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Big Math and Fries

By: Kaitlyn Lenahan


Date: November 13th, 2015
Time: 1:00-2:00pm
Location: East Brunswick High School
Target Group: High Schoolers in a 12th period Advanced Algebra and Trigonometry (11-12th grade)
Overall Goal: To have students understand the hidden calories, fat content, sodium, and other nutrition
components when they go out to eat.
Icebreaker/Attention Grabber:
Students will start by going around the room, stating their names and what their favorite fast food
restaurant is. Post its will be provided face down to each student with a different food item on them.
Once prompted, they will stick the note to their forehead. Students will have 7 minutes to ask questions
to other students about what kind of food they are and find their partner (i.e. Peanut Butter & Jelly, Salt
and Pepper, Macaroni & Cheese, etc.). Once they have found their partner, they must sit with them and
tell the class whether they believe their food is considered healthy.
OBJECTIVES
1. Students will pair up
together based on their
food partner and identify
if their food is considered
healthy.

Cognitive Domain -Knowledge


2. The students will
understand what a basic
healthy diet entails in
terms of amount of
calories, carbohydrates,
fat, protein, and sodium.
Cognitive domain -Comprehension
3. Students will work
together to complete the
provided worksheet about
fast food and the normal
diet by calculating the

GENERALIZATIONS

LEARNING EXPERIENCES

1. There are different kinds


of healthy and unhealthy
foods in a young persons
diet.

1. Students will place their post it note


on their forehead without looking at
what is written on it. They will go
around the room, asking questions
about what food they are. When they
find out what food they are, the
students will find their food partner, sit
with them, and determine whether
their food pairing is considered healthy
or not.
(8 minutes)
2. Using a combination of the
whiteboard and the SmartBoard, the
basics of a 2,000 calorie diet will be
explained, such as how much sugar
should be consumed.
(7 minutes)

2. Some basic parts of a


healthy diet include
calories, carbohydrates,
fat, and sodium.

3. Fat, carbohydrates,
protein, and sodium are
associated with a normal
diet.

3. Students will be given the


worksheet attached, along with the
nutrition facts of a specific fast food
restaurant. They will work in the pairs
they created during the ice breaker

percentage of fat, protein,


and sodium.

Cognitive domain -Application


4. Students will choose
better food options for
themselves when they go
out to eat at restaurants
or fast food places.

4. Many fast food


restaurants have added
nutrients that can be
detrimental to ones
health.

game to choose meals off of the list


provided to them. After calculating
how many calories are in their chosen
diet, they will calculate the percentage
of fat, carbohydrates, and protein and
recognize the amount of mg of sodium.
(10 minutes)
4. Students will reveal what their
results were of the worksheet. A
discussion will ensue about how easy it
is to go over daily allowances of
nutrients when going out to eat.
(5 minutes)

Affective domain - valuing

Teaching Aids/Materials:
Whiteboard and markers
SmartBoard and projector
Post-its
Worksheets

Summary:
Fast food restaurants items are loaded with calories, fat, and sodium acting as preservatives and
increasing the taste in order to keep the consumers coming in and eating their products. Many studies
have linked fast food restaurants with the increase of weight gain, obesity, and cardiovascular
conditions. With these conditions becoming so prevalent, it is important for teenagers to take control of
their life and their food choices as early as possible. The activity is meant to help the students come to
the realization of just how unhealthy fast food is for them.
When students have a fast food restaurant close to school, they are more likely to have increase in their
body weight. East Brunswick High School has both a McDonalds and a Burger King in under 2.5 miles
from the school. When students are hungry after school, especially on half days, these fast food
locations are extremely convenient to those who have cars or live right down the road. Students will aim
to choose healthier options when they decide to go out to each, such as choosing a regular
cheeseburger (270 cal, 12g fat, 540mg sodium) over a double cheeseburger (360 cal, 19g fat, 590mg
sodium).
Evaluation:
A question and answer period will be offered after the completion of the fast food activity. Sample
questions will include:
Were you surprised at your findings? What item surprised you the most?

Were you able to stay within the recommended daily allowances?


Do you think you are going to change your eating habits when you go out to eat?
Why do you think these foods are the way they are?
Students will be given a blank worksheet, similar to the one they filled out, where they will fill in the
nutritive values of the items they bought at fast food restaurants over the course of a month. It will be
collected after a month to determine their values and reactions to the foods they consumed.
http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/statistics-health-risks-eating-fast-food-3290.html *
*Increased body weight, obesity, and cardiovascular diseases
Lesson Plan sheet derived from:
https://illuminations.nctm.org/uploadedFiles/Content/Lessons/Resources/6-8/BigMathAndFries-AS.pdf

Team Name:_____________________________

BIG MATH & FRIES


Based on a 2,000 calorie diet, choose items for three
meals based off the provided nutrition facts chart
for Burger King. Your meals can be breakfast, lunch,
and dinner, but it is not required.
A) Fill in the chart below with the Nutrition Facts
for each food item you selected.
B) Calculate how many calories are in each item
for fat, carbohydrates, and protein.
C) After those values are calculated, figure out
what percentage of your total days meals
calories comes from fat, carbohydrates, or protein.
D) Note how many grams of sodium your diet contains for a later discussion.
Keep in mind:
Fat:
1g = 9 calories, recommended 20-35% of daily diet
Carbohydrate: 1g = 4 calories, recommended 45-65% of daily diet
Protein:
1g = 4 calories, recommended 10-35% of daily diet

Nutrition Facts
Menu
Item

Meal
1

Meal
2

Meal
3

TOTALS:

Calculations

Calories Fat Carbohydrates Protein Sodium


Fat
Carbohydrates
Protein
(g)
(g)
(g)
(mg)
Calories
%
Calories
%
Calories
%
Calories
Calories
Calories

41% of all teens consume fast


food every day.

Only 3% of meal
combinations meet the food
industrys nutritional
standards

Fast food marketing via social


media has grown. Half of the
fast food ads on Facebook
come from Dunkin Donuts and
Wendys.

FAST FOOD
FAST FACTS

McDonalds, Subway,
Wendys, and Burger King are
among the top companies
responsible for 70% of the fast
food TV ads viewed by children
and teens.

In 2012, fast food restaurants spent $4.6 BILLION on all


advertising

FOR MORE INFORMATION:


VISIT
Fast Food f.a.c.t.s
at
http://fastfoodmarketing.org

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