* See below for links to the Teaching Centers for previous issues, including January's special theme issue on bullying *
Welcome! Here you'll find all the information from your monthly Current Health teacher's guide. Click the tabs above to access key points, classroom discussion questions, extension activities, resources, and more for each feature article in this issue. At right you'll find links to our Digital Edition (which makes it easy to use the magazine on computers, interactive whiteboards, and projectors), a printable teacher's guide, our 2011-12 Planning Calendar, our blogs, and archives.
This month's issue helps you get the scoop on dietary fiber, examine the health effects of video games, and learn more about some common microbes, the drug Ecstasy, and more.
In This Issue
Your Mind: "Vitamin G for Your Mind"
Your World: "Eye On the Olympics"
Your Relationships: "Sibling Face-Off"
Your Body: "The Truth About Tourette's"
Your Energy: "Crunches Give You Six-Pack Abs—and Other Exercise Myths"
PLUS: It's that time again! Nominate your favorite teacher for accolades in Weekly Reader's My Best Teacher Ever contest.
Online Exclusives
• Our 2011-12 index can help you keep track of your favorite past Current Health Teens articles or find a useful article you missed.
• Don't forget! All the reproducible worksheets for each issue—including the bonus reading comprehension worksheets, one for each feature article—are together in one place, within your Teacher's Guide. Access these worksheets and more online at right under "Printable Teacher's Guide." You can also access just the student worksheets under "Printable Activities." Or download just the April/May activities right here.
Have a safe and happy spring and summer!
Thanks very much for choosing Current Health this year for your teaching needs. It has been, as always, an honor and a privilege for all of us here on the CH team at Weekly Reader to do the very important work of helping your students make healthy choices and become the best they can be. We hope this year's issues have been useful and we thank you again for bringing Current Health into your classrooms.
--Erin R. King, Senior Editor
Past Teaching Centers
September 2011
October 2011
November 2011
December 2011
January 2012
February 2012
March 2012
Vitamin G for Your Mind
(p. 6) 1100L
Key Points
• Many health experts are calling the problem of young people not spending enough time outdoors “nature deficit disorder.”
• Some of the negative health effects seen in kids who don’t spend enough time outside may stem from a lack of physical activity.
• Time spent outdoors fosters creativity and respect for the environment.
• Experts recommend at least one hour of outdoor activity daily, but any amount is better than none.
Think and Discuss
If vitamin G is a term used to describe the value of outdoor time, what are some other “vitamin” needs that help you feel your best? (Friends? Sports? Music?)
Extension Activity
Have students plan and carry out a special event—such as a field day, a hike, or a weekend festival—designed to help younger students get outside and be active. Have your students produce posters and brochures containing information about the benefits of green time for people who attend the event to take home.
Resources
• America’s Great Outdoors: www.americasgreatoutdoors.gov
• Youth in the Great Outdoors: www.youthgo.gov
Eye On the Olympics
(p. 10) 980L
Key Points
• Teens and young adults are among the U.S. athletes preparing for the Summer Olympic Games.
• Alise Post, 21, John Orozco, 19, and Maggie Steffens, 18, are three young people whose sports skills and hard work may take them to the games.
• The athletes suggest learning more about their sports, and other sports, as a way for teens to get interested in physical activity.
Think and Discuss
Which of the summer Olympic sports is most interesting to you?
Extension Activity
The article in the magazine was a series of interviews, with questions and answers. Have students practice their interview skills by having them interview one another, relatives, members of the school or local community, or local celebrities. Suggest that students first research their interview subjects and come up with lists of thoughtful questions.
Resources
• The U.S. Olympic Committee: www.teamusa.org
• Official Web site of the 2012 Games: www.london2012.com
• The Current Health Get Up and Go blog: www.weeklyreader.com/getupandgo
Sibling Face-Off
(p. 14) 1040L
Key Points
• Sibling friction is common, but there are also some common reasons and possible solutions.
• Problems arise from the different ways parents treat their children. It may seem unfair, but experts say the differences in treatment often have to do with the fact that different kids have different needs.
• Other sibling issues arise from age differences, concern for a brother’s or a sister’s well-being, competition between siblings, and younger kids who want to be more like their older brothers or sisters.
Think and Discuss
What are some ways that sibling problems compare with friendship problems? Make lists of common sibling problems and common friendship problems, and devise ways of dealing with each. Note the similarities and the differences.
Extension Activity
Have students interview older relatives or other adults who have siblings. They should ask what it was like growing up, how the siblings got along then (and now), and how the sibling relationship changed over the years. Ask students to draw conclusions about the ways relationships change and to make connections to their own relationships.
Resources
• The Sibling Effect: What the Bonds Among Brothers and Sisters Reveal About Us, by Jeffrey Kluger (Riverhead, 2011)
• Siblings: You’re Stuck with Each Other, so Stick Together, by James J. Crist, Ph.D.and Elizabeth Verdick (Free Spirit Publishing, 2010)
The Truth About Tourette’s
(p. 17) 980L
Key Points
• Tourette’s syndrome (TS) is a relatively rare disorder that affects the nervous system.
• Many people with TS make movements and sounds they can’t control, called tics.
• The disorder often occurs along with others such as attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder or obsessive-compulsive disorder.
• Young people with the disorder say it’s helpful when other people know the facts about TS.
Think and Discuss
Why, do you think, might kids and teens with Tourette’s syndrome be particularly vulnerable to bullying and teasing? What are some ways you can use the information you learned from this article to be a helpful bystander should you see a student with this or another disability being picked on?
Extension Activity
In class or as a homework assignment, have students watch Front of the Class, about Brad Cohen. A teacher’s guide for the film, with lesson ideas, is available at www.tsa-usa.org/imaganw/TeachersGuide-FrontoftheClass-finalx.pdf.
Resources
• Brad Cohen’s Web site: www.classperformance.com
• Different is the New Normal, scheduled to air nationally on PBS in May: differentisthenewnormal.com
• National Tourette Syndrome Association: www.tsa-usa.org
Crunches Give You Six-Pack Abs—and Other Exercise Myths
(p. 20) 980L
Key Points
• Spot reduction of fat—such as reducing belly fat just by doing situps—is a common exercise myth. (You will burn fat in that spot only by exercising your whole body.)
• Another common myth is that exercise should be painful in order to work.
• Other myths include the idea that strength training is only for bodybuilders (that form of exercise is healthy for everyone) and the belief that everyone must stretch thoroughly before exercise.
Think and Discuss
Why, do you think, are there so many myths about exercise? What are some ways to help combat the spread of false information?
Extension Activity
Ask students to think of other health, nutrition, or fitness sayings or beliefs that sound too good (or too bad) to be true. Make a list. Then have students go online or to the library to look them up. Be sure students use what they know about reliable sources of information to help guide them to answers.
Resources
• Good sources for reliable fitness information: the American Council on Exercise (www.acefitness.org/getfit/default.aspx) and the American College of Sports Medicine (www.acsm.org)
• Sources for debunking common “urban legends” and other myths (on fitness, health, and all subjects): www.snopes.com and urbanlegends.about.com.
