Fast Food

							Fast Food
Who’s to Blame?




   Fast Food : Unit One
  Reading selections for unit:
Brownlee, Shannon. “It’s Portion Distortion That
  Makes America Fat.” Sacramento Bee. 5 Jan. 2003
Barboza, David. “ If You Pitch It, They Will Eat It.”
  New York Times. 3. Aug. 2003.
Weintraub, Daniel. “The Battle Against Fast Food
  Begins in the Home”. Sacramento Bee. 17 Dec.
  2002.
Zincenko, David. “Don’t Blame the Eater.” New York
  Times. 23 Nov. 2002.
                     Fast Food : Unit One
Grammar Focus of unit:

     Identifying Complete
               vs.
       Incomplete Ideas
         Subject & Verbs
        Phrases & Clauses




             Fast Food : Unit One
 Fast Food:
DAY ONE


  Fast Food : Unit One
Fast Food : Unit One
 Activity 1: Getting Ready to
             Read
~On a separate sheet of paper, write for
 10 minutes on the following topic:


Who’s at fault for America’s
 growing weight problem?


              Fast Food : Unit One
         Noticing Language
1. Kids are suing McDonalds for making them
    fat.

2. Because more children are obese, type 2
   diabetes has increased in children by 25
   percent.

3. Although McDonald’s is on every corner.

4. The fast-food industry is vulnerable.
                  Fast Food : Unit One
Every sentence has two parts:
                        and

1. The verb (predicate) is always related to
    the subject
2. The verb expresses:
   -Action (eat, stop, buy, make, succeed)
   -State of being (am, is was, were, become,
   appear)
   -Mental states (know, think, feel, believe)
3. The verb either stands alone as the main
    verb (ate) or uses a helping verb (will eat)
                  Fast Food : Unit One
         Hints to Success

1. The verb usually comes after the
  subject.
    I exercise one hour every day.


2. If the sentence is a question, the
  subject follows the verb or is in the
  verb phrase.
    Are kids consuming too many calories?
                 Fast Food : Unit One
            Assignment
~Complete Grammar Exercise 2: Identifying
 verbs & verb phrases

      **you may write on the worksheet

~turn your paragraph & this exercise into
  the front bin when the bell rings


                Fast Food : Unit One
         Answers to Exercise 2:
Exercise 2: Identifying verbs and verb
 phrases
      (Underline answers in a different color.)

1.   started                 2. was
3.   worked             4. were
5.   got                6. have crossed
7.   should know        8. are
9.   needs              10. ‘ll [will] see

     (Action verbs like “start” usually have progressive
      forms—“he is starting.” “Being” verbs like “is” and
     “got” (meaning “become”) do not. We can’t say, “He
                      was getting lucky.”)
                         Fast Food : Unit One
Fast Food:
DAY Two


  Fast Food : Unit One
Activity 2: Surveying the Text

1. What do the titles “It’s Portion
  Distortion That Makes America Fat”
  and “If You Pitch It, They Will Eat” tell
  you about the author’s positions on
  who is responsible for America’s
  weight problem?


                Fast Food : Unit One
 Activity 2: Surveying the Text,
              cont.

2. What do you think is the purpose of
  these articles?




              Fast Food : Unit One
 Activity 2: Surveying the Text,
              cont.

3. “Portion Distortion” as published in
  The Sacramento Bee, and “If you
  Pitch It” was published in The New
  York Times. What similarities do you
  think these articles might have? What
  differences? Do you think they will be
  equally reliable?

               Fast Food : Unit One
 Activity 2: Surveying the Text,
              cont.

4. What else can you tell about the
  articles just by looking at them?




               Fast Food : Unit One
 Activity 3: Making Predictions
      & Asking Questions
1. Read the first three and the last
   paragraphs of Brownlee’s article. What
   is the point of comparing burger’s, fries
   and cigarettes? What arguments so you
   think she will make?
2. Read the first three and the last
   paragraphs of Barboza’s article.
   According to Barboza, who is
   responsible for America’s weight
   problem? What arguments do you think
                   make?
   he is going to Fast Food : Unit One
    Making Predictions & Asking
         Questions, cont.
3. Who is the intended audience for these
   articles? How do you know this?

4. What information and ideas are the
   authors likely to draw on to convince you
   of their positions?

5. Reword the titles and subtitles and turn
    them into questions for you to answer
    after you have read the full articles.
                 Fast Food : Unit One
        Grammar: Exercise 3
  Identifying compound verbs & verb
                phrases
~Verb Complements: in addition to the main
 verb phrase, verbs can act as nouns that follo
 the main verb
**don’t confuse these with the main verb!!
eg.
  -Eating often at fast-food restaurants can lead
  to obesity.
  -Americans continue eating hamburgers
  even though fast food is bad for them.
                  Fast Food : Unit One
 Fast Food:
DAY THREE


   Fast Food : Unit One
    Vocabulary Exercise

~Complete Vocabulary Self-Assessment
 worksheet.




