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Welcome at our BLOG for Module 3
Module : Love your body
“LOVE YOUR BODY” MODULE (Physical Wellbeing)
Compilation of Material (PADLET)
A. Food for Health
Students find information about how healthy eating (e.g. Mediterranean diet) can affect their whole wellbeing. Then, working in groups, they carry out various tasks:
1. School Survey : Graph of eating habits & healthy menus
For a week, students keep notes of what they eat each day and fill in their personal energy counter. They make a graphical presentation of their class results. With the help of their teacher they assess and reconsider (if necessary) their eating habits. At home, they inform their families of their findings and together they work on a healthy family menu and exercise. They present their menus in class and share their projects with their Erasmus+ partners.
2. Posters : Nutrients in foods important for our body
Students research and make a list of the nutrients (such as calcium, iron, magnesium, sodium, proteins, etc.) that are important for the various parts of the body (eyes, hair, skin, heart, joints, etc), as well as the kinds of food they are found in. They make posters to put up in the notice boards around the school to raise awareness about healthy eating.
3. Recipe Book : Traditional Food & International Day
Students make a recipe book with the traditional food of their country. They share their recipes with their Erasmus+ partners. If possible, at exchange meetings, students have an international day, prepare national dishes from all participating countries and have a big party with music and dance as well, to celebrate life!
4. Youtube Video
Students find information about the various herbs in their country, (such as chamomile, thyme, oregano, etc.) and their properties and uses in medicine and cooking. They make a video to present on Youtube demonstrating the various uses of these herbs e.g. to make delicious drinks, to soothe pain, to relax, to add in dishes for flavor, to remove stains from clothes, to scent their closet, to make beauty products, etc.
5. Leaflets : Eating disorders
Guest speakers present the problems of eating disorders, such as Anorexia and Bulimia, focusing on causes, symptoms, signs & treatment. Students research more and make leaflets to distribute and increase teen awareness of behavioral and physical signs of an eating disorder, as part of a “reaching out” campaign.
6. Nutrition Workshop
Students will have the chance to visit the university premises of the Biology Department, see the laboratories where biomedical research is conducted and attend a workshop on nutrition concerning obesity, bone and growth during adolescence, nutrition for sport performance and exam preparation, etc.
7. Art Work with fruit and vegetables
Description: Following the art of Mannerism, students get inspired by Archibald’s ideas for portraits to compose four different faces, using fruit and vegetables that are typical of each season in their country. Their art work is proudly presented to the whole school community and parents can buy their children’s work of art and in this way contribute to a good cause (e.g. center for physically disabled kids).
B. Keeping Fit
1. Awareness workshops
Have guest speakers from various Health Centers conduct workshops where students learn or become more aware about important issues on health and fitness. These could also include issues on physical disabilities and developmental difficulties, issues on prevention of injuries and First Aid techniques, as well as giving the students the chance to have a dental check-up, or a scoliosis and flat feet check-up.
2. Advertisement : promote Sports Tourism in your country
Students gather information about places in their country where one can take part in some amazing sports, such as parkour, bungee jumping, rafting, snowboarding, snorkeling, scuba diving, mountain cycling, etc. They can make a video for a tourism advertising campaign (or a Prezi presentation).
3. Funny sketches : body symptoms and emotions
Students research and find out what causes sweating, shivering, nose bleeding, blushing, hiccups, yawning, etc. in order to become aware of the interconnection between emotions and body symptoms.
In pairs, they act-out situations (possibly in a foreign language, like English) and have the rest of the class guess the possible body reactions to these situations. They can make a video of some of these sketches that are likely to turn out to be funny.
4. Human Body Poster : language awareness
Students draw a human body on a large sheet of paper and write the words of as many parts of the body as they can in their mother tongue. They provide the equivalent words for all the foreign languages taught at their school (English, French, German, Spanish, …). They compare the words of all languages, trying to find connections of word origin. Students of different mother tongues contribute with words from their own language, adding a multicultural aspect to the task. Additionally all partner schools can produce a joint project with words in the languages of the participating countries, which can either be carried out through internet or during an exchange visit.
5. “A trip in time” : works of art
Students research and study how “the ideal body” and general appearance were perceived in Europe throughout the centuries or alternatively in their own country. They find paintings (including wall paintings, vases and urns) as well as sculptures to illustrate appearance, with reference also to clothes, behavior, values, lifestyle, nutrition, amenities, entertainment, leisure, art, music, dance and sports.
a) They make a Power Point presentation in the form of “Did you know…?” questions to highlight appearance throughout the centuries.
b) They choose a painting and they animate it and “bring it to life” by taking the part of the people in the painting, imitating their body posture, facial expressions, etc. They have a picture exhibition titled “A trip in time”.
c) Groups of students perform a short act, based on a particular feature of their assigned era e.g. Olympic games, Roman banquets, renaissance dances, etc.
