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Lesson 8

Prime-Time Smartness

Background

During the late 1980s and early 1990s, 26% of all children watched over four hours of TV a day. Essentially, TV watching for many children has become a full-time job! On average, youth spend more time watching television each year than they spend in school. This tendency toward an inactive or sedentary lifestyle is a contributing factor to youths' being overweight. The more television a child watches, the more likely he or she will be overweight. The increase in television viewing has also been associated with elevated cholesterol levels and poor cardiovascular fitness in youth. Young people should be encouraged to consider healthy alternatives to television viewing, particularly choices that involve more physical activity.

Estimated Teaching Time and Related Subject Areas

Estimated teaching time: 1 hour, 30 minutes
Related subject areas: reading, math

Objectives

1. Students will identify a television program(s) they will not view in order to participate in an alternative activity.
2. Students will create a list of alternative activities to consider in place of watching television.

Materials

1. Envelopes containing "Dear Student" letter and "Pledge" - one per student
2. Small white envelopes for signed copy of the pledge - one per student
3. Worksheet #1, "My Favorite Prime-Time Shows"
4. Packet of 'Prime-Time Smartness Challenge" materials (one for each student who wants to take the challenge):

"Hello Again"
"The Star Page"
"The Questions Page"

5. Certificate of Congratulations for students who take the challenge
6. Freeze My TV program summaryining "Dea

Procedure

Part I: Motivation

1. Begin by telling class that the office has delivered special letters addressed to "Students Only." The teacher should also receive a letter marked "Teacher Only." (Pass out a letter to each child, with address similar to following example.) Option: If your school can afford the expense (approximately $10.00 total for postage), have the letters mailed to each student in the class.

2. Provide time for the class to open the letters and read the pages quietly. Encourage students who need assistance to work in pairs.

3. Pretend to open the "teacher only" letter, then tell students that they have been asked to create a list of things that could be done at home in "prime-time" hours. (Write the words "prime time" on the board.)

Part II: Development

1. Ask students to tell the meaning of "prime time" as it relates to television viewing. (Note: Prime time refers to the period of the day during which most programs on television record their highest viewing audience.)

2. Have students identify some favorite shows that they watch between 4 p.m. and 9 p.m.

3. Conduct a class poll to determine the class's favorite shows: first choice, second choice, and third choice.

4. Ask students to study the chart to determine which program would probably be easiest for the class to "pass up." (In the example above, Batman was chosen as a third choice by more students, so it would probably be the easiest not to watch.)

5. Ask students to think of activities in which they could participate when not watching television. (As the list is brainstormed, record answers on the board. List at least 7 to 10 activities.) Sample alternatives to TV: Read a book, write a poem, play a game with brother/sister, help a little brother/sister, play basketball, dance, walk to the store, help with chores.

Part III: Application

1. Have students review and discuss the list to determine if activities are safe (not dangerous) to do.

2. Guide students in reviewing the list again to determine which activities involve the greatest level of physical activity.

3. Guide them in coding the list as follows:

(+) = some physical activity (e.g., dancing, stretching, playing ball)
(-) = very little physical activity (e.g., reading, playing a board game)

Have students cite the benefits of choosing activities that involve physical activity.
Sample Benefits:
· Exercises the muscles.
· Exercises the heart.

4. Distribute "My Favorite Prime-Time Shows." Have students write in their three favorite television programs for each day. Ask them to circle one for each day that they would agree to pass up if they were to take "The Prime-Time Smartness Challenge" (see extension).

Part IV: Summary and Extension

1. Explain the "Prime-Time Smartness Challenge" to students. Record names of students who agree to participate. Distribute packet of materials.
The Challenge does not have to be limited to students who watch TV. If a student does not watch any TV, he or she can still participate in the daily activities of the Challenge. Where appropriate, instead of substituting for television time, the student may substitute physically active time for physically inactive time. For example, instead of sitting and listening to music, the student could dance to the music.

2. Create a bulletin board titled "Winner's Circle." Display pictures of students who participate in the "Prime-Time Challenge." Add the "Certificates of Congratulations" of those students who return their materials to the teacher.

3. Make a bar graph with the class to show the numbers of students who give up 30 minutes of television each day for the week. Each morning, have one of the students fill in the bar for the previous day.

4. Make a pie chart of an average day (24 hours). Have the students estimate and display the number of hours each day they do the following activities:

Sleep	Do homework
Eat	Bathe/dress/brush teeth, etc.
Spend in school	Other activities
Play

5. Explain the Freeze My TV promotion to students (summary provided; also see lesson 25). Tell them it will be another TV-related activity they will participate in.

