Curriculum Resource Guide Grades 3-5

Curriculum Resource Guide Overview

The Western Sports Museum Curriculum Guide is designed as a resource for teachers planning a field trip to the Sports Museum at the Senator John in , PA. The Guide offers background material, resources, activities and suggestions that will aid in planning a successful, Pennsylvania Academic Standards-based enrichment experience that begins in the classroom, moves to the museum, and concludes back in the classroom.

The Western Pennsylvania Sports Museum Curriculum Guide is not intended to function as a complete curriculum package. It is: • An assemblage of resources to enable efficient and effective learning in the Western Pennsylvania Sports Museum. • Challenging and informative activities to assist teachers in planning their pre-, on site, and post-visit goals and objectives. • Designed to encourage a pro-active classroom field trip experience • Linked to PA Academic Standards to help emphasize to administrators the value of a Sports Museum experience.

Specifically, the Guide contains: • pre- and post-visit activities linked to Pennsylvania Academic Standards • background literature for teachers • student activity sheets and teacher answer keys • essential questions to assist in planning • suggestions for incorporating the Sports Museum into the teaching of history, science and technology, and health, safety and physic education. • an evaluation form for teachers to assess the guide

The Guide’s objectives are aligned with those of the Western Pennsylvania Sports Museum to (Related objectives for teachers are indicated in parentheses.) : • Marshal the evidence that Pittsburgh has experiences high levels of success in sport, surpassing other cities of similar size (Western Pennsylvania citizens have met a higher rate of excellence in sport than citizens in other similarly sized US cities, making sports part of the unique culture of the region.). • Interpret the lives of individuals from the region using biography. • Explore the integral themes of the region: community, identity, ethnicity, race, gender, immigration, Americanization and industrialization (The history of sports in Western Pennsylvania can be used to teach many of the themes prevalent in the PA Academic Standards). • Engage and inspire both regional and national visitors with exhibit content, physical space, and sensory experience . • Foster a dynamic exhibit to increase collections, expand storylines and encourage repeat visitation (encourage students to view sport as part of the human experience that links people with one another and with communities).

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How to Use this Guide in the Classroom

Sports aren’t just about what happens on the playing field. Educators will find that this guide emphasizes the many ways that sport influences western Pennsylvania history. In fact, sports can be used to teach about a variety of subjects ranging from history to science and from physical education to technology. Ultimately, the guide is meant to enrich and complement classroom curricula in these subjects by providing resources and ideas while engaging students in the topic of sport.

Teachers can use the guide to: • interpret the impact of sport in Western Pennsylvania history • suggest research topics, form assignments and evaluate learning • establish field trip expectations and responsibilities • generate classroom discussion • link personal experience with sport to the region’s communities and individuals throughout history • foster intergenerational dialogue about how communities define themselves • validate sport as an enriching life experience • meet PA Academic Standards for History; Health, Safety and Physical Education; Science and Technology Suggestions and activities are provided throughout the guide to assist teachers in meeting these goals. Some activities are fully developed, including systems for evaluation and students activity sheets. Other components offer ideas which teachers can tailor to their respective school and classroom goals. In the end, it is up to each teacher to decide how much of the guide she/he will use. At the end of this packet is an evaluation form. If you use these activities, please let us know how they helped prepare your students for their visit and continue their learning experience after the museum program.

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Materials for Introducing the Western Pennsylvania Sports Museum

Locker Room Label Copy “The story begins here. In the locker room- where Pittsburghers transform themselves, shedding the stuff of everyday life and girding for competition. Those who prepared here took to sandlots and stadiums around the region and created a story in sport unlike that of any other place in America. The story is one of sacrifice and struggle, of hardworking people who never give up and in the end, triumph.

No city of comparable size has matched Pittsburgh’s success in sport. Its teams have won more than a score of championships; its athletes have created some of sport’s enduring moments and memories. Sport is central to bolstered identity. It has fostered cohesion and bolstered identity, giving diverse groups and arena in which they could perform and gain a positive sense of themselves and of each other.

This is a story about a sporting world that Pittsburghers created on their own. It’s about the unforgettable and the almost forgotten- the people who forged an identity through sport, transforming the city and sports itself.

