Health Quests

Overview
In this activity, students visit three Web sites. Two of the sites offer basic information on nutrition and on individuals' daily nutrient needs. The third site, which is interactive, provides a nutritional breakdown of fast foods organized in terms of restaurant chain and by food type and/or nutrient parameters. Students working in groups use the information from these Web sites to develop a guide to healthful fast-food dining in their own community. The guide is published on the classroom computer and distributed to teens and adults in the school and community at large. If you are using the Glencoe Health program, this activity can be used to complete the Health Skills Activity found on page 126 of the textbook.

Objectives

• To use nutritional information about fast food at a World Wide Web site to develop a set of healthful alternatives to typically high-fat, high-sodium fast-food meals.
• To combine information derived from different sources to arrive at an informed generalization.

Getting Started
Provide small groups of students with either copies of a local restaurant guide or takeout menus from area restaurants. Ask the groups to brainstorm a list of the kinds of information provided, and allow time for groups to share lists. Identify specific information such as menu contents and prices. Note that menu selections as a rule are grouped under category headings, such as "Appetizers," "Main Courses," and so on. Ask: Do these documents provide complete information about the establishments in question from a health standpoint? Help students recognize that most guides and menus do not offer nutritional data (but point out that increasing numbers of dining establishments are doing so). Explain that groups of students are about to create dining guides of their own that do address such vital health concerns.

Classroom Follow-up
Set aside time for groups to compare their efforts. Recommend that the class as a whole isolate the best features of all the guides and compile the information into a class guide. If the classroom computer is equipped with desktop publishing software, recommend that students publish and bind their guides and print multiple copies. Students may then set up display racks for the guides around school and, with permission, in the windows of retail establishments throughout the community. Assess overall performance on the project by having students conduct a schoolwide poll of students who claim to have benefited from the guide by making more informed meal choices when visiting fast-food restaurants.