Library Media Skill Objectives: The student will access the online catalog to find the reference and nonfiction materials on nutrition, locate the books on the shelf, and select appropriate information. The student will use the Internet, view selected websites, and choose accurate and useful information. They will share with the school community what he/she has learned by displaying a project in the library media center.

Curriculum Objectives: Science: The student will learn how the body uses calories, fat, and fiber. Health: The student will keep a food journal and will record his/her food intake for one week. The student will chart calories and fat and fiber grams ingested for one day and compare them to the RDA and the food guide pyramid.

Instructional Roles: The teacher and library media specialist work on the lesson together. The teacher instructs students about nutrition by focusing on calories, fat, fiber, and the food guide pyramid. The library media specialist provides a lesson on how to use the online catalog and other electronic resources. The lesson takes four days for instruction and class activities. The students, however, keep a food journal for one week before the unit begins.

Activities and Procedures:

Day One: The teacher and library media specialist provide an overview of the unit and lead a discussion by asking students what they already know about nutrition. The students view the first section of the video "The New Food Guide Pyramid", which highlights the food pyramid, serving sizes, food labels, and calorie and fat requirements for teen boys and girls. Students then brainstorm differents sources they might use to find out how many calories and fat and fiber grams are in the foods they have eaten over the past week.

Day Two: The next day the library media specialist gives a Powerpoint presentation on using online resources, including links to sample websites. By using print and electronic resources in the library media center, each student chooses one day from his/her food journal and determines the calories, fat grams, fiber grams, and food group each food belongs to.

Day Three: After students complete their food journal requirement, the teacher asks the students to discuss what they discovered. The teacher provides additional information on nutrition and how the body uses food for fuel. The teacher and students also discuss the importance of making wise choices in their diet so they will have more energy and be more healthy. Students view "Give Yourself Five: A Nutrition Video". After viewing the videotape, students list why they should avoid too much junk food and eat more fruits and vegetables.

Day Four: By using their food journals as examples, students look at their diets and decide what better choices they could make. Students are divided into groups of three and design a one-day "ideal" diet for a teenage boy or girl. After the groups complete the activity, they share the food choices they made and the rationale for making them. Each group posts its "ideal" food journal as part of a nutrition display in the library media center.

Follow-Up: In their small groups, students may view the cross sections of candy bars on the "Name that Candybar" website. Each group chooses one candy bar, looks at the label, and determines the calories, fat, and fiber. Students may present their findings to their classmates. As a class, they may discuss and decide which candy bar is the most nutritious.