Reflection: The last 2 weeks 15 & 16

Wow, I can't believe it is all over....a month ago I thought we'd never see the end but looking back on everything we have done in this class time really flew by!

WEEK 15

During week 15 we all had to find an online learning activity that either related to our advocacy topic or something health related that we were interested in. I found fun activity for kids dealing with learning how to eat healthy and what foods belonged in what food groups. On Tuesday, Dr. V had Sue Whitney come to class and teach us all how to become JUNKERS! Sue gave us all a copy of her book Junk Beautiful which was really generous and useful! Dr. V also gave us a challenge to make something creative out of something else to show in class. On Thursday, we found out the winners of the challenge who got Sue's other book. We finished up the class outside in the courtyard at UMD with everyone telling what their favorite part of the class was. It was a beautiful day and a great way to end the class.

WEEK 16

Our class didn't meet during week 16 but we still had postings to do. We had to try out our web groups online learning activities and post a eye opener about each one. My group found some really good activities that were fun to try out. This week was a little stressful for me because of the finals and all the end of semester stuff that was due, but I am glad it's all over. I really enjoyed this class, it was unlike any other class I've taken which is good :) I hope everyone has a wonderful summer and keep up the good work~!

Eye Opener: Online Learning Activities

Hey everyone! Last week we had to find a fun online activity to go along with our advocacy project or something that was important to us. This is a summary of what my

web group found for learning activities!

Noah: Health IT Puzzle

Noah choose to have us do a crossword puzzle, which I thought was a great idea. Even though am not the best crossword puzzler, I attempt a couple crosswords a week. It was cool to try doing one in a different format it was was also challenging which added to the experience!

Sara: Stop Smoking Quiz

Sara had us take a stop smoking quiz which I thought was perfect because she seems passionate about this issue. The quiz had shocking statistics as questions that I felt really got the point across to STOP smoking!

Valerie: Health Care Wheel of Fortune

Valerie had a Wheel of Fortune game that was a lot like hang man and forced us to brush up on our health terminology! This game was also fun and challenging, I also found out that it's a little difficult to think of all those different words during the game.

Samantha: Open Door to a Healthy Heart

Sam's game related to mine which focuses on kids eating healthy. This was a cute game that allowed kids to learn more about eating healthy, also I thought it was good that it allowed you to re-do the quiz if you got something wrong.

Good Job Everyone!

Advocacy Project: The Food Groups Game

Title:
Food Groups Game
Reasoning:
So I couldn't find a game that would promote people not being able to sue companies for getting injured while overweight but I did find a fun game for kinds to play to teach them the different food groups.
Purpose:
My hope is that if kids know about the different food groups and which foods belong in them they can make healthier choices. The game is called The Food Groups Game and it's an interactive game where kids drag and drop different foods into the food group it belongs in. The food group spaces vary in size showing how much is needed from each group, for example the grains space is much larger that the oils/extra space. I found this game on the Sheppard's Software Nutrition for Kids website which also offers fun health games called Food Group Drop Game, and Food Group Frenzy.

Instructions:

• Click on this The Food Groups Game hyperlink
• Press the PLAY button in the middle of the screen
• Start dragging and dropping different foods into the provided food groups

hope you enjoy!

Share and Voice: National Atlas

Hello everyone...

I had to an assignment for one of my other classes on the National Atlas website and I found it really cool that you could make your own map and depending on what interests you there are all different things you could map. You can map the whole country or just an individual state things like, crime rate, mortality rates, cancer rates, climate changes, water concerns, transportation, population, and many more. The website is http://nationalatlas.gov/ when you get to the home page all you have to do is click on the yellow "map maker" icon in the upper left hand corner and start making a map! Enjoy!

**The picture above is showing where the most hazardous wastes are handled**

Reflection: Weeks 13 and 14

Hello Everyone, these past two weeks flew by and were a lot of fun!

WEEK 13

During week 13 we all met up at Bagley Nature Area and learned how to use a compass and navigate our way through the woods. There were 14 different stations, we split up into groups and used the markings on the trees and our compasses to find all the different stations. It was a beautiful day and it was really nice to get out of the classroom.

WEEK 14

During week 14 we had someone currently working for Americorp come talk to us. This was really cool because he was actually working at UMD and he was in Grad school, he seemed really driven and was an inspiration. During the end of week 14 Dr. V brought a bag full of "stuff" to class, we broke up into our web groups, and came up with different ways we could use the different items. I really enjoyed this activity because it made everyone think out of the box and there were a lot of great ideas!

I can't believe we are almost done....keep up the good work everyone!!~Thanks for reading

Share and Voice: Jack Black & Global Warming Video

Hey everyone I found this video on YouTube about global warming with Jack Black and I thought it was pretty funny but true at the same time....hope you enjoy it!

Advocacy Project: Letter to Public Official

TO: U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar
302 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510

FROM: Shannon

21Green Falls Road Leaf Town, MN 71111

April 28, 2009

Dear Senator Klobuchar,

I am writing to you to inform you of a serious issue that is happening in our country and I believe you have the voice to make change. Health complications due to weight are increasing in the people of Minnesota and around the U.S. I believe that once the blame is taken away from the companies and manufactures who produce the unhealthy foods, and put on the consumers who choose to not eat healthy, we can make a large step towards a healthier country. The Commonsense Consumption Act of 2009, H.R. 812 proposes that there be a law stating that no legal action may be brought against a food manufacturing companies due to injury someone encountered while being overweight. Many people believe this is a serious issue and I would like you to consider being on our side.

Being able to sue due to injury caused by being overweight is sending the wrong message to our youth. Children need to see adults making healthy choices and taking responsibility for their choices whether healthy or not. While it is unfortunate that people get hurt due to their weight it is not the manufactures fault. Because these people were not forced to eat unhealthy or forced not to exercise they should not be allowed to blame anyone but themselves for the injury. The focus needs to be put education and promotion of healthy living. As a health educator I believe that if I, along with other professionals in the health field work together to promote healthy living at a young age we can decrease the amount of overweight people we have not only in Minnesota but in every state.

I hope to see you vote "yes" on H.R. 812 to ensure the responsibility be put on the consumers who make food choices. We need to protect our children from the path we are headed down and by this bill being passed we can start to make change. In 2004 the health care cost of obesity in Minnesota was $1.3 million, by voting yes and focusing on the education children receive in schools we can reduce this amount as well as all the unnecessary court costs and lawyer fees. I appreciate you taking the time to read my letter and look forward to you supporting this issue.

Sincerely,

Shannon

21Green Falls Road Leaf Town, MN 71111

Source: www.health.state.mn.us/divs/hpcd/chp/obesity/pdf/obesityfactsheet2008.pdf -

*FOR ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH COURSE ONLY