It’s Mealtime! Relax and Enjoy

Lesson Overview

This lesson helps young people understand how to eat slowly and mindfully. The youth will practice by paying close attention to smells, texture and taste while eating a healthful snack.

Instructor Notes

Before facilitating this lesson, you may want to review the following information about mindful eating. These facts can be shared with young people during your discussions.

Research points to at least three good health reasons to eat slowly and mindfully. These are:

Healthy weight. There is good evidence that eating slowly leads to eating less which leads to a healthier weight.
Better digestion. It takes our bodies time to break down and absorb the food we have eaten. Start the process off for better digestion by chewing your food well, which in turn leads to slower eating. More time between bites also gives our bodies’ time to react to what we’ve already consumed.
Less stress. Eating slowly and paying attention to our eating, can be a great form of relaxation and mindfulness. When we are in the moment, breathing deeply and fully, rather than rushing through a meal, we are taking good care of our whole selves, not just our bodies.

Activity

Give each young person a sample of one of the snacks you brought, but tell them not to eat anything yet.

Ask them to look at the food item and describe how it looks, such as bright, foamy, and red.
Now ask them to smell the food. How does it smell? For example, sweet and fragrant.
Tell them to take a normal bite of the food, but hold it in their mouths without chewing. After about 15 seconds, have the young people start to chew, but ask them to chew slowly.
How does it taste? For example, sweet or tart.
What does it feel like in their mouths? For example, soft or crisp.
Repeat above steps for each snack item you brought food so the youth can see the differences in look, smell, feel, and taste.
Explain that when we eat very quickly we miss out on a lot of what’s good about food, such as the taste, texture, smell, and enjoyment of the food we are eating.
We may even discover that we enjoy or like a food that we hadn’t eaten before.
Let the youth finish the snack, encouraging them to enjoy it slowly.
Ask them at the end what they noticed during the exercise, this will help them process their thoughts better.

Conclusion

It takes our bodies time to break down food and take from it what we need. Remind young people to chew their food well and eat slowly. More time between bites gives time for our bodies to react to what we’ve already consumed, so we can digest and absorb our food better.

Encourage young people to practice eating slowly at home using the tips in the Healthy Families Newsletter.

Continuing the Conversation

Hand out the Healthy Families Newsletter in English or Spanish, which also includes these tips, so that families can continue discussing healthy eating habits at home.

Related Health Powered Kids Blog

Relax and enjoy your food

Additional Instructor Resources

How Hungry Am I?

Lesson Overview

This lesson helps young people think about the ways their bodies give them signals telling them when they need to eat. They will use a worksheet to track their hunger before and after a snack and learn that tracking your hunger can keep you from overeating.

Introduction

Ask the youth, what does a baby do when it is hungry? Usually he or she cries or whimpers. A dog might do the same thing…bark or whine to let us know it’s time to eat.

Inform the youth that our bodies let us know in much the same way when we are starting to feel hungry. How? Maybe our stomach growls, we get a headache, we become cranky or irritable, or feel tired or weak. It takes about 10-15 minutes once we have started eating for our bodies to notice the change. The feeling of fullness is the result of your brain reacting to chemicals and hormones that are released when you eat. Your brain can take up to 20 minutes to register these chemicals before you are signaled you are getting full. Therefore, it’s important to eat slowly enough to give ourselves time to adjust. Our bodies send signals that we’ve had enough, like our belly actually feeling a bit more filled up. If we eat too much too fast we can’t notice those cues until it is too late and we feel extremely full and uncomfortable.

Here’s a simple way to gauge before, during and after eating what state we’re in:

😐 = Pretty hungry, my stomach feels empty

🙂 = Just right! Not too hungry or too full; satisfied

🙁 = Too full, I ate too much

This language of hunger is different from the cravings we feel when we smell our favorite food or see something delicious looking in a magazine. That’s our thoughts telling us, “Wow…I sure would like to taste that,” no matter whether our body is hungry or not.

Being hungry is different from craving and we can teach ourselves to better listen to our bodies to know the difference.

