Is obesity a disease or just a preventable risk factor for other diseases? Scholars attempt to form their own opinions by reading a background of the issue and watching videos that explore the main pro and con arguments using an included website. Pupils also discover their body mass indices, access other readers' comments, and read about the history of obesity as a disease.

Concepts

obesity, health problems, debate, controversial topics, preparing for discussions, body mass index

Show More Show Less

Additional Tags

english language arts

Show More Show Less

Instructional Ideas

• Have students research how much the average American portion size has increased over the past few decades and create graphs to display their findings 
• Allow learners to join the discussion online by posting digital comments

Classroom Considerations

• Subject matter may be sensitive for some individuals 
• Actual time needed to research the debate topic varies 

Pros

• Provides a color-coded United States map showing obesity levels by state
• Packed with informative resources, including extensive footnotes and source biographies

Cons

• None

Common Core

RL.9-10.1 RL.11-12.1 RI.9-10.1 RI.11-12.1