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I am student teaching and I want to cover the book The Gas We Pass: The Story of Farts by Shinta Cho in a lesson about the human body. I couldn't find any lesson plans on passing gas/ farting for elementary students. I think this would be useful to make passing gas less embarrassing, plus it would make an educational lesson. On the downside I think it may be hard to pull off. Any suggestions?
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Hi Mara,
The NSTA Learning Center has a Science Object you might be interested in: Nutrition: What Happens to the Food I Eat? It is an on'line interactive module that helps teachers better understand the science content they teach. I hope this helps a little.
Carolyn
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Hi Mara,
What grade level are you teaching? I have an elementary level CD called The Teacher and the Rockbots that has two songs that would work well with your lesson. The first is an introduction to the scientific method that talks about an uncle farting at Thanksgiving dinner and the how the student uses the scientific method to find out what happened. The second is title 'Digestive System, Where Will I Go?' and is a cute song that steps students through the digestive system. They are funny, quirky songs, but my students love to listen to them (and don't even realize they are learning while they have fun!). Best of luck with your lesson! Be sure to let us know how it goes.
Maureen
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Thank you Maureen and Adah! I will look at those resources.
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You may want to check out the yuckiest site on the Internet; http://yucky.discovery.com/flash/
They cover topics such as pimples, burps, and farts. It might be a good site for your students to explore.
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Mara,
I think it's great to teach the students about passing gas. It seems to be something they all find funny and can sometimes be a distraction depending on the students. I agree with Carolyn about incorportating into heath and nutrition. Many grades cover the imporatnce of eating healthy and digestion etc. Good Luck!
:)
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Wow, what an engaging topic and lesson. I'm really interested in how you will implement it when you have decided how to teach it. Can you please share how the lesson goes with your students when you're done?
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In my middle school classroom, this was often an issue. Let's face it, middle school boys are gross sometimes. Anyway, I insisted that they always use the correct terminology - flatulence, flatulated, etc. They looked for excuses to use their new terms for about a week, then it wore off.
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I was not able to find any lesson plans but I found this article.
http://kidshealth.org/kid/talk/yucky/fart.html
The article is well-written and uses kid-friendly language. It also explains the science behind farts. If you have time you might want to check out the entire web site. There are lots of video clips, articles, and activities that you can use in any future lessons. Hope this helps! Good luck!
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I found this activity you could do:
Fart Journal
What it teaches: Observation skills; how certain foods affect our bodies
What to do: Have students keep a journal of how many times they pass gas for one week. (Any kind of flatulence counts.) Collect the data in a slotted box to maintain privacy. As a class, calculate how many times, on average, they pass gas in a single day. Next, ask students to eat beans or another food, such as broccoli, that produces gas. Have students keep track of their flatulence for another day or two to see if beans really are “the musical fruit.”
I think this is an interesting way of having students pay attention to their body and to see that passing gas is something that everyone does and should not be embarassed about it.
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Kendra,
I too teach middle school and I agree with you on both points - they love to be gross (especially the boys, but the girls like to giggle at it), and the wear off effect. Every year on the first fart, I stop class and give a quick lesson in terminology and proper classroom etiquette. Students now know to raise their hands (quickly if need be) and ask permission to leave the room to be flatulent. They are also instructed to move away from the door as this can lead to "blow back". Later in the year as we are exploring diffusion the topic is broached again and students discuss how fart particles in the air. We usually laugh quite a bit during this lesson with certain students bearing the "butt" of the joke. They always seem to enjoy this and the learning stays year to year. They say the most effective way to teach is to make it real for your students. Doesn't get more real than this.......
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Passing gas is always fun to talk about! I have a 5th grade son who has read several 'amazing' books on the subject. Here are a few: Sweetfarts, The Day My Butt Went Psycho, Butt Wars etc. so in case you would like to add a literary component. . .of course you would have to take into consideration the climate/culture of your parents:)
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Fart or passing the gas is a physiological process. It provides the warning when the body is ready to undergo bowel movement. Since the body rejects what is not needed, then students may be comfortable to accept the fact that farting is a normal natural phenomenon, and that nobody should be embarrassed if it happens beyond one's control.
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Just covered the topic in seventh grade today while discussing digestion. Check out the book Grossology, it has four pages on the subject. We also talked about the bacteria living in our large intestine that is the real gas producer.
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Rachel's idea of the fart journal would be an awesome activity to do with the students. It would definitely be an interesting one for all involved, but could very well be fascinating to learn. Let us know what activity you decided to do.
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This was a great forum! I would love to incorporate the book into my lessons. I teach Kindergarten and it's not uncommon for students to pass gas all day long, especially when they are sitting at the carpet listening to a story. The good thing is Kindergartners are very forgiving. They may giggle but they don't really make a stink (no pun intended - hahaha). Another book I like to read is Everyone Poops by taron Gomi. This talks about pooping and how it is natural for all to do this. It also describes the different types of poop. It's not as gross as you think - it's a really kid friendly book. Thanks to all for sharing all the interesting sites as well - I can't wait to check out the yuckiest site!
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Kids of all ages (I teach freshmen!) find body functions funny, but there really isn't any way to really cover this 100% tactfully - someone inevitably takes care of that. No matter how tactfully I try to present things, I am always amazed that there is at least one freshman (usually a male) who has the ability to pass gas at will, and will do so with great comedic timing. You just need to acknowledge that there will be giggling, lots of it, and be prepared to pause often in whatever activity/lesson you plan to go with it. With my ninth graders, I have an entire lecture/discussion that's related to Newton's Laws of Motion that's centered on the initial question "Why do astronauts need to wear seat-belts when they use the bathroom?" (Think of your body as being a giant balloon rocket when gas is passed). When we get to density, we occasionally even end up revisiting the topic. I still have students that I have taught YEARS ago that I run into that have said that this was one of their more memorable science moments - talk about facilitating retention! This can be a great (albeit potentially gross) way to definitely generate interest in the topic you are planning to cover.
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