6. “Life is not black or white”: selfies
Students use their ICT skills to create their own portraits, like Andy Warhol’s famous Marilyn Monroe’s colorful faces. They take selfies and portray themselves in the way they perceive or they like to perceive their own image (photo-shop allowed!). The whole school becomes an enormous art exhibition!
C. Health Literacy
1. Start a campaign against addictions
After students in all partner schools have researched and gained insight on issues concerning addictions in adolescence, they can work together to start a campaign to inform their peers about the harm associated with the use of drugs, alcohol, tobacco and other substances. Special mention should be made on teenage addictions to the internet, mobile phones, food, prescription drug misuse, compulsive buying, exercise extremes, etc. Students have panel discussions on the reasons why people choose to smoke or not, start taking drugs or drink to get drunk, spend their life in front of a screen, etc. They elicit ideas on advice how to prevent or help people quit such addictions. They make posters, use graffiti, write mottos (initiate a motto competition), draw cartoons, write songs, etc. to sensitize people against addictions. The campaign can also be addressed to all community members. Additionally students can make specially designed/handcrafted wristbands to distribute to their fellow students and reinforce the campaign against addictions.
2. Mental health: “combat stigma”
a) Students research about mental illness and create leaflets with “Myths and Facts” concerning people’s perceptions.
b) They make posters to combat stigma using inspirational quotes, such as “recovery is a journey that starts with reaching out”, “stamp out stigma” etc.
c) They find famous people who suffered from mental problems (like Van Gogh) and present their lives, focusing on achievement and accomplishments.
3. Sex education : myths & facts
A guest speaker from an authorized center visits the school and involves students in a workshop about sex education: physical changes in puberty, human reproduction, contraception and common misconceptions, prevention of sexually transmitted diseases, blood borne diseases (also with reference to body piercing and tattooing). Myths and Facts leaflets are also appropriate for this issue.
4. Empathy Day : facilities for the handicapped
To experience what handicapped people face in their everyday life and to develop empathy, students try to spend an entire day blindfolded, or with crouches, or with their right hand in a sling. They have to go through all their ordinary chores, just as the handicapped do, and the following day at school they share their experience and feelings with their class. They also assess how friendly their environment is to handicapped people and write a letter to the local authorities or the school board recommending facilities and amenities to make these people’s lives easier. Additionally, they visit a rehabilitation center for the handicapped, interview people, and share experiences with them. Their visit will also be a valuable contribution to safety awareness issues.
5. Teen help line : Health services emergency card/digital database
Students create and publish a plastic-coated card with info and contact numbers of all health related community services for young people, as well as general emergency phone numbers. This card will be distributed to all students to provide a quick reference in case of need or emergency. Additionally, using their ICT skills, students create a digital database with the above information and present it in their school blogs and sites.
6. Positive thinking : texting service
A texting service is also ideal for inspirational quotes. The service texts random feel-good messages to young people who sign up for the service, with a particular emphasis on sending messages at times when young people might be feeling low, such as weekends, exam periods, holiday season, etc.
7. Change the world : Forum Theatre
Forum theatre allows young people to explore and express their views and beliefs on issues that they feel affect their lives. A group of students act out a short play on a specific topic, which can focus on a particular health or wellbeing issue (for instance addictions) and the student audience (the spect-actors) volunteer to step up on the stage, take the role of an actor and suggest different actions in an attempt to change the outcome of the story or suggest another solution to the problem.
8. “Free your Body and Mind” : relaxation techniques
After a demanding class session, students are helped to unwind by taking part in physical movement activities, such as:
a) “Mirrors”: in pairs, facing each other, they move slowly in exactly the same way, as if looking at themselves in a mirror
b) they use their bodies to form words, shapes or body sculptures
c) to develop trust and cooperation, students in pairs take turns to lean their body back, falling into their partner’s hands.
d) in pairs, they play a “blindfolded and dumb” game to develop cooperation and trust.
e) The teacher plays a CD of relaxing music, and asks the students to close their eyes and concentrate on the sound of music, feeling the rhythm through their bodies. For more daring teachers and group of students, they can be asked to stand up next to their desks and move their body to the sound of the music. Instructions for relaxation and group bonding can also be provided e.g. stretch your body up slowly, hold hands in a circle, etc.