Activity

Ask the young people to make a fist. Tell them that their stomachs are about the same size as their fist.
Ask the following questions to further explore the topic of hunger:
- How would your stomach feel if you put too much food in – two or three times the size of your fist? (Sore, bloated, sticking out)
- How would your stomach feel if you didn’t put enough food in or if you missed having a meal or a snack? (Pain, rumbling)
- Would it feel this way if you saw a piece of cake on the counter that you thought looked really delicious? Or if you smelled your favorite meal cooking? (You might feel these things for a short while when you are having a craving, but if you take a few minutes to pay attention they will go away. A craving won’t make you feel hunger that lasts.)
- What if you put just the right amount of food in your stomach— about the same amount as your fist? How would it feel? (Content, not stuffed, good, nice, satisfied)
Let’s enjoy a snack in an amount that is a little bit smaller than our fists, or the size of our stomachs, but let’s first think about how hungry we actually are so that we don’t eat too much and get those uncomfortable feelings.
Pass out the Kids Hunger Tracker worksheet. Ask the youth to fill in the first line, writing down today’s date and then drawing the appropriate face in the “Before the Meal” column.
Then pass out the snack. Encourage young people to eat slowly and chew the food well. Have them notice the flavor and taste and how their bodies feel. Encourage them to stop when they feel satisfied regardless of whether the food is gone.
After the snack, have them complete the final column on the worksheet.

Conclusion

Encourage young people to use the worksheet over the next several days to track their hunger and see what they notice. The more they practice this mindful approach, the more attuned they will become to their bodies’ food needs.

Related Health Powered Kids Blog

‘Tis the season to take note of your hunger cues

Continuing the Conversation

Hand out the Healthy Families Newsletter in English or Spanish, so that families can continue discussing the ways that young people know they are hungry and when they have eaten enough.

Hand-Washing: A Weapon Against Germs!

Lesson Overview

This lesson helps young people understand the importance of hand-washing by showing them firsthand how everyday germs start out invisible, but when left unattended grow into something very unappealing. They will review proper hand-washing techniques.

Instructor Notes

Before facilitating this lesson, you may want to review the following information about hand-washing. These facts can be shared with young people during your discussions.

Hand-washing is easy to do. It’s one of the most effective ways to prevent the spread of many types of germs in all settings—from your home and workplace to schools and more. Clean hands can stop germs from spreading from one person to another.

When should we wash our hands? You should always wash your hands:

before, during, and after preparing food
before and after eating food
before and after caring for someone who is sick
after using the toilet
after blowing your nose, coughing or sneezing
after touching an animal
after touching garbage
any time they feel or look dirty.

It seems simple and obvious that it’s important, but according to the American Society of Microbiology, 96 percent of people say that they wash their hands after using a public restroom, but during observations conducted as part of a study, only 93 percent of females and 77 percent of males actually do.

Introduction

Fifty percent of young people in middle and high school wash their hands, and of these, only 33 percent of females and eight percent of males use soap. That makes it even more important to wash hands since so many of the same people are touching door handles, tabletops, computer keyboards and so many other things every day.

Show the video Wash Your Hands by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (The 30 seconds long.)
Review the steps covered in the video and the simple directions below for proper hand-washing.
1. Wet your hands with clean running water (warm or cold). Apply soap.
2. Rub your hands together to make a lather. Scrub them well. Be sure to scrub the backs of your hands, between your fingers, and under your nails.
3. Continue rubbing your hands for at least 20 seconds.
4. Rinse your hands well under running water.
5. Dry your hands using a clean towel or paper towel. You can also let your hands air dry.
If soap and water are not available, you can use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that has at least 60 percent alcohol.
- Alcohol-based hand sanitizers can quickly reduce the number of germs on hands in some situations, but they do not remove soil and other substances and do not eliminate all types of germs.
- Also, alcohol-based hand sanitizers are not good at removing elements of food for those who suffer from food allergies. A child or adult with a severe food allergy could have a reaction if someone else near them has not washed their hands with soap and water and comes in contact with that person.
Remind young people that good hand-washing is one sure way to keep you and others in good health!

Activity: A Slice with Germs

Ask young people to touch their faces, hair, desk or other object to get their hands dirty.
Give each young person a slice (whole or half) of preservative-free, fresh bakery bread and tell them to touch it all over, keeping it flat.
Have young people place the slice of bread in bag with two small drops of water. Seal the bag shut.
Label the bag with the young person’s name and date.
Put all the bread slices in a brown grocery bag. Include one piece of bread in a bag that was untouched.
Seal the grocery bag shut. Place in warm spot.
Each day, have the youth open the brown grocery bag and observe the bread for any changes. Typically it takes about five days to two weeks for good mold growth.
Explain to the youth that the mold is from the germs they had on their hands. Even though we can’t see these germs, they are there. These germs can spread easily and cause us to become sick.
Hand-washing is the simple most effective way to reduce the number of germs on our hands!

