Herbivores, Carnivores, Omnivores, Oh My!
What Teeth Can Tell Us About What We Eat
Lesson Information
Grades:
3, 4, 5
Subjects:
Science, Life Science, Biology, Health, English
Key Vocabulary:
Consumers, producers, energy, organisms, predators, prey, canines, incisors, molars, serrations, bacteria, cavities
[gravityform id=”17″ title=”true”]
Educational Standards
National Health Education Standards:
1.2.1 – Identify that healthy behaviors affect personal health by gaining an understanding of the types of foods humans should eat based on tooth composition – eat meals, snacks, and drinks that are good for our teeth and bodies, brush our teeth and see the dentist.
1.2.5 – Describe why it is important to seek health/dental care due to the highly processed nature of human diet and the impacts our ‘unnatural’ diet has on our teeth – decay and needing to see the dentist to diagnose and treat decay
2.2.1 – Identify how the family influences personal oral health practices and behaviors – parents buy our food, and our food is not necessarily compatible with our tooth composition so we need to brush our teeth
2.2.2 – Identify what the school can do to support personal health practices and behaviors – brushing teeth after eating because our teeth are not meant to be exposed to so much sugar so we get tooth decay, providing meals, snacks and drinks that are compatible with our tooth composition, schools may have hygienists/dentists come in to manage oral health care
3.2.1 – Identify that adults and the dentist can help promote oral health by providing us with foods that are compatible with our tooth composition and are good for our bodies, and cleaning our teeth
5.2.1 – Identify situations when health-related decision is needed – what foods to consume based on tooth composition, when to ask for help if our teeth hurt and why our teeth can hurt due to our diets, who to ask for help if our teeth hurt
7.2.1 – Demonstrate healthy practices and behaviors to maintain or improve personal health based on the information learned about human teeth and appropriate diet and oral health care (visiting the dentist) to prevent decay
7.2.2 – Demonstrate behaviors that avoid or reduce health risks based on the information learned about human teeth and appropriate diet and oral health care (visiting the dentist) to prevent decay
8.2.1 – Make requests to promote personal health based on the information learned about human teeth and appropriate diet and oral health care (visiting the dentist) to prevent decay
8.2.2 – Encourage peers to make positive health choices based on the information learned about human teeth and appropriate diet and oral health care (visiting the dentist) to prevent decay
National English & Language Arts Standards:
7 – Students use a variety of sources to communicate their discoveries and knowledge from the module
8 – Students use a variety of technological and information resources to gather and synthesize information and create and communicate knowledge by using the online module and provided resources to develop written communication about the knowledge being dispersed and explored in the module
Next Generation Science Standards:
3-LS4-1 – Analyze and interpret data from fossils to provide evidence of the organisms and the environments in which they lived long ago
4-LS1-1 – Construct an argument that plants and animals have internal and external structures that function to support survival, growth, behavior, and reproduction
5-PS3-1 – Use models to describe that energy in animals’ food (used for body repair, growth, motion, and to maintain body warmth) was once energy from the sun