love.

But I Still Love Her

I had been seeing her being caressed and appreciated by other people and my blood boiled with anger until 2012 when I finally nailed her. She meant everything to me. Nothing I asked of her was hard for her to deliver. In fact, I became the envy of my clique when they noticed me fondling her in my hands most of the time…all the time. She was my sweetheart and I was going to make good use of her to at least earn some man points if not money.

Today I might call her an idiot because of the new girls in the hood. I can call her a reckless good for nothing idiot because my heart is being conquered by another but I will not stop loving her. I might not like the way she ‘stands out’ every time I put her in my pocket making people stare at me but I still adore her for the good memories we shared. Looking at how far I’ve come with her, I can only but wish her all the best in her life – though she technically has none now that she had her last fall at the hands of Baby Blessing the other day. She meant a lot to me and she still does only that my needs have increased with time while her performance has dwindled at an even faster rate and now is very close to zero. As a result, she can no longer meet my insatiable need of using her.

She introduced me to Twitter and the world of blogging and Denshispeaks was born courtesy of her then fast and unmatched ability to access the internet. I made my first shilling courtesy of her unwavering support of my love for blogging. She knew I could not write unless she lets me and hence thought she was indispensable. She helped me land my first contact and hence led me to my first salary. Little did she know that would be the beginning of the end for her.

I fell in love with a Lenovo B590 but my Idiot did not get jealous because she knew too well that there are some things only her could do for me. She was the only one who could moan every time somebody wanted to have an ear-to-ear conversation with me. She was the only one who could run an errand for me in the name of an SMS and most importantly, she was the only one I could sleep with in bed. She was technically part of me. I loved her for her inconvenience. She was literally with me everywhere and never complained even when I stuffed her in my pocket with my handkerchief during those days flue visited me.

Even though my B590 took over the blogging role from her, she smiled and allowed Lenovo to continue with the job. Her tiredness must have started kicking in.

When my first born daughter came in 2014, she knew that the two years we had been together was enough for her to be a good mother. She could sooth Baby Blessing to sleep at the age of two months with sweet music and wake her up every time someone wanted an ear-to-ear conversation with me. She was her toy and never complained when Blessing tossed her around the house.

Little did we know that Blessing would be the end of her. She endured the tossing and throwing around over the days until she could take no more. I started leaving her with Blessing more and more just to avoid the tantrums of the little girl. My Ideos started feeling neglected by me, her man. She complained but I was too busy to understand her. She cried for my care but Blessing was all I thought of. I only noticed her presence when people called to ask this or that or when I needed to call, text or Whatsapp somebody.

I had been seeing her being caressed and appreciated by other people and my blood boiled with anger until 2012 when I finally nailed her. She meant everything to me. Nothing I asked of her was hard for her to deliver.

Then came the question of age. She was aging faster than me. While I was adapting to the technological trends, she seemed old fashioned and I started feeling ashamed to flash her around. While in a crowd, I preferred for the world to end before fulfilling my dreams to her ringing. She was becoming clumsy and a nuisance to me. My Ideos was now stressing me more than anything in the world would. She could hang the whole day without bothering to think about my feelings. She discharged faster than she charged.

My all time companion during a long journey could no longer keep me company for more than one hour before her battery run low. I was getting fed up but I still loved her. I realized why polygamy is necessary in this life. I realized why Solomon had over 300 side chicks and still appeared in the Bible. I realized why he is still the wisest man to ever walk this earth. I had to hatch a plan to get this Ideos a co-wife.

As I bid her goodbye, It would be disrespectful to end this relationship without honoring her on this blog. The love we shared was the real deal. It is the kind of love that leaves you satisfied of your accomplishments together when it ends. I will forever remember her as one of the special gadgets that introduced me to my new line of work. Without her, i wonder where and what I would be doing right now. Such love is rare.

As I start my journey with my new found love, things are never going to be the same. My new catch must be secretly a model, otherwise I know not how to describe her slim body. She allows me to cheat on Safaricom with any other person I damn wish without feeling any guilt. When my mind is dirty, she allows me to watch YouTube clips that always ask me about my age before watching. To keep all my attention to herself, she has allowed me to download and install a lot of apps on her. She can handle them, she assures me every time.

It’s a sin of Biblical proportion to forget your first love. I will never forget you my dear Ideos even as I embrace my new love. Adios!!