Conclusion

Remind young people that hand-washing is the simple and effective way to reduce the number of germs on our hands. Picture the mold your germs grew on the bread to remember how important it is to wash your hands throughout the day!

Continuing the Conversation

Hand out the Healthy Families Newsletter in English or Spanish, so that families can continue discussing good hand-washing habits at home.

Related Health Powered Kids Blog

Practicing good hand-washing techniques will help keep germs away

Additional Instructor Resources

Infection Prevention: Hand Washing video

Food Allergy Awareness

Lesson Overview

This lesson helps raise awareness and promote safety about food allergies. The youth will practice packing an imaginary picnic lunch, paying attention to their friends’ dietary restrictions. They will think of treats that everyone can enjoy at special events.

Instructor Notes

This lesson is about raising awareness and promoting safety about food allergies. If there is a child in your group with food allergies, we suggest you talk to the parent and the child before the lesson to review what will be covered and make sure they are comfortable with it. We encourage you to invite the parent to attend the lesson and be involved.

Before facilitating this lesson, you may want to review the following information about food allergies. These facts can be shared with young people during your discussions.

Any food can cause an allergic reaction but most are caused by eight foods:
- peanuts
- tree nuts (such as walnuts, pistachios, pecans, almonds and cashews)
- milk (all dairy)
- eggs
- wheat
- soy
- fish (such as salmon, tuna)
- shellfish (shrimp, crab, lobster).
Anyone could develop a food allergy or sensitivity to any food at any time. Even if you have eaten the food several times before.
Symptoms of an allergic reaction may range from minor, such as itching and hives, to anaphylaxis, a whole-body reaction that can include stomach pain or cramping, trouble breathing, confusion, cough, trouble swallowing, fainting, nausea, vomiting and more.
If a person is having a food allergy reaction, they need help right away. Depending on the symptoms, they may need an antihistamine (such as Benadryl®), epinephrine (given through an auto-injector such as an EpiPen®, EpiPen Jr® or TwinJect®), or both.
911 needs to be called any time a dose of epinephrine is used or when you are worried about someone’s safety.
Kids with food allergies often have anxiety about food. They may feel left out at meals or parties, or get teased or bullied because they are different, yet it’s actually fairly common to have a food allergy. One in 13 kids under the age of six has a food allergy.
Some people are so sensitive that even the smell of the food can trigger a reaction. When this is the case in the school setting, make the classroom a safe zone where no one can bring the known allergen. (For example, a “Peanut Free Zone”.)

Introduction

Ask young people what they know about food allergies. Share some of the facts listed above including the most common food allergens (nuts, wheat gluten, eggs and fish) and that people can develop food allergies at any point in their lives.
Before doing the lesson activities, have a brief discussion about what it might feel like to have a food allergy. What do you think it would feel like if you couldn’t eat something that everyone else is eating?

Activity: Be the Chef!

Be the Chef! Create a safe and fun picnic for all.

Let’s pack the picnic. Explain that everyone is going to pack a lunch for an imaginary picnic with your friends. Some of the friends have food allergies. Tell the youth that the most commons foods your guests will be allergic to are the following: peanuts, tree nuts (such as walnuts, pistachios, pecans, almonds and cashews), milk, eggs, wheat, soy, fish (such as salmon, tuna), or shellfish (shrimp, crab, lobster).

To pack a safe and fun picnic for all the friends, they will want to select items for their picnic basket that are the safest for friends with food allergies.

List of foods for picnic basket:

Green light: Carrot sticks, Apples, Red pepper slices, Oranges, Bananas, Pears, Grapes, Strawberries, Pickles

Yellow light: Cookies, Hard candies, Chocolate, Crackers, Bean dip, Rice cakes, Guacamole, Beef jerky

Red light: Peanut butter sandwiches, Hard boiled eggs, Cheese sticks, Bagels with cream cheese, Chocolate chip-walnut cookies

Instructor note – Items in the yellow light category will have ingredient lists on the label and need to be read carefully to see if they are safe. They may have been made in a factory where other allergens are handled and therefore they shouldn’t be considered completely safe.