Dear Student: How would you like to be smarter in just 5 days? Yes, that's right! You can be smarter than you are now in just 5 (five) days! I know you are smart now, but you can become even smarter. I know the secret and I will share it with you, if you promise not to give up after the first or second day. I will prove to you that you can be smarter if you follow my instructions for five days. "WHAT'S THE SECRET?" you ask. It's so simple, you can easily do it. Yes . . . you, you, you! Oh, I almost forgot to tell you . . . In order to be smarter in 5 days, you MUST believe in yourself. What good is being smarter if you don't believe you are smart already? What I'm offering you is a chance to be smarter than you are right now. Being smart usually takes a long time, but my method will take only 5 days!!! First, I must be honest and tell you that you must sign the pledge on the next page to prove that you are really brave enough to succeed. After signing the pledge, fold the page and put it in an envelope. Then give it to me in exchange for the Prime-Time Smartness Challenge Materials.

 

DO NOT TURN THE PAGE UNTIL YOU HAVE READ THIS PAGE CAREFULLY!

Worksheet 1

My Favorite
Prime-Time Shows

Directions
Write the names of three of your favorite television shows on the lines below each day of the week.

Monday
1. _________________________________________________________________
2. _________________________________________________________________
3. _________________________________________________________________

Tuesday
1. _________________________________________________________________
2. _________________________________________________________________
3. _________________________________________________________________

Wednesday
1. _________________________________________________________________
2. _________________________________________________________________
3. _________________________________________________________________

Thursday
1. _________________________________________________________________
2. _________________________________________________________________
3. _________________________________________________________________

Friday
1. _________________________________________________________________
2. _________________________________________________________________
3. _________________________________________________________________

Name ______________________________________________________________
Class _______________________________________________________________

Prime-Time Smartness Challenge Materials

The Star Page

ECHIDNAS (E-KID-NAS)
Echidnas are egg-laying mammals. The female deposits a single egg in her pouch while lying on her back. The egg hatches about ten days later, but a young echidna stays in its mother's pouch and feeds from milk "patches" until its spines begin to develop. An echidna's spines are its protection. If threatened, the animal curls up in a ball, offering a mouthful of sharp spines to other animal attackers. On soft soil, it will use its long foreclaws to bury itself and escape heat and disturbances. The echidna has short legs, but they are very powerful. The animal can dig a hole rapidly in soft or hard ground.

Prime-Time Smartness Challenge
Put a check in the box next to each day that you succeed in following your pledge:

Day 1: I gave up watching ________________________________. Instead, I read The Star Page three times. For the rest of the 30 minutes
I ________________________________. (Ideas: played a game, danced to music, drew, helped a family member with something he or she was doing.)

Day 2: I gave up watching ________________________________. I read The Star Page three times, then I ________________________________ for the rest of the 30 minutes.

Day 3: I'm halfway there. I know I can make it! I gave up watching __________________________. After I read The Star Page three times, I ________________________________.

Day 4: I'm getting smarter¾I can feel it. I gave up watching ____________________. I read The Star Page three times, then I ________________________________.

Day 5: I gave up watching ________________________________.Instead, I did my best to fill out The Questions Page. Now I am finished with the Prime-Time Smartness Challenge!

? The Questions Page ?
(Save for Day 5)
1. By now, you have learned many facts about echidnas. Please list four (or more if you can)! (Tonight, go to someone in your home and tell him or her one interesting fact that you have learned).

1. ______________________________________________________________
2. ______________________________________________________________
3. ______________________________________________________________
4. ______________________________________________________________

2. If someone said that an echidna would make a great pet, would you agree? (Why or why not?) Write a short paragraph explaining your answer.
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________

CONGRATULATIONS!
YOU'RE A WINNER!

_____________________________________________________________________
Student's Name

Do you feel smarter?

Did you know about echidnas before you started this assignment?

Think of all you've learned!

You can give up TV for 30 minutes each day!

Keep up the good work!

Freeze My TV Summary
Freeze My TV, an extension activity to lesson 8 (Prime-Time Smartness), challenges students to keep track of and limit the amount of time they spend watching television in a designated week.

For each day of an entire seven-day week, students will log the number of hours they spend viewing television, watching videotapes, and playing video games. By keeping track of their own viewing habits, students can then see how they compare to other youth their age as well as to the American Academy of Pediatrics' recommended goal of watching no more than two hours of television per day.

In addition to logging television-viewing time, other contest activities include graphing, chart development, and journal writing.

Objectives

1. To have fourth- and fifth-grade students keep track of the time they spend watching television for a week, and to use this information and experience to develop graphs and write journal entries.

2. To have fourth- and fifth-grade students try to limit the time they spend viewing television to no more than two hours each day.

3. To have students think of alternative ways (especially physically active ways) they could spend their time other than watching television. Examples include playing a game, doing a puzzle, reading, talking with friends, singing and dancing to music, helping with chores, moving around, or writing songs or poems.

Materials

Materials for the Freeze My TV promotion are included in lesson 25.