Could Newly Discovered Food Save Childhood Hunger?
Subjects
Arts & Humanities
--Language Arts
Health
--Nutrition
Science
--Agriculture
--Physical Science
----Environmental
Social Studies
--Civics
--Current Events
--Economics
--Geography
--Regions/Cultures
Grades
Grades 2-up
News Content
A new kind of food called Plumpynut is helping doctors fight childhood hunger in Africa.
Anticipation Guide
Before reading, write Niger on a board or chart. Ask students if they know where Niger, pronounced nee-ZHAYR (rhymes with see there), is located. If students are not aware of Niger, point out on a world map its location in Western Africa. Niger borders Nigeria and Benin to the south, Burkina Faso and Mali to the west, Algeria and Libya to the north and Chad to the east. You might also share some of these facts about Niger.
News Words
Next, introduce these words that appear in the News Word Box on the students printable page: powdered, medicine, nutrition, exposed, undernourished, cure, fortunate, and solution. Discuss the meanings of any of those words that might be unfamiliar. Then ask students to use one of those words to complete each of these sentences:
Read the News
Click for a printable version of this weeks news story New Food Saves Lives, Could End Hunger.
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More Facts to Share
You might share these additional facts with students after they have read this weeks news story.
Comprehension Check
Revisit the Anticipation Guide at the top of this lesson. Ask students to use what they learned about Niger in the Anticipation Guide to help them answer this question: Now that you have read the news story, what kinds of effects does Nigers geography -- its location and climate -- have on its people?
You might follow-up that activity by asking some of these questions:
Recalling Detail
Think About the News
Discuss the Think About the News question that appears on the students news page.
Next, ask this question: Plumpynut is a food, not a medicine, so what do doctors mean when they say that Plumpynut is one of the most important medicines" to come along in a long time? (They mean that Plumpynut has the same effects on hungry children as some medicines have on sick children; Plumpynut can help cure" a childs hunger and make him or her stronger.)
Follow-Up Activities
Geography. Share a large map of Africa with students. (If you do not have a class map, you might use a computer attached to a projector to project this map of Africa, or you might copy the map onto a transparency and use an overhead projector to share the map with students.) Ask students to locate each of the following African countries and to tell whether each country is north, east, south, or west of Niger. Chad (is east of Niger), Nigeria (south), Mali (west), Algeria (north), Ethiopia (east), Congo (south), Egypt (north or east), Angola (south), Sudan (east).
If you teach older students, you might share this Malnutrition Hotspots world map. Have students work in small groups as they use atlases to identify and list the countries where childhood malnutrition is a big problem.Language arts. Share the 60 Minutes video segment that recently drew attention to Plumpynut. After viewing the segment, have students write three new facts they learned about Niger or Plumpynut from watching the video. After they have done the writing exercise, provide students with time to share what they have written. [Note: This 60 Minutes segment runs 11 minutes. We suggest that you preview the video before using it in class to be sure that the content, including images of hungry children, will not be unsettling to your students. To view the video full-screen on your computer, simply click the rectangular Enlarge icon in the lower right corner of the video presentation; click the escape key to return your screen to its normal view.]
Citizenship -- community service. If your students are motivated to raise money to support the expansion of Plumpynut delivery programs, you can learn more about how you can do that at the following links:
Assessment
Use the Comprehension Check (above) as an assessment. Or have students work on their own (in their journals) or in their small groups to respond to the Think About the News question on the news story page or in the Comprehension Check section.
Lesson Plan Source
Education World
National Standards
LANGUAGE ARTS: English
GRADES K - 12
NL-ENG.K-12.1 Reading for Perspective
NL-ENG.K-12.2 Reading for Understanding
NL-ENG.K-12.6 Applying Knowledge
NL-ENG.K-12.9 Multicultural Understanding
NL-ENG.K-12.11 Participating in Society
NL-ENG.K-12.12 Applying Language Skills
PHYSICAL EDUCATION AND HEALTH: Health
GRADES K - 4
NPH-H.K-4.1 Health Promotion and Disease Prevention
NPH-H.K-4.4 Health Influences
NPH-H.K-4.7 Health Advocacy
GRADES 5 - 8
NPH-H.5-8.1 Health Promotion and Disease Prevention
NPH-H.5-8.4 Health Influences
NPH-H.5-8.7 Health Advocacy
GRADES 9 - 12
NPH-H.9-12.1 Health Promotion and Disease Prevention
NPH-H.9-12.4 Health Influences
NPH-H.9-12.7 Health Advocacy
SCIENCE
GRADES K - 4
NS.K-4.6 Science in Personal and Social Perspectives
GRADES 5 - 8
NS.5-8.6 Science in Personal and Social Perspectives
GRADES 9 - 12
NS.9-12.6 Science in Personal and Social Perspectives
SOCIAL SCIENCES: Civics
GRADES K - 4
NSS-C.K-4.4 Other Nations and World Affairs
NSS-C.K-4.5 Roles of the Citizen
GRADES 5 - 8
NSS-C.5-8.4 Other Nations and World Affairs
NSS-C.5-8.5 Roles of the Citizen
GRADES 9 - 12
NSS-C.9-12.4 Other Nations and World Affairs
NSS-C.9-12.5 Roles of the Citizen
SOCIAL SCIENCES: Economics
GRADES K - 4
NSS-EC.K-4.7 Markets and Market Prices
NSS-EC.K-4.8 Supply and Demand
GRADES 5 - 8
NSS-EC.5-8.7 Markets and Market Prices
NSS-EC.5-8.8 Supply and Demand
GRADES 9 - 12
NSS-EC.9-12.7 Markets and Market Prices
NSS-EC.9-12.8 Supply and Demand
SOCIAL SCIENCES: Geography
GRADES K - 12
NSS-G.K-12.1 The World in Spatial Terms
NSS-G.K-12.4 Human Systems
NSS-G.K-12.5 Environment and Society
See recent news stories in Education Worlds News Story of the Week Archive.
Article by Ellen Delisio
Education World®
Copyright © 2007 Education World
11/28/07