Afterwards, talk about the activity. Ask how easy or hard it was. How did they feel about the choices? How did they feel about packing something they knew would be safe for their friends? Share with them that even if they don’t have allergies themselves, their message to their friends who do can be: I care about you; I don’t want you to get sick.

Activity: Allergy-free Holidays and Special Events

Young people like to celebrate holidays and special events. If a holiday, birthday or a special event is coming up on the school calendar, review these tips with the youth and then brainstorm ways your group could include the ideas to create a successful, allergy-free fun event.

Hold the chocolate. Add some chocolate-free, peanut-free treats to your bowl. Nearly all chocolate treats on the market are made on equipment shared with peanuts and tree nuts (and are unsafe for those with milk allergy). Take a look at the chocolate-free options – such as Dum Dums® suckers, DOTS® and Smarties®. (Remember to always read labels and check with parents before giving any food to children with food allergies.)
Mix it up! Change the focus to non-food treats, such as holiday-themed pencils, notepads, stickers, goofy erasers or fun rings.
Wash your hands! If young people with food allergies come in contact with food from sticky fingerprints, it can make them sick, too. Washing hands after you eat is a great way to prevent unsafe foods from getting on shared tables, desks, school supplies, and toys or games.
If your parents bake something to bring in to share, ask them to supply the recipe along with any packaged ingredients they used to make the recipe.

Conclusion

Remind the youth that many young people have food allergies, so thinking of those friends or family members when you give out special treats shows that you care about them and don’t want them to be sick.

Continuing the Conversation

Hand out the Healthy Families Newsletter in English or Spanish, so that families can continue discussing ways care for friends and family members with food allergies.

Related Health Powered Kids Blog(s)

What you need to know about food allergies

Food Allergy Awareness for the School Year

Additional Instructor Resources

Food Allergies and How to Manage Them

Check out Anaphylaxis101.com for additional resources for teachers, parents and young people.

Visit FoodAllergy.org for more resources and consider posting this child-friendly poster in the classroom.

Eye Protection

Lesson Overview

This lesson helps young people understand how their eyes work, how to keep them healthy, and ways to protect them during different activities. The topic is introduced with whole-group formative assessment questions to generate interest and discussion. Then, youth complete an activity where they learn the parts of the eye. Finally, they learn tips for taking care of their eyes.

Introduction

Start with an interactive voting activity. Use the lesson for the interactive whiteboard (see What You Need) or write the questions on the board. Let the young people vote.

1. An eyeball is about the size of:

A marble
A grape
A tennis ball
A ping pong ball (correct answer)

2. Our eyebrows are useless and just for appearance:

True
False (correct answer; eye brows kept moisture, like sweat, out of our eyes)

3. You can get a sunburn on your eyes.

True (correct answer; You can protect your eyes by wearing sunglasses with UV protection.)
False

4. Which of the following can be a sign that someone has an eye problem?

Blinking or rubbing their eyes a lot
Eyes looking crossed or one seems to be going the wrong way sometimes
Squinting when looking at objects
All of the above (correct answer)

Ask if any of the answers were suprising. Which ones? Let young people talk about any problems they’ve have with their own eyes if they volunteer that information, but keep the conversation relatively brief and focus on what they can do to keep their eyes healthy, no matter what problems they’ve had in the past.

Activity: Parts of the Eye

After the opening quiz, have the youth work in small groups to do the Eye Didn’t Know That activity on the worksheet or at the interactive whiteboard. Once the small groups have identified the parts of the eyes, discuss the answers as a large group.

Conclusion: Taking Care of your Eyes

You only have one set of eyes and they have to last you your entire life. There are several ways you can take care of your eyes that will help them work better for you now and in the future. Discuss these tips with the youth.

