Unit 8

Life Essentials: Nutrition, Movement, and Health

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Welcome to our new science unit: Life Essentials – Nutrition,

Movement, and Health! In this unit, we’ll explore how your

body gets energy from food, how it moves using muscles

and bones, and what it needs to stay healthy and strong.

You’ll learn how your choices—like what you eat, how

active you are, and how you take care of yourself—affect

your body and mind. Get ready to discover how amazing

and powerful your body really is!​​​​​

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​​​Before we start, Take this test about nutrition to check what you already know about this topic:

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1 Now, visit the Centre for health protection website and complete the activities:

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a) Draw the food pyramid in your notebook

b) Explain the shape of the pyramid using the food groups

c) What happens if we don't eat the right amount of food? (explain both cases)

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Nutrition means taking in all the substances we 

need to provide us with energy, and with the raw 

materials for building our bodies.

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These nutrients are absorbed into the blood, and

then carried all over the body to each of our cells.

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The cells take in the nutrients and make use of

them, a process called assimilation.

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So, let's learn more about the nutrients we need to be healthy, the factors that affect the amount of food we need and the meaning of the word "calories".

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​​​​2. Listen to the audio and answer: (DUCKSTERS)

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a) Why is nutrition in kids important?

b) How are the calories stored?

c) Mention the 5 food groups

d) Write one fun fact

 

3. Go to the Britannica website and complete:

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​ Under the title "Empty Calories and Fast Food":

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a) Explain what are empty calories or poor-nutrient foods

b) Write some examples of empty calories food

c) In the paragraph titled "Calories and energy balance" find: in which factors depends the number of calories a person might need? explain the example​

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4. Visit the kids Britannica site and define what are calories?

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5. Let's analyze nutritional labels. For this you must take into account the following information:

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 Most of the information on the label is given in percentages.

Percent daily value is most useful for seeing if a food is high or low in nutrients:

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• A food with 5% or less of a nutrient is low in that nutrient.

• A food with 10%–19% of a nutrient is a good source of that nutrient.

• A food with 20% or more of a nutrient is high in that nutrient

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Compare two different burgers and choose which one is a healthier choice, these are their nutritional labels. Give at least 3 reasons for your answer (compare at least 3-4 nutrients and use the information provided above to say which food is high or low in a good or a bad nutrient):

 

 

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Carbohydrates are commonly associated to "special diet", "getting fat" and many other negative concepts. Still, the truth is that we need them to have energy throughout the day ... of course, just like everything in life all extremes are bad, and ingesting too little or too much of this type of nutrient can affect our health.

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Today we will learn more about this

nutrient. We will get to know some

examples, how our body uses them

and some fun and interesting facts

about food that is rich in

carbohydrates.

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1) Watch the study.com video and as you do it, complete the text in your notebook:

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2. Pay attention to this short presentation, and take notes in your NB:

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3. Go to the  GODIGIT website and write the health benefits of eating carbs (just mention the titles). Choose the one you don't understand very clearly and explain it with your own words.

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4. In the same website : 

 

a) Find and write in your notebook some examples (names) of each type of saccharide. b) Under the paragraph about fiber, write where can we find fiber and how does it help to prevent constipation?​

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5. In the Britannica website find which foods are the healthiest to obtain the carbs from? mention at least 6.

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6. Read the article about energy drinks and write 3 reasons why drinking regularly this kind of beverage that is high in carbohydrates is harmful to our health, especially for teenagers.

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