Global Vitamins and Minerals

Introduction

It's 5:00pm and you are starving!  You tell your mom and she says, "Let's go out to eat, you pick a place!"  Awesome!  You pull out your phone and start looking at all the nearby restaurants.  Chinese, Italian, Mexican, there are so many choices.  It makes you wonder, if you traveled to Mexico are their "American" restaurants or "Canadian?"

The truth is we eat many different types of food and that is true of many other countries as well.  However there are usually certain types of food that are eaten the most in every county in the world.  These differences in diet mean that every country has its own concerns in terms of health and nutrition.  The human body needs certain vitamins and minerals in order to remain healthy.  That fact does not change if you are from the United States, Russia or Australia.  

Different diets means we get different amounts of needed vitamins and minerals.  Can you figure out what vitamins and minerals people from the world get the most and the least of?  Can figure out what they could add to their diets to get the right vitamins and minerals without taking pills from the drug store?

Task

You are a nutritionist and you have been asked to do some humanitarian work.  You will need to try to find a natural way for the people in another part of the world to improve their intake of vitamins and minerals.  Your task is to work with a partner to study some different essential vitamins and minerals that humans need to remain healthy.  You will then need to choose an area of the world and study the main diet of those people and what types of vitamins and minerals they are lacking based on their food choices.  Finally you will need to make some suggestions as to what type of foods they could consume more of to obtain the needed vitamins and minerals.

Process

 

  1. Choose one of the following countries and use the website correct to learn about the typical diet of someone from that area.  Be sure to take some notes on the most common types of food eaten in that area.  You should try to find at least 2-3 most common foods (often called "staples" by the websites). Record the information in "1. Country Chosen" section in your packet.
    1. Vietnam (South East Asia)
    2. Ireland (Europe)
    3. Haiti (Central America)
    4. Kenya (Africa)
    5. Russia (Northern Asia)
  2. Using the website below, identify 2 vitamins and/or minerals are that highest  in each staples you chose. Identify 2 vitamins and/minerals that are lowest/absent in each staple you chose. You should concentrate on Vitamins A, B, C, D, E, and K, as wells as minerals such as iron, calcium, zinc, magnesium, potassium and sodium (there are many to choose from these are suggestions!) Record your information in "2. Vitamins and Minerals..." section in your packet.
    1. MyPlate:
      1. Type the food you are looking for into search box on this page.  
      2. Click "Go".
      3. Click the "Nutrient Info" tab
      4. You will see the percents of vitamins and minerals contained in that food.
  3. Essential nutrients that the human body must have in order to function properly.  These nutrients cannot be created by the body and must come from an outside source such as food.  Nutrients include vitamins and minerals which we will be focusing on.  Please explore the following website and watch the video to learn about health and some of the most common essential vitamins and minerals of the human body.  
    1. Nutrition Song
    2. Important Vitamins and Minerals
  4. Use the websites from #3 above to look at the vitamins and minerals you focused in the staple foods from your country.  Record 2 positive effects of the vitamins and minerals the food contains and two negative effects of the missing some vitamins and minerals. Record information in "4. Positive and Negative Effects" section in your packet.
    1. Positive Effects
      1. Vitamins A to Zinc
      2. Teen Health Vitamins
      3. 11 Essential Vitamins and Minerals
      4. Vitamins and Minerals

    2. Negative Effects
      1. Knowing your Vitamins and Minerals
      2. Vitamins and Minerals
  5. Next you need to figure out what types of food might contain those missing vitamins and minerals.  Check out the sites below and suggest 1 or 2 foods that would contain each of the missing minerals you chose. Record information in "5. Missing Foods" section in your packet.
    1. Vitamins A to Zinc
    2. 11 Essential Vitamins and Minerals
    3. Food Sources for Vitamins and Minerals
    4. 25 Vitamin-Rich Foods

Evaluation

Web Quest Rubric
Requirements Points Possible Points Earned
Choose a country and record it in packet. (Section 1) 2
Find and record 2-3 staple food for your country. (Section 1) 15
For EACH staple food record to vitamins/minerals the are present in HIGH amounts. (Section 2) 6
For EACH staple food record to vitamins/minerals the are present in LOW amounts or not present at all. (Section 2) 6
Record 2 positive effects for both vitamins/minerals in each staple food.(Section 4) 12
Record 2 negative effects for both vitamins/minerals absent in each staple food. (section 4) 12
Accurately suggest 1 or 2 foods for each missing vitamin/nutrient in your staple foods (Section 5). 10

Create a poster that has accurrate information and spelling/grammar.

 20
Poster is neat, and is visually appealing 10
Make sure you have filled in all NECCESSARY parts of your packet. Remember that some parts are optional extras. (Hint: any part of the packet that says "Staple 3" is optional) 5
TOTAL 88

Conclusion

  1. Create an informational poster meant to be hung in nutrition clinics, schools and doctors' offices that gives examples of foods that could be added to the diets of the people from your region to improve their health.  Be sure to include pictures of the food and the benefits of adding that food to their diets.

Credits

Resources

Image Credits

Teacher Page

The idea of this webquest is to create a cross curricular oppertunity for students to use inquiry to learn not only about some the science behind essential nutrients but to learn a little about a culture that they may know little about.  This project could easily be done in conjunction with a social studeies unit on different areas of the world or can be done to help students learn more about their hertiage.

A great way to adapt this webquest to match the social studies curriculum is to go to http://www.foodbycountry.com/ and choose the areas of the world that are most relavent.

Frameworks

  1. Massachusetts Inquiry Standards Included
    • Present and explain data and findings using multiple representations, including tables, graphs, mathematical and physical models, and demonstrations.
    • Draw conclusions based on data or evidence presented in tables or graphs, and make inferences based on patterns or trends in the data.
    • Communicate procedures and results using appropriate science and technology terminology. 
  2. National Science Content Standards Included
    • Structure and function in living systems
    • Personal health
    • Risks and benefits
  3. National Physical Education and Health Standards Included
    • Explain how health is influenced by the interaction of body systems.
    • Describe ways to reduce risks related to adolescent health problems.
    • Explain how appropriate health care can prevent premature death and disability..
    • Analyze the validity of health information, products, and services.
    • Demonstrate the ability to utilize resources from home, school, and community that provide valid health information.Describe the influence of cultural beliefs on health behaviors and the use of health services.
    • Demonstrate the ability to apply a decision- making process to health issues and problems individually and collaboratively.
    • Analyze how health-related decisions are influenced by individuals, family, and community values.
    • Predict how decisions regarding health behaviors have consequences for self and others.

Ojectives

  1. Students will be able to identify staple foods from another area of the world
  2. Students will be able to identify vitamins and minerals present and absent from certain types of food.
  3. Students will be able to analyze vitamins and minerals to determin the postitive and neagtive effects on those eating ceratin foods.
  4. Students will be able to make educated suggestions of foods that can provide missing minerals and nutrients.
  5. Students will be able to clearly and accurately convey their know knowlege in a visual and written format.

Click Student Packet* to get the worksheets that go with this webquest.

*This link does not work.  I have attached it to my post in blackboard so that you can access the word doc I created to go along with the webquest.  If anyone has suggestions for how to post a link of the doc so that students could access it beside google docs etc. feel free to let me know.  Thanks!!!