Diet Detectives

Diet Detectives

A WebQuest for 5th and 6th Grade

Sandy Lautz
lautzs@riveredgeschools.org

Introduction

Do you know what you need to eat in order to be healthy, wealthy, and wise (or at least healthy and wise)? Is your diet balanced or so unbalanced that your body is silently screaming for vitamins and minerals? Are your snack and lunch healthy or just one big bunch of useless calories waiting to make you gain unwanted weight. When you are done with this web quest you will be the picture of health or at least on your way. You will eliminate those food criminals from your diet once and for all.

The Task

You will become a Diet Detective in which you will discover what a boy or girl of your age should be eating and then research the nutritional value and calories of some of the most popular lunches eaten today. Together with the other Diet Detectives on your team you will plan a Diet Do list of healthy lunch and snack choices. You will also create a Diet Don't list - foods that should be avoided at all costs. Then you will let the rest of the school find out what you do - that there are foods that are good food for you and foods that are really bad for you!

The Process

Read through all the directions before you get started. Please make sure you print all the necessary materials in black and white. Make sure you change the printer if it is set up for color.

1. You will be assigned to a group of 3 students where you will do the preliminary planning for your case. Pick your job from the ones below:

The Pyramid Planner will research what foods you should be eating from the Food Pyramid.
The Nutritionist will research what vitamins and minerals are necessary for a child your age, as well as daily caloric intake.
The Researcher will survey your classmates to find out what they are eating for snacks and lunches.

Decorate a folder to hold all your papers for this assignment.

2. Once you have picked your roles, click on the following link to find out what you are supposed to do and then complete your job.

Pyramid Planner
Nutritionist
Researcher

3. As Super Sleuths you will roam your home pantries, supermarket aisles, and yes, even the garbage for empty wrappers and containers to find out the nutritional values of of your Diet Dos and Diet Don'ts. Become familiar with the nutritional labeling on food packages by clicking here. Fill out the attached crime report with the appropriate information. If you need more copies, ask your teacher to make copies for you or print out more.

4. When your team members have finished their preliminary investigations, get back together and share your information with one another. Then you will fill out the attached worksheets, determining what foods are healthy and belong on your Diet Do list and what foods unhealthy and belong on your Diet Don't list.

5. You will then create Wanted Dead or Alive posters for those foods that are the worst Diet Don'ts you can find. Then create Reward posters for those foods that you think are the best Diet Dos you can eat. See the attached format for each by clicking on the link above. You can print out the attached page or create your own poster. You can get directions that you can print out by clicking here. Make sure you include the name of the food, a picture of it, and why it is good or bad for you. You may also want to make an illustration of what will happen to you if you eat this food. As a group, do at least one of each and the third person can select either of the two to do. Hang your completed posters around the room.

6. After your posters have been hung, survey your classmates again to find out if they have changed their eating habits. Also, write a paragraph about your own personal eating habits and how they changed or didn't change as a result of our job as a Diet Detective. Put this in your folders and hand it in to your teacher for evaluation.

Evaluation

Use the rubric below to determine what will be expected of you. Your goal is to get at least 18 points. 24 is a perfect score. Talk to your teacher if you are having difficulty with any part of your project or with your group.


	Beginning 1	Developing 2	Accomplished 3	Exemplary 4
Completed individual job as Pyramid Planner, Nutritionist, or Researcher	Job was incompletely done; forms were missing or were not filled out completely ; information was useless to team.	Job was almost completely done; no all forms were filled out; information was missing.	Job was almost completely done; all forms were filled out but missing some information.	Job was completely done; all forms were filled out completely and able to be used by the team.
Completed Crime Reports with nutritional values of various foods	Crime reports were incompletely done; completed only 1	Crime reports were incompletely done; completed 2-3	Crime reports were completely done; completed 3-4	Crime reports were completely done; completed 4 or more
Completed Diet Do's and Diet Don'ts Lists of desirable and undesirable foods	Diet Do and Diet Don't lists are missing or show an insufficient number of healthy and unhealthy foods (3 or less) .	Diet Do and Diet Don't lists don't show a sufficient number of healthy and unhealthy foods to be useful (4-6 each).	Diet Do and Diet Don't lists don't show a sufficient number of healthy and unhealthy foods (6-9 each).	Diet Do and Diet Don't lists show a sufficient number of healthy and unhealthy foods (10 or more each).
Created Rewards and Wanted Posters for desirable and undesirable foods	Posters were sloppily done; they show lack creativity and knowledge of concepts learned.	Posters were not neatly done; they show some creativity and knowledge of concepts learned.	Posters were neatly done; they show some creativity and knowledge of concepts learned.	Posters were neatly done; they show creativity and knowledge of concepts learned.
Follow up survey and personal statements	Follow-up surveys done of 3 or less students; Personal statement demonstrates little comprehension of good eating habits.	Follow-up surveys done of at least 3-6 students; Personal statement demonstrates some comprehension of good eating habits.	Follow-up surveys done of 6-9 students; Personal statement demonstrates some comprehension of good eating habits.	Follow-up surveys done of at least 10 students; Personal statement demonstrates strong comprehension of good eating habits.
Overall Project	Folder missing much of the necessary papers; project is handed in over 3 days late; demonstrates little effort.	Folder missing some necessary papers; project is handed in more than two days late; demonstrates good effort.	Folder contains all necessary papers; project is handed in one day or more late; demonstrates good effort.	Folder contains all necessary papers; project is handed in on time; demonstrates a great deal of effort.

Conclusion

Congratulations! If you have a score of 18 above, you have become Diet Detective "First Class." Even Sherlock Holmes would be proud. Not only have you investigated healthy foods, you have helped wipe out unhealthy foods from your diet and those of your classmates and friends. You are on your way to a nutritious future. If you got a score of below 18, then you still need to go to Detective School, but hopefully you are eating healthier.

Teacher Page

Click here for a timetable and credits and resources.

Last updated on November 3, 2003. Based on a template from The WebQuest Page