Staff Writer
PRESQUE ISLE – Fifth-graders in Cheryl Martin’s and Robin Norsworthy’s classes at Zippel Elementary School now know more about fats, food labels, healthy snacks and fast foods than ever before.
The students recently participated in a health fair where they presented a variety of topics to the other fifth-grade classes, as well as the fourth-grade students.
“Our health curriculum has several topics, and we aren’t able to get to them all in detail,” said Martin. “We found that if we split this up between the two classes, each group gets to learn something new, and then we have both of our classes give a talk to the rest of the group. It’s more condensed, specific learning.
“We gave them a list of ideas, but we also looked at some of the topics and issues these kids at this age are dealing with or will be dealing with when they get to middle school … smoking, chewing tobacco and exercise,” she said. “Our hope is to expose the students to all these health topics so they’ll be more aware of situations they may encounter.”
Student Ben Buckley’s team presented “Healthy Teeth and Gums.”
“We wrote down our top-three health fair topics, and our teacher picked who would work as a team trying to make sure we’d work good together,” he said. “We started working on the project in late March, and I’ve learned a lot.
“I learned that gum disease is gross, and you need to take care of your teeth every day … all the time,” said Buckley. “It was really fun doing this.”
In addition to their peers, the students presented their topics at night to their parents and community members.
“I don’t mind public speaking,” Buckley said. “The more we say it, the easier it is to remember it.”
Madalyn Caron’s team focused on “Personal Hygiene.”
“We’re presenting how to wash your hands and take care of your body, and keeping your fingernails and body clean,” she said. “We got our information from the Internet and books.”
Caron’s team made posters to add to their display.
“I was in charge of making posters and bringing stuff in, and talking about washing your body and taking care of acne,” she said. “We also have different products like hand sanitizers, soaps and body washes. I hope people learn to keep themselves clean and make sure they’re healthy.
“I learned that if you don’t keep yourself clean, you’ll be dirty, and if you use antiperspirant, your pores will block up,” said Caron.
Mitchell Kelley and his partners discussed “Sugar.”
“We talked about the sugar content in different food and drink items,” he said. “We’ve got things like ice cream, cookies, chips, sodas and brownies. There’s a lot of sugar in all those items. I was surprised how much sugar is in Sierra Mist. It has 42 grams of sugar in a can.
“I also learned that sugar is in a lot of foods … mostly treats … the good tasting stuff,” said Kelley. “I’m talking about what sugar can do to children like causing drowsiness, decreased activity and eczema. We all brought stuff in, and made the posters. It was fun working together. I hope people learn not to eat too much sugar … it’s very bad for you.”
“Skin Protection” was the topic Amanda Palmer and her team presented.
“If you’re out in the sun between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., you’re likely to have a sunburn because that’s when the sun’s rays are the strongest,” she said. “People should wear protective clothing, sunglasses, sun block and hats.”
Palmer said she learned that trees don’t always provide the best shade from the sun.
“I thought like when you’re under a tree, or an umbrella, that the sun wouldn’t get to you,” she said, “but the sun bounces off reflective things and it’s always on you. It can bounce off the ground and back up to you.
“I hope people learn from our presentation that tans are never healthy,” said Palmer, “and can harm you in many ways.”
Martin said the students worked on their presentations for three to four weeks.
“Both of us love teaching health,” she said, “so we enjoy doing this. It really helps build their confidence, too. I can think of some students who would not get up in front of the classroom in January with some of the projects we’ve done, but now they’re standing there teaching fourth- and fifth-graders.”
“Every year the students put a lot of time and thought into the health fair,” said Norsworthy. “I’m really happy with what they did. They did a great job.”
Staff photo/Scott Mitchell Johnson
SHARING INFORMATION about fast food with other students at Zippel Elementary School are, from left: fifth-graders Collin Turner, John Freeman, Ashley Trask and Gabbie Penaloza.
Staff photo/Scott Mitchell Johnson
CHRIS STEPP, left, and Chase Simmons share the dangers of chewing tobacco with classmates at the recent fifth-grade health fair at Zippel Elementary School.
Staff photo/Scott Mitchell Johnson
AMY TRASK models protective bike riding equipment while presenting her health fair topic, Exercise, with partners, from left: Joseph Thorpe and Cody McGlinn, at the fifth-grade health fair held recently at Zippel Elementary School.
Staff photo/Scott Mitchell Johnson
MODELING HATS that can help protect against the sun’s rays are, from left: Kate Leavitt, Amanda Palmer, Keeghan Lowe, Colin McKay and Jacob Mills. The students were among the many fifth-graders at Zippel Elementary School who participated in a recent health fair.
Staff photo/Scott Mitchell Johnson
DEMONSTRATING THE IMPORTANCE of washing your hands is fifth-grader Isaac Michaud, as classmates, from left: Cheyenne Junkins and Jordi Legassie look on. The students were team members during the recent health fair at Zippel Elementary School where they discussed personal hygiene.
Staff photo/Scott Mitchell Johnson
SUGAR CONTENT IN FOOD was the health fair topic for Zippel Elementary School fifth-graders, from left: Erin Ackerson, Mitchell Kelley and James Smith. Kelley said he was surprised to learn that a can of Sierra Mist has 42 grams of sugar in it.