Give your eyes a break from the screen—Our eyes need rest just like the rest of us does…when working on a computer or using other electronics take breaks every 15 minutes or so.
Make sure you have good light when reading, writing, doing puzzles, or otherwise focusing closely for an extended period.
Protect eyes from bright light and sun exposure. Say something like, Research is linking UV rays from the sun to eye problems. Problems range from temporary blindness to developing something called cataracts, which cause cloudy vision and can only be repaired with surgery. Buying the right kind of sunglasses can help prevent problems from UV rays. For the best protection look for at least 98 percent protection from both UVA and UVB rays. Then ask for examples of other ways to protect eyes during different activities. If not mentioned, talk about the following:
- Outdoor cold weather sports with lots of sun exposure such as skiing or snow boarding—Sport goggles with UV protection.
- Outdoor warm weather sports with lots of sun exposure such as sailing or other water sports
Protect eyes from possible injury.
- Swimming—Swim goggles, especially in chlorinated water
- Contact sports such as basketball or soccer—Sport goggles if a prescription is needed
- Shooting sports, using power tools, doing science experiments—Protective glasses or goggles
Eat foods with lots of beta carotene—Ask if anyone knows of foods that contain this nutrient. Beta carotene is food in large quantities in orange foods such as carrots, sweet potatoes, and pumpkins. It helps keep your eyes strong and working well.

Continuing the Conversation

Hand out the Healthy Families Newsletter in English or Spanish, which also includes these tips, so that families can continue discussing eye health and eye protection at home.

Related Health Powered Kids Blog

Seeing clear around eye protection

Additional Instructor Resources

Phillips Eye Institute
Children’s Eye Health and Safety Month
Children’s Eye Safety – Gear Up! Poster

Decreasing Screen Time

Lesson Overview

This lesson helps young people define “screen time” and potential problems with spending too much time looking at electronic screens. They will analyze how much of their day they spend in front of electronic screens and think of healthy ways to limit their screen time.

Instructor Notes

Before facilitating this lesson, you may want to review the following information about screen time for children. These facts can be shared with young people during your discussions.

We live in a world full of electronics and screens. We can find screens everywhere, from the face of a cell phone to the big movie screen. There are television, computer, tablet screens and more. People spend time in front of screens for work as well as play. They are necessary, however many people spend far too much time in front of a screen.

Screen time includes time spent:

watching television
using the computer or internet
texting using a cell phone
playing handheld games
other electronic devices.

Too much time in front of a screen can be harmful to our eyes. Individuals are encouraged to look away from screens every 20 minutes so our eyes have a chance to focus on other objects before returning to the screen. Increased screen time is often associated with decreased activity. A decrease in physical activity can lead to weight gain and other health problems.

How much screen time do you think that kids 2 years old and younger be allowed?
How much screen time for kids older than 2?

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends the following for screen time:

Children younger than 18 months: No screen time, except for video-chatting.
Children 18 months to 24 months: If you want to introduce screen time to your child, choose high-quality programs and watch them with your child.
Children age 2 to 5: Limit your child to 1 hour or less of high-quality programs each day. Watch these programs with your child to help him/her better understand them.
Children age 6 and older: Set a screen time limit that is right for your child and the whole family. It’s important that screen time never replaces healthful behaviors such as physical activity, sleep and interaction with others.

Activity

Ask the young people if they know what screen time is. Then explain that screen time includes time spent:
- watching television
- using the computer or internet
- texting using a cell phone
- playing hand-held games
- other electronic devices.
Have the youth list the various screens in their current environment or home. You can then point out the growing number of screens each young person is exposed to in a typical day. Here are some to add to the list: cell phones, televisions, movie screens, screens in arcades, handheld games, computers, and screens in cars.
Ask the young people how much time they spend in front of a screen each day. Talk about the importance of limiting total screen time to two hours or less each day.
Emphasize the benefit to their body by having them be physically active over sedentary screen time activity. Our bodies like to move and be physically active. When we sit in front of a television screen for hours we don’t get the amount of physical activity our bodies need every day.
Pass out the “Change the Channel on Screen Time” handout and crayons to each young person. Cross out the pictures of screens. Color the pictures that show good things to do when you turn away from the screens.
Allow the youth time to color. If time permits, young people can draw a picture of their own idea on the back of the paper, emphasizing the healthful benefits of physical activity over screen time. Volunteers can share their drawings.

Conclusion

Set screen time goals for the next week. Some examples include:

Turn the television off if nobody’s really watching it.
Eat our food in the kitchen or dining room. No screen time while eating!
Do not text during family meals or other time set aside for family activities.

Keep track of your screen time each day. When you’ve reached two hours, replace your screen time with a healthy activity. If you’ve had plenty of exercise already, read a book, make artwork or crafts, or even just have a conversation with other family members.

Continuing the Conversation

Hand out the Healthy Families Newsletter in English or Spanish, which also includes these tips, so that families can continue discussing ways to limit screen time at home.