              Fast Food : Unit One
            First Reading
~Read:
 -Brownlee’s, “It’s Portion Distortion
 That Makes America Fat.”
 -Barboza’s “ If You Pitch It, They Will
 Eat It.”
 -Weintraub’s “The Battle Against Fast
 Food Begins in the Home”.
 -Zincenko’s, “Don’t Blame the Eater.”
               Fast Food : Unit One
 Fast Food:
DAY FOUR


   Fast Food : Unit One
            First Reading
~Finish Reading:
 -Brownlee’s, “It’s Portion Distortion
 That Makes America Fat.”
 -Barboza’s “ If You Pitch It, They Will
 Eat It.”
 -Weintraub’s “The Battle Against Fast
 Food Begins in the Home”.
 -Zincenko’s, “Don’t Blame the Eater.”
               Fast Food : Unit One
     Grammar Exercise 4
**It is easier to recognize the subject of a
  sentence what you find the verb first!!
• The subject of the sentence usually:
  – Occurs before the verb
  – Tells who or what does the action


    **Complete Grammar exercise 4.


                  Fast Food : Unit One
     Fast Food:
    DAY FIVE

Annotating the Articles

        Fast Food : Unit One
     Rereading Exercises
1. Complete Reading worksheet-
  Activity 1: Rereading the Text




               Fast Food : Unit One
       How to Annotate:
      Specific Annotations
• Think back about your original predictions. Which
  predictions were right? (List them) Which ones did
  you have to modify as you read “Portion
  Distortion”?
• What is the main idea of “Portion Distortion”? Who
  does Brownlee think is to blame for America’s
  obesity problem?
• On your article, underline or highlight the sentence
  that most clearly indicates who is to blame. (Use a
  different color or mark this clearly.)
• What does Brownlee think is the solution to the
  problem?
                    Fast Food : Unit One
     Rereading Exercises
1. Complete Reading worksheet-
  Activity 2: Annotating the Text

2. Complete Reading worksheet-
  Activity 3: Looking Closely @
  Language



               Fast Food : Unit One
      How to Annotate:
    Standard Annotations
Underline, highlight, draw arrows, and
 make comments about main ideas,
 questions or objections, and
 connections between ideas in the left
 hand margin. Write your reactions to
 what Brownlee says in the right hand
 margins.


               Fast Food : Unit One
 Activity 3: Looking Closely at Language
              (Understanding what you read)
1. According to Zincenko’s “Don’t Blame the Eater,” why are kids
   suing McDonald’s?
2. According to Zincenko, what are the choices for American kids
   to get an affordable meal? Use the work “option” in your
   answer.
3. What causes 30 percent of the new cases of childhood diabetes
   in America?
4. Give an example of an alternative to fast food. How easy is it for
   kids to purchase that alternative?
5. Do people who buy fast food know how many calories they are
   eating? Use the word “consume” or “consumer” in your answer.
6. What do you think of kids who file lawsuits against the fast-food
   industry?
7. Do you agree with Zincenko that the fast-food industry is
   vulnerable?
8. Do you make informed choices :when you buy fast food?
                           Fast Food Unit One
Fast Food:
DAY SIX


  Fast Food : Unit One
     Rereading Exercises
1. Complete Reading worksheet-
  Activity 4: Considering the Structure of
  the Text




                Fast Food : Unit One
        Writing a Summary
~Rhetorical Reading: p.59-62
Basis Components of a Summary:
    -Authors Name
    -Title (of work you are summarizing)
    -Basic points covered in article / text
    **remember—YOUR OPINION does not
      go in summary (unless they ask for it)


                 Fast Food : Unit One
 Fast Food:
DAY SEVEN


   Fast Food : Unit One
 Fast Food:
DAY EIGHT


   Fast Food : Unit One
          Peer Response to
             Summary
• Return the Peer Response Form so your
  partner can revise his or her Summary/
  Response later.

• Then talk about both articles with your partner
  and decide whether you agree or disagree
  with the authors’ views about marketing and
  its relationship to obesity.


                   Fast Food : Unit One
 Fast Food:
DAY NINE


  Fast Food : Unit One
     Writing Assignment
• (See Writing Assignment Handout




              Fast Food : Unit One