Popular Film: Full House

“Shape Up”, Season 4 Episode 8

• Film Information
  • Producer: Jeff Franklin, Thomas L. Miller, Robert L. Boyett, Dennis Rinsler, Marc Warren – Warner Bros. Television distribution
  • Year: 1990
  • Length: 23 mins
  • Age Rating: ages 7+
• Summary
  • This episode is centered on teen body image issues and how they can affect their dietary choices. Kimmy lets DJ know that she’s having a pool party. In an effort to lose enough weight to “look good” DJ starts to skip meals. Eventually she tries to work out so hard at the gym to the point where she passes out. Her family confronts her about the dangers of skipping meals and how the opinions of others shouldn’t affect how she treats her body. Though the show itself is pretty cheesy because of how old it is, the way that they address these issues makes it relatable for a wide range of audiences and delivers it in a way that everyone can understand.
• Review
  • Though this episode doesn’t directly address the need to make healthy food choices, it does a great job of demonstrating what a lack of eating in general can do to someone’s body. Throughout the episode they also address social issues that can affect the food/eating choices of people ranging from 6th-8th grade (such as the pressure to impress others and the need to fit in).
  • After watching this episode, I’d have the students debrief with a whole class discussion. We’d summarize the episode then talk about what caused DJs eating disorder and how that diet choice affected her. In groups, the students would then discuss how DJ could have made healthier choices to achieve her goals and what steps she could have taken to improve her self-esteem.
• Episode Preview (class would watch full episode)
• Core Integration: Because this episode highlights the issue of letting society affect how you feel about your body, after the group discussions we’d talk about the importance of high self-esteem and how positive mindsets can affect personal health. Students would then work on an art piece where they create decorative pieces with words of affirmation that can be hung around the school to support positive body image and confidence.
• Standards:
  • National Health Education Standards:
    • 8.2 Describe the influence of culture on health beliefs, practices, and behaviors.
    • 8.5 Analyze how messages from media influence health behaviors.
    • 8.7 Explain how the perceptions of norms influence healthy and unhealthy behaviors.
    • 8.8 Explain the influence of personal values and beliefs on individual health practices and behaviors.
  • Curriculum Standards (OSPI)
    • VA:Cr2.1.6 Demonstrate openness in trying new ideas and materials in making works of art
    • VA:Cr3.1.6 Reflect on whether personal artwork conveys the intended meaning and revise accordingly

Documentary: Fed Up

• Documentary Info
  • Producer: Katie Couric, Stephanie Soechtig, Laurie David, Eve Marson Singbiel, and Sarah Olson
  • Year: 2014
  • Length: 1 hour and 32 minutes
  • Age Rating: PG
• Review
  • I really enjoyed this movie for the way it thoroughly described each component of your body, such as internal, external, mental and physical, that sugar has an affect on. I think this movie is enlightening for everyone to see, but the clear animations and diagrams that are presented with each description and comparison would make this really easy for students in middle school to comprehend. The documentary, with its many facts, is also paired with fast paced segments and upbeat music that keep the viewers attention.
• Summary
  • This documentary puts a focus on how the 30 year old government guidelines regarding sugar has since created a national health crisis within the US. Obesity numbers keep skyrocketing as other health issues born through unhealthy eating choices plague each passing generation. I think what is specifically great about this documentary is that it expels some of the misconceptions that adults and children alike have when it comes to food. This documentary confronts the ideas that all calories are equal, that there is added sugar in “fat free” items, and most importantly, even if you do possess a healthy body weight you can still carry dangerous amounts of fat in your body based on the unhealthy eating choice you make. This documentary covers a bunch of enlightening material and allows students to gain a better understanding of how much sugar is snuck into the foods they consistently eat. The documentary also makes a strong comparison between the addictive qualities that both sugar and narcotics possess.
• Film Preview (class would watch full documentary)

• Core Integration:
  • To incorporate this into core subjects I would use it as a precursor to learning about unit conversions. I would have students watch this clip while taking notes on the conversions that were made in the video such as 1 medium french fry equals 1 hour and 12 minutes of swimming and 1 cookie equals 20 minutes of jogging. The students could use their notes to complete a worksheet having them practice converting between food items and calorie burning activities. Having students understand the concepts and steps of conversion with items easier to comprehend as well as informative about a different subject will hopefully soften the blow of them apply those skills to mathematical unit and integers.
• Standards
  • National Health Education Standards:
    • 8.9 Identify foods that are high in fiber.
      • HBO 3: Eat an abundance of fruits and vegetables every day.
      • HBO 4: Choose to eat whole grain products and fat-free or low-fat milk or equivalent milk products regularly.
    • 8.12 Differentiate between nutritious and non-nutritious beverages
      • HBO 5: Drink plenty of water every day.
      • HBO 6: Limit foods and beverages high in added sugars, solid fat, and sodium.
      • HBO 13: Support others to eat healthy.
    • 8.13 Summarize the benefits of limiting the consumption of solid fat, added sugar, and sodium.
      • HBO 6: Limit foods and beverages high in added sugars, solid fat, and sodium.
      • HBO 8: Eat healthy snacks.
      • HBO 9: Eat healthy foods when dining out.
      • HBO 13: Support others to eat healthy.
• Curriculum Standards (Common Core)
  • MATH.CONTENT.6.RP.A.3.D
    • Use ratio reasoning to convert measurement units; manipulate and transform units appropriately when multiplying or dividing quantities.
  • MATH.CONTENT.7.RP.A.2
    • Recognize and represent proportional relationships between quantities.