Brain Boost

Lesson Overview

This lesson helps young people understand what they need to do to protect and help grow their brains. They will learn about activities and habits that help their brains develop and function at their best.

Introduction

The brain is a very important organ. Without it, nothing else in a body can function. Scientists are learning more all the time about how brains grow and develop, and how we can best care for them.

Guide young people through the Brain Basics online learning activity. The main points are also listed below.

Nutrition: Brains need lots of fuel. What you eat can have short-term impacts on things like concentration and focus, as well as longer-term effects on how your brain grows and develop. A balanced diet that includes lots of whole foods rich in vitamins and minerals, healthy fats, and proteins, is your best bet. It’s also important for kids to to eat throughout the day…especially breakfast.
Sleep: Specific sleep needs vary, but children and teenagers need more than adults do. Some general guidelines are:
- ages 3 to 10: 10 to 12 hours each day
- ages 11 to 12: about 10 hours each day
- teenagers (ages 13 to 17): about nine hours each day.
Stimulating thinking activities: People of all ages need to use their brains in lots of different ways to keep them sharp and effective. This means mixing it up with different activities that involve logic and problem solving, concentration and memory, reading, making plans, being silly and creative, and working hard on something.
Physical activities: Exercise and movement are critical. Playing sports, free play, running, hiking, jumping, skipping…all of this and more promote health brain development.
Mindfulness/relaxation/rest: Even little kids can get worried and stressed out. Too much of that isn’t good for how we feel in the moment or how our brains change over time. Everyone needs to find ways to quiet and calm their minds. Learn more through other Health Powered Kids lessons or the Change to Chill web site: changetochill.org.
Protection: Our skulls, which surround our brains, are fairly hard and tough and do a good job of keeping our brains safe. But our brains are actually pretty soft and they can be sensitive and sometimes when we’re doing more rough activities, like biking, skiing, or skateboarding, it’s good to have even more protection than usual. And if our brains get injured, we need to rest and following a doctor’s instructions for healing.

Activity: Brain Drawing Worksheet

Hand out the Brain Basics Drawing Worksheet (see What You Need).
Explain that our brains are very important because they keep the rest of our bodies working, including things we don’t ever have to think about like our lungs breathing and our hearts beating. While we’re sleeping we don’t realize it but even then our brains are working hard to keep everything running smoothly.
Explain that since our brains take such good care of us, it’s important for us to take care of them. Point out the sections on the worksheet and say that they each represent things we can do to take care of our brains. As a class, brainstorm some ideas for the sections. In the Protect Your Brain section, for example, young people could draw a picture of themselves wearing a helmet while riding a bike. For the “What Else?” category, choose another method that was discussed in the Brain Basics online learning activity, such as sleeping, meditating, or doing stimulating thinking activities. Have the youth draw pictures of things that help boost their brains.

Activity: Concentration Game

After giving students a bit of time to work on their activity sheets, play a game of concentration. There are lots of variations of this game, but here’s one: Players sit in a circle cross-legged and take a number each, starting with number one.

Students start chanting the following while slapping their thighs twice then clapping their hands twice:

Concentration (slap slap clap clap)

Are you ready? (slap slap clap clap)

If – so – (slap slap clap clap)

Let’s – go! (slap slap clap clap)

Then player one, continuing the rhythm, says their own number twice followed by another number in the circle.

For example: 1, 1, 4, 4 (slap slap clap clap)

Player 4 then does the same, starting with their own number and following with someone else’s:

4, 4, 7, 7 (slap slap clap clap)

Anybody who makes a mistake or doesn’t keep the rhythm is out but remains in the circle, making it more difficult for the other players, who must remember not to use the numbers of the people who are out.

Conclusion

After playing the game for a while, explain that games like concentration help your brain by forcing it to do more than one thing at a time (make your hands move, remember the pattern, think of a number, say and number, and so on). Ask if anyone has examples or ideas of other things that could help strengthen your brain. If anyone has an idea of a game give it a try if you have time.

If the youth did not have time to finish the activity sheets, encourage to finish working on them at home.

Continuing the Conversation

Hand out the Healthy Families Newsletter in English or Spanish so that families can continue discussing brain health at home.

Backpack Safety: That’s a Thing???

