Lesson Plan March 29, 2016
Malnutrition in Guatemala
Country:
Grades:
Questions for "How Guatemala Finally ‘Woke Up’ to its Malnutrition Crisis"
- How many of Guatemala's children are malnourished?
- What are two actions the "I Have Something to Give Campaign" encouraged Guatemalans to participate in?
- What is the 1,000 Days House?
Questions for "Guatemala: Hungry for Change"
- What does it mean to say a child is developmentally "stunted"?
- What is the paradox surrounding Guatemala and malnutrition?
Questions for "Childhood Malnutrition a Paradox in Agriculturally Rich Guatemala"
- What is a prominent meal in the featured Mayan community, and what is the problem with this meal?
- What are two theories why Mayans are so short compared to other ethnic groups?
- What is the president's new plan called? What does he hope to accomplish with it?
Objective:
By the end of this lesson, you will be able to integrate information presented in different media or formats in order to develop a coherent understanding of malnutrition in Guatemala.
Introducing the Lesson:
Today's lesson will explore the challenges surrounding malnutrition in Guatemala. As part of the lesson, you will examine resources from Pulitzer Center grantees Roger Thurow and Hari Sreenivasan's project "Guatemala: Hungry for Change." The project explores the growing numbers of malnurished, "stunted" children in Guatemala who are experiencing slow growth, poor school performance and, later in life, lower economic productivity.
Warm-up:
Write down what you ate for lunch today. Divide what you ate into the different nutritious food groups (i.e.carbs, fruits, vegetables, meats, dairy, fats).
- How many food groups did your meal cover?
- Do you think you had a healthy meal? Why or why not?
Introducing the Resources:
After examining each resource and answer the questions attached. After reviewing all three resources, answer the following reflection questions:
Make a list of at least three reasons.
- Why are some members of the Guatemalan population malnourished?
- Why is Guatemala facing this problem if it has one of the largest GDPs in Central America?
- Why are children the most at risk?
Extension Activities:
Write a letter to a Guatemalan politician with suggestions on how to fix the problem of malnutrition in the country. Be sure to cite facts from all three Pulitzer Center resources.
In the following lesson plan, which is in line with Common Core Standards, students will investigate educational resources in order to understand the issue of malnutrition in Guatemala.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.6.7
Integrate information presented in different media or formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively) as well as in words to develop a coherent understanding of a topic or issue.
Lesson Facilitation Notes:
1. The lesson plan is written for students to be able to explore the resources independently and reflection exercises independently.
2. Students may need to have an extra sheet of paper, or a blank online document open, to answer the warm up, comprehension and extension questions.
3. The lesson lists several extension exercises. Students could choose one or work through all of the listed exercises.
4. The warm up and post-reading reflections in this lesson could also lead to rich conversations. You may want to work through the lesson along with the students and denote moments for interactive activities.
5. With questions about this lesson, contact [email protected]