A Moment With Abscondittah

One look at her and one would think that she had her life all wrapped around her finger. She exuded the aura of an independent lady who stopped depending on anybody including their parent in their sweet sixteens. As a result, they have learned and matured through life in the most natural ways possible. At first glance, she was Sharon Mundia, Caroline Mutoko and Martha Karua. All bundled up in one body mass of a human being.

In fact within the first thirty minutes of conversing with her, I could tell that the three ladies were her role models. Sharon Mundia bringing in her fashion sense, Mutoko strutting into her life with her independence gospel with Karua surfacing on her face as the iron lady she is. Abscondittah.

The name, however, brought in a different picture altogether. Who calls their child Abscondittah unless she was a product of a burst condom or desperate sex! It’s like her birth reminded her mum of some bad past experience in her life that would rather be kept in an archived human being. When she tells you her name several questions run through your head like the endless River Nile. But you haven’t seen River Nile yet so you cut the thoughts short and move on the Kenyan style.

Listen to her story and you will realize that Abscondittah doesn’t need your pity. Her mother doesn’t either because Abscondittah is a name she was given out of love. The love of parents she still enjoys up to today in spite of her rather tough look. The kind of love that spoils kids and make them think that they own the world yet even the pantyhose they brag about in were bought for them by their parents on their girl’s 22nd birthday.

In fact, Absondittah here was just 22.

Why the tough look for a twenty-two-year-old who has everything thanks to her parents? You ask, yourself, not her. You can’t risk the lecture – especially if you are a man, a thirsty man looking for a relationship or an easy lay or both. She has everything but lacks the most important thing in her life. At 22, she is worried that age is not just a number but an evil spirit that seems to be creeping up on her from the shadows. Shadows she can’t see past. Because if she did, she would strangle the 22 to death and replace it with 16 and a hymen.

Abscondittah has had her fair share with men. Apparently, the tough look is bone out of the numerous heartbreaks in her life. Sitting on a famous bench where most campus love sprout, we are conversing but her thoughts are in wonderland.. Trying to find answers to whether I am gonna be another jerk that jerked, and jerked, and jerked in her life before leaving her heart in tatters.

I love the beautiful soul before me, hell, I love the Caroline Mutoko independence and the toughness of Karua. Those can at least supplement the name. In fact, to forget the rather mouthful name, I’m doing the ‘sweetheart’ nonsense. At least that is taking my mind off the name. For the moment.

She is looking for love, true love that they say leads to marriage. According to her, at her age, marriage is the next stop. She’s looking for somebody willing to lose their Bachelors Degree just to give her a Masters Degree. She has everything a man needs but that is the problem. Men have an ego. Men want to own the air and everything else around their lady. Men are animals, not dogs, but lions in this case. They want to own the jungle and every grass in it even if they only feed on meat.

Here is a lady with a history of 6 heartbreaks that I don’t want to find out in this limited time on the bench. She’s interviewing me for the position of the conqueror of her heart. All I want is a moment with her but I can’t tell her because she will run away never to look back. She will classify me into the men are all the same list that is already full with six names already.  That list where we all belong until we prove otherwise. I was here to prove otherwise.

“If you want to be number 7 in my life, promise that I won’t need a number 8.”

“I promise”.

“Sure?”

Ladies, when we promise, you don’t need to ask that ‘sure’ question because we start doubting ourselves. Let the conversation end at “I Promise” if there’s nothing else to say.

“You know I have love before and was really broken. I just want you to be sure that you want me forever before anything.”

“Of course I do Abscondittah.” I shudder at the name. Where are my manners? I had just promised to call her dear.

In her final year of study and six boyfriends down the line, Abscondittah would do anything to be in a stable relationship. The kind that doesn’t end with the semester because when this semester ends, she’s not gonna have the opportunity to meet and fall in love with a campus student without being branded a cougar. She was going fast but I understood her desperation. Her desperation was protruding like a six months pregnancy but she was trying to cover it all up with her toughness.

He world was crumbling, fast. And I seemed to her like the only  Recce Squad available to get the job done.

I was afraid. Afraid of letting my guard down. Afraid of losing my Bachelors Degree to a jungle that I will not enjoy the full lion status. Afraid of the fact that the six chaps that preceded me must have had a reason to chuck. Afraid of finding out the exact reasons. All I needed with her was a moment. Maybe that way, I would decide whether she’s the kind of meat I would want to eat daily in my jungle, our jungle.