Investigation Sequence

Nutrition - Vitamins - and Science Investigation Sequence

Written by: Justin Boeve and Kerri Penne Date

Focus Questions

Focus Question: What are some of the foods we consume that affect our health? What are vitamins? Who discovered vitamins? How do they affect our health today?

Concepts

Physical, Earth, Life
Knowledge Concept: There are many types of vitamins. Each vitamin contributes to good health.
Systems Order, & Organization; Evidence, Models, & Explanations; Constancy, Measurement, & Change; Evolution & Equilibrium; Form & Function

Process Concept: The benefit of each vitamin can be seen through researching its history.

Inquiry

Personal, Social, Technology, Nature of Science, History

History Concept: What we know today is based on a history of discoveries.

Background

Materials: history of vitamins (from the book)
Martin, M. (1974). The great vitamin mystery. IL: National Dairy Council
Chart of Vitamins
Chart of Food Groups (each student)
List of questions for history reading

Objective: Students will understand the importance of vitamins and the impact they have had upon us by reading the history behind them.

Activity Sequence

Exploration Activity

Invention Activities

Expansion Activity

Activity Descriptions

Procedure:

1. Ask question, "Do the foods that you eat provide all the vitamins you need?"
2. There is a way we can see if we are getting the proper amounts of vitamins for good health by referring to food charts.
3. Pass out the paper with the categories of a food chart (Milk (dairy), Meats and eggs, Vegetable, Fruits, Breads and Cereals, Others.)
4. Students will list everything they ate the day before and will write their answers on the food chart under correct group.
5. Students will look at their chart when they have finished and will determine whether or not they are recieving the required amount of servings per group per day.
6. Have students share their results with a neighbor.
7. Teacher will ask the students if they are maintaining a healthy diet?
8. Explain to the class that if this were done in a regular elementary classroom, they would keep track of what they eat in a week's amount of time and record their data on a food chart. Students may even be able to keep track of their calorie intake per day and throughout the week. Students will take their data and will determine whether or not they are consuming a healthy diet.
9. When looking at vitamins, we have always been aware of the different vitamins that have existed. Do you think this was true years ago?
10. Does anyone know where vitamins originated, how vitamins were discovered? Explain to the class that today we are going to look into the history of 5 different vitamins and how they were discovered.
11. Divide the class into five different groups.
12. Assign each group a different vitamin they will be doing research on.
13. Pass out the list of questions to find in their history reading.
14. Students will begin researching the history of their particular vitamin.
15. Students will explain the history of their vitamin briefly by explaining ot the class the answers to the questions on their list. Allow each group to share and possibly write responses up on the chalkboard.
16. Have the class summarize the importance of how we understand ideas today are related to what people have done in the past. Many things are created and invented years before our time and things continue to change, scientists find new and more interesting information about certain things and they evolve into bigger and better things or understanding.