Lesson Introduction & Overview

Backpacks are a great way to carry stuff: books, homework and other items for school, sports gear, or general belongings. But backpacks can also pose problems if they aren’t used and worn correctly.

Backpacks that are too heavy, aren’t worn properly or have uneven weight distribution can cause muscle and joint aches and pains, posture problems, and even injury. This lesson focuses on the “Dos and Don’ts of Backpacks” so that young people can fix current problems and prevent future ones.

Begin by facilitating a conversation about backpacks using the following questions:

How many of you use a backpack?
If you don’t, how do you carry books and homework to and from school?
Have any of you ever had a problem with a backpack? (They might say things like a strap broke, they lost it, they forgot it somewhere). How about a physical problem with a backpack, like a sore neck or back? (Give them some time to answer.)

Then explain that there are some dos and don’ts when it comes to backpacks that can help them avoid injury, and that they’re going to learn about them today.

Activity

Guess the Weight (need to have a few backpacks prepared and also give students the opportunity to have their backpacks weighed):

Most backpack injuries happen because the bag is too heavy. Your backpack should not weigh more than 15 percent of your body weight. For example, if you weigh 120 pounds, your backpack should not weigh more than 18 pounds.

Give the young people a few minutes to calculate 15 percent of their body weight. They can just use an estimate and they don’t need to share this information.

If your backpack is too heavy, you might start to arch your back, lean forward, or lean to one side.

Ask: What do you think might happen if you do any or all of these things? Wait for some answers and if they aren’t mentioned, talk about:

Neck and upper back: If you lean forward and extend your neck because your bag is so heavy, your neck and shoulders can get sore and it is hard on your muscles and ligaments.

Shoulders: A heavy backpack puts pressure on shoulder joints, muscles tighten and your posture changes.

Lower back and hips: Leaning forward to offset the weight of a heavy bag doesn’t just hurt your neck, it can also cause problems in your lower back. At the same time as you’re leaning forward, the backpack is pulling you back which can cause strain and soreness in your hips.

Knees: Your knees can even feel the pressure of too much backpack weight, especially if you change your posture and your gait (the way you walk) because of it.

After you’ve introduced the possible problems, pull out the scale and the demonstration backpacks you’ve prepared. Ask for a volunteer to be pre-weighed (or use a luggage scale). You’ll get a starting weight for this person and then have him or her step on the scale and be weighed with each different backpack.

Ask the young people to guess the weight of each backpack before weighing it. You can do this in a variety of ways depending on your resources: people can simply call out their guesses; they can write each guess on a piece of paper or a white board; you can play a Kahoot!® game if you have that technology. Use whatever works best for you in your setting.

Then weigh each backpack to see how close the guesses were. To calculate the weight of a backpack, subtract the starting weight of the person from the weight of the person with the backpack. Also calculate the percentage to see if that backpack is at the right weight for that person.

If time allows, weigh each person’s backpack.

You’re Carrying That?! Facilitate a brief discussion of what kinds of things young people carry in their backpacks and whether they are necessary or not. Then play a little game: Who Has a _______ in Their Backpack? As you name different items, young people who have that item in their backpacks should pull them out and hold them up:
Text book
Personal book
Food
Charm or good luck item
Homework from last semester (or year or month)
Art project
Phone or other electronic
Pencil or pens
Clothing
Shoes
Water bottle (who has the smallest one? who has the biggest one?)
Toy or game
Sports equipment
Music of some sort
Add your own! (You might want to have a contest for strangest item and have the young people vote on it.)

Getting the Right Fit: Ask young people to work in pairs to help each other get the best fit out of their backpacks that they can. If someone doesn’t have a backpack, they can join a pair to form a group of three. Have each young person take a turn being fitted and being a fitter. Here are the guidelines they should follow:
Wear both straps. They should fit comfortably on your shoulders and under your arms.
Adjust the straps so the bottom of the backpack rests In the contour of your lower back. Don’t let it sag down toward your butt.
Adjust the straps so the backpack is centered evenly in the middle of your back.
if you have a waist strap, use it. This helps distribute some of the weight onto your pelvis, which relieves pressure on neck, shoulders and back.

Conclusion

If a young person’s backpack isn’t too heavy and it fits well, that’s great!

If a backpack is too heavy, encourage them to make changes that will help reduce the risk of pain and injury. This can include reducing the weight they are carrying by cleaning out their bags each week, taking something out and carrying it in their arms, and leaving extra items at home or at school.