They made Pittsburgh the City of Champions.” - Main Exhibit Label in the Western Pennsylvania Sports Museum Locker Room

Sports Museum Exhibit Themes

The following themes for the Western Pennsylvania Sports Museum were developed with the input of Dr. Rob Ruck, sports historian at the . They are: • Success- Pittsburgh has experienced a level of success in sport, especially at the professional level, that surpasses that of any other city of comparable size. • Identity - Sports, as much as steel, has cast an indelible image of Pittsburgh to the world. Sports reflect the sacrifices and commitment and the strength and spirit that many identify with Pittsburgh and its people. • Community - Sports is a unifier, it has brought communities together and allowed neighborhoods to compete on an equal footing. Sports can foster cohesion within groups of people and promote interaction across racial, ethnic, and class lines. • Opportunity - Sports has offered an avenue of opportunity and sometimes escape from the mill towns of the region. In addition, it has offered otherwise marginalized groups- immigrants, African Americans, and working class- the opportunity to achieve. • Industry - Pittsburgh developed as a leader in sport, especially professional sports, in part due to its industrial prowess. With a strong middle class with both the time and means to participate as spectators and the industrial wealth to attract and pay talent as well as create and maintain the infrastructure of competition, Pittsburgh became a leader in the development and shaping of sport. • Biography and the Human Condition - The vehicle of biography, important to state curriculum standards, is used as an interpretive tool within the exhibits that not only teaches about the lives of individuals from the region, but also engages and inspires our visitors.

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• Regional and National Context- This region has produced an abundance of athletes, born here, but whose success in sports was achieved elsewhere. While Pittsburgh sees those individuals (such as Joe Namuth, , , ) as our native sons and daughters, we recognize that they have national reputations and name recognition. This allows the Sports Museum to tell a regional story, important to local residents, but with the ability to appeal and attract visitors from across the country.

Essential Questions

General: How have sports shaped the history of Western Pennsylvania? Why do you think Pittsburgh has been so successful at sport? What can sports tell us about society/ culture/ history? How can sports change how we view history/ social studies/ civics/ physical education? How can the Sports Museum change how we view history/ social studies/ civics/ physical education?

Sports Biographies: What did ___name of player____ do that helped change sport in Pittsburgh? What do you think is the biggest challenge athletes face? Do the stories of Pittsburgh athletes inspire you? Why or why not?

About Sport: All are sport competitions? Explain your answer. What is the meaning of sports? How do sports challenge people? How do you define sports?

American Pastimes: Why do people participate in sports?

Sport and Identity: What lessons do athletes learn by participating in community sports? Why do you think the Pittsburgh area has so many athletes? Which sport do you consider to be the best representation of American sport? Why? How do sports impact communities? Why did certain immigrant groups participate in certain sports? How can sport teach us about identity? What can we learn about western Pennsylvanians through sports? Why are certain athletic fields, such as or , icons of sport in Pittsburgh? What might these places mean?

Sports and Segregation: What do the Negro Leagues tell us about that period in history? Why was Pittsburgh so important to African American fans during the early 1900s? How did Title IX change sports for women in Pittsburgh?

Sport and Relevance: What sport do you most enjoy? Why? What do we learn by participating in sports?

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What makes people get interested in sports?

Sports and Health: How can sports contribute to a person’s overall well-being? What are the physical benefits of athletic participation? What can sports teach us about our bodies?

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Pre -Visit Activity – Brainstorming

Pennsylvania Academic Standards For Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening 1.6 “Listen to Others” 1.6 D “Contribute to Discussions”

Overview One of the central themes the Sports Museum explores is “what is a sport?” To help prepare your students for their visit, you may wish to brainstorm the following questions prior to your visit. When you send in your group confirmation and deposit, please send your class’ answers to the following questions. This will help better inform the docent leading your program about their attitudes towards sports and which exhibits to highlight.

Procedure

1. Ask students: What is sport?

The Dictionary defines sport as: 1. An active pastime; recreation 2. A specific diversion, usually involving physical exercise and having a set form of rules; game. Does sport require competition? Does a sport require physical activity? Does a sport require physical acumen? Does a sport require mental acuity? Are sports always team events? Can they be individual events?

List different words that describe sports.

2. There are many different types of sports. Have the class list different sports that have “a” as the second letter.

Badminton Falconry Marathon table Bandy Handball Marbles tae kwondo Baseball harness racing NASCAR water polo Javelin parallel bars water skiing Canoeing Kayak racket ball Darts Lacrosse Sailing

List different sports that have “o” as the second letter.

bob sled hockey motor cycle racing bocce fox hunting pole-vault pole vaulting bowling hop step jump power boat racing toboggan racing boxing horse racing volleyball downhill skiing soccer football long jump polo

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During your museum visit, have the class look to see how many of the sports they listed were exhibited.

3. People throughout the world participate in sports of many kinds. Do you think the sports we just listed originated in the United States or another country?

List the countries from which you think these sports might have come. Look at a world map to see these places. 4. Sports participation varies, some participants are very active and others are not a physically involved with sport. Ask students: What is an athlete? (or what is a fan?)

The dictionary defines an athlete as:

1. One who takes part in competitive sports 2. A person possessing the natural aptitudes for physical exercises and sports, as strength, agility, and endurance.

Is a marbles player an athlete?

List some famous athletes. Were they born in the United States or another country?

5. Discuss some of the famous Pittsburgh athletes that you will learn about during your field trip to the Western Pennsylvania Sports Museum. Talk about their backgrounds and what they did to shape sports history and the history of the region.

