Sugar Shock!!!

This was a great way to keep all the students actively engaged and focused throughout the entire lesson. At the same time, it provides a great informal assessment for the teacher.

They were doing good…until this cutie read her sentence:

The average American child eats 116 POUNDS of sugar every year. Quick! What do you think??

One at a time, we continued to read each sentence and students identified if it was True or False.

Students worked together to find EVIDENCE to support that information that was provided on the sentences about sugar.

For homework, I told the students to bring in a food for our sugar experiment.

Meanwhile, I went to Target to buy a 5 pound bag of pure sugar, and my own baggies of candy, just in case someone forget. Because, you know, it’s not like I have any of these things in my teacher desk. :)

Kids brought in yogurt, almonds, “fruit” roll-ups, Skittles, Snickers, cookies….sugar galore! We had the necessities for our sugar experiment.

We started our experiment on sugar with the understanding that  one teaspoon is equivalent to 4 grams of sugar.

Students used a teaspoon to measure how many grams of sugar their snack contained.

Yikes!!! Look at all the sugar that the Snickers bar contains!? The “wow” and “yuck” factor were really magnified by the tall vials that I chose to use for this experiment!

We then lined up all the snacks and the amount of sugar in each snack, in order from the least amount of sugar to the greatest amount of sugar.

Needless to say, my students truly were in….

The Skittles on the other hand….37 grams of sugar! (I actually really like Skittles, too!!)

Once we saw the results of this experiment, the students sorted pictures of food into two categories: low sugar and high sugar:

Many of the foods that were on the picture cards were part of the sugar experiment. The students used the nutrition labels to find the EXACT amount of sugar in the food, before classifying it as “high” or “low” sugar.

Later that week, my students became Sugar Sleuths and sorted the true and false statements.

This was a great way to extend the whole group lesson that we did earlier in the week.

My students then shared their learning with a friend from another third grade class. One of my students was paired up with another third grader from another class. My “sugar experts” taught their new friends about what they learned from all of our lessons.

Perhaps the teacher learned a lesson during this lesson! While finding more information about sugar, I learned some unfortunate news about one of my new breakfast foods.

You know how McDonald’s just recently introduced their “healthy” oatmeal? Well, turns out that it has 21 ingredients and the same amount of sugar as a Snickers bar. :(

Read the whole article here: McDonald’s “Wholesome” Oatmeal: Same Calories as a Snickers Bar?

Sugar Shock- Brace yourself and brace your students for the sad but true facts about sugar. For example, did you know that the average American child eats 116 POUNDS of sugar a year? Yep! You read that right! This is a lesson the students have to see before they believe!!

**** File was updated on 2-6-17….please redownload to get all the new goodies that I added to this file!****

Activity 1: Harmful Effects of Sugar Article- Students read the article independently, as a whole group, or with partners and fill out the “3,2,1” graphic organizer to reflect on what they learned. Display the colorful “sugar shock” poster and “warning” and an introduction to reading the article. Resources include a color photograph to display, a one page article about sugar, and two graphic organizers to choose from.

Activity 2: True and False Interactive Sort- There are 16 cards that have a sentence about sugar. One at a time, a student reads the card and the class determines if the statement is a true or false by holding up their sign. Students have a discussion about the statement and place in under the correct category. After this part of the lesson is complete, students will independently read, cut, and sort the sentences into “true” and “false” statements. Resources include directions, 16 statements about sugar, one blank template to write your own, an answer key, and a “sugar shock” color poster to print if you choose to display for a bulletin board.

Activity 3: Sugar Sleuths- As a follow up to the whole group true and false interactive sort, students turn into sugar sleuths and independently (or with a partner) read, cut out, and sort all sentences into their own book.

Activity 4: High Sugar/Low Sugar Food Sort- There are 36 photographs of real food that students must identify as “high sugar” or “low sugar.” Students sort the foods into the correct category. This can be done as a whole group or as a center. Resources include a color informational poster about high sugar foods, 36 real photographs in color of common foods, and “high sugar/low sugar” cards to print.

Activity 5: Sugar Shock Experiment- Your students may just go into shock after this experiment! Students use real sugar to measure out the amount of sugar in their favorite snack. Students compare the amount of sugar in their food to the other snacks students tested.

Activity 6: Letter Writing Reflection- Students will reflect on what they learned throughout this unit by writing a letter about sugar. However, this will be done with a creative twist! Students will write about the topic from the first person point of view, which means that they are writing from the perspective of sugar! Included for this activity is directions for the students, 2 letter templates, an example of a finished letter, and a colorful poster “Dear Humans, Love Sugar” poster to display as a bulletin board.

Activity 7: No Sugar Challenge- What better way to end the unit than with a fun challenge? Students can choose to participate in a “no sugar” or “low sugar” challenge for 10 days. Resources include a note home listing a challenge for each day, a poster to display with facts from the American Heart Association about added sugars, and a participation award in color and also black and white.

Have a great weekend!! :)