If their backpacks don’t fit well, encourage them to stick with some changes they made today. Buying a new bag may not be feasible, but regularly checking to make sure the straps are where they should be can help.

Continuing the Conversation

Hand out the Healthy Families Newsletter in English and Spanish so that families can continue to discuss and practice backpack safety at home.

Additional Instructor Resources

Prevent Heavy Backpack Blues

Bad Breath: What to Do About It

Lesson Overview

This lesson will help young people understand some of the most common causes of bad breath, how to test if they have bad breath, and what they can do about it. The main activity will be 10 quiz questions that can be delivered on the interactive whiteboard, on a printed activity sheet, or by orally quizzing the class. The lesson concludes with 4 Tips for Fresh Breath and a group discussion.

Introduction

Ask the youth if they have experienced bad breath in the past. How did they know their breath was bad? Can you think of some reasons your breath might not smell good?

Almost everyone has bad breath (also known as halitosis) once in a while. It can be embarrassing, but usually not a problem beyond that. Common causes are:

bacteria from food stuck to or caught in your teeth
a dry mouth
eating certain foods with strong odors or odor producing qualities
taking certain kinds of medicines
chewing or smoking tobacco
respiratory illness

In some cases, a more serious health-related issue could be causing bad breath. It’s important to talk to a doctor or dentist if it becomes a chronic (long-lasting) problem.

Share with the youth that everyone has bad breath sometimes, but there are some things they can do to help prevent it and improve their breath throughout the day.

Activity: Learn how to test your breath

Ask the young people, “How do you know if you have bad breath?” Some may answer that you can breathe into your hand and then smell the air.

You can respond that a popular method of testing for bad breath doesn’t actually work very well. A lot of people think that if you cup your hand over your month and nose and breathe into it you can tell if your breath smells bad. But air is released differently when you do that versus when you are face-to-face with someone, interacting with and talking to them.

A better way to test is to wash your hand, and then lick the back of it with the farthest back part of your tongue you can manage. Then let it dry for 10 seconds and smell it. If you discover that it does smell bad there are a number of things you can do to improve it.

Activity: Interactive quiz

The quiz questions are on the Bad Breath Quiz Activity Sheet.

Ask each of the 10 questions and wait for young people to answer. You can use the interactive whiteboard lesson files, if the software and a projector is available (see What You Need). Once the answers are in, give them the correct answer and have a discussion. This can also be done orally with hand raising for answers or writing them on a board.

Conclusion

Conclude the lesson with these 4 tips and a discussion question.

Tips for fresh breath

Brush your teeth and your tongue…as far back as you can. Removing bacteria is one of the best ways to freshen up. A lot of them can live on your tongue, something you don’t always think about when brushing.
Floss your teeth. This also removes food particles and bacteria.
If you can’t brush or floss right away, use mouthwash or chew gum until you are able to clean your mouth.
Drink plenty of water. Water helps rinse away bacteria. Staying hydrated also helps your digestive system run smoothly which can also prevent bad breath.

Discussion

Share the following statement with the youth and ask if they agree or disagree: if someone you care about has bad breath you should politely say something about it. (There is no right answer to this, but there will likely be a lot of ideas and opinions.)

Continuing the Conversation

Hand out the Healthy Families Newsletter in English or Spanish, which includes tips for fresh breath, so that families can continue the discussion at home.

Related Health Powered Kids Blog

Get brushing: February is oral care month!

Contagious

Description

Contagious is a game that teaches the importance of good hand washing to prevent the spread of germs and illness.

Start with two players designated as “it” (the contagious germs). The rest of the players spread out in the gym or designated area.

The players that are the germs work to tag the other players. Once another person has been tagged they are considered contagious and become a germ. They either hold hands or link arms with the first germ to become a two-person (germ) team.

This germ team moves around the gym trying to tag or “infect” other players with their germs. Each tagged person becomes part of the growing link of germs.

Once the group of germs has six people, they divide into two groups. The game ends when all players have been caught.

The goal of the game is to stay healthy and free from the germs by moving quickly about the room and avoid being tagged. Emphasize the importance in our daily lives to wash hands regularly to avoid the spread of germs.

Modification Option

Youth who use a wheelchair can also participate! Make it more challenging for the others by having them sit their bottoms on scooters (if available).