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Pre -visit Activity: What is a Museum?

Pennsylvania Academic Standards for Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening 1.6 A “Listen to Others” 1.6 D “Contribute to Discussions”

Overview Field Trip experiences in the Western Pennsylvania Sports Museum are often used as a free-for all time for students to unwind. The museum does utilize a large amount of floor space with over 75 interactive activities designed to appeal to various age ranges and skill levels. While some exploration is encouraged with school groups, the time should be guided with clear expectations. This activity is designed to remind students that the Sports Museum is a museum space and appropriate behavior is expected. The next questions will help prepare your students for their museum experience.

Procedure 1. Ask your students: What is a museum?

What makes a museum different from a school, library, or other education institution? Are the objects kept in a museum special in some way?

The Dictionary defines a museum as: An institution for the acquisition, preservation, study, and exhibition of works of artistic, historical, or scientific value.

2. Museums have rules that help them meet their goal of preserving and teaching about history. Why do you think they have specific rules?

Museum rules are designed to accomplished several goals. First the rules are designed to help protect the artifacts. The museum’s main responsibility is to care for the artifacts and preserve them for future generations. Without this, the museum would cease to exist. The conservation of the objects is job of the museum division’s registrar and curators. There are specific guidelines and best practices outline by the field; these practices are adopted by other departments to insure the artifacts survival. The students could the opportunity to learn about other jobs unique to a museum.

3. How can the students show their respect for the objects they will see at the Sports Museum?

• Ask for permission before touching an exhibit. • Your tour guide will tell you where you may eat and drink, so please wait to have your gum, drink, or snack until you are in the lunchroom. • Listen to the directions of your tour guide. • Stay with your group. • Work together with other members of your group. • You are welcome to take photographs of the objects and photos in the museum.

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Post-Visit Activities Grades 3 through 5

Chronology

Pennsylvania Academic Standards for History 8.1.3 A “Understand chronological thinking and distinguish between past, present and future time” 8.2.3 A “Understand the political and cultural contributions of individuals and groups to Pennsylvania history” 8.3.3 A “Identify contributions of individuals and groups to United States history”

Overview How do events in sports history fit into the big picture? Are they isolated events, or do they have some relation to other events in the nation’s history? The following activity is designed to help students learn to put events into chronological order and to place events that they will learn about at the Sports Museum into a larger context.

Procedure 1. Cut up the cards on the lines indicated and divide them among the students. The cards will be pinned or taped to a bulletin board. 2. Students should begin by putting the cards that set the historical context into chronological order. 3.After this is completed, each card with a key date in sports history may be added to complete the timeline. The class may add to this timeline throughout the year as they read about other events.

Extension You may wish to have students illustrate the timeline with photos from their trip, souvenirs from at home, or from images cut from magazines or websites. Discuss a new sport as you move throughout your history/ social studies class throughout the school year. Students might choose to create a historical play that tells about history through sports; each child can take a figure or sports and represent it during the play.

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Historical Content Cards

1681 1780 King Charles II signed charter The Gradual Abolition Act granting William Penn the land provides for the eventual that became Pennsylvania. emancipation of slaves in Pennsylvania.

1863 1889 Battle of Gettysburg in U.S. Civil Flood in Johnstown leaves War and Lincoln’s Gettysburg thousands dead. address.

1892 1914 Striking workers clash with Jazz musician Billy Eckstine is born Pinkerton private detectives in in Pittsburgh. Homestead Strikes.

1919 1920 Pennsylvania ratifies the 19 th Pittsburgh’s KDKA becomes the amendment first to grant women the right to vote. The commercial broadcast radio amendment becomes law in 1920. station.

1940 1942 The Pennsylvania opens. United Steelworkers of America replaces the former Steelworkers Organizing Committee.

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1962 Pennsylvania resident, Rachel 1963 Carson, President John F. Kennedy is publishes Silent Spring to help assassinated. awaken Americans to the need for environmental protection.

1971 1972 The Pennsylvania Human Relations Title IX passes, helping to level Commission orders an end to racial the playing field for female imbalance in Pittsburgh’s public athletes. schools.

1986 1987 U.S. Steel’s Homestead Works Playwright August Wilson wins the closes. Pulitzer Prize for Fences.

2004 Flooding from Hurricane Ivan destroys many homes and businesses in western Pennsylvania.

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Events in Sports History Cards

1887 1892 Joseph Mickle opens an 8-hole Professional Football gets its start golf course in Foxburg, Pennsylvania. on the of Pittsburgh. It is the first in western Pennsylvania. “Pudge” Heffelfinger receives $500 to play for the Allegheny Athletic Association.

1909 1912 Forbes Field opens and the Pirates The are formed play games 1, 2 and 5 of the World and play in the Negro Baseball Series at Forbes Field that same year. league.

1918 1923 “Pop” Warner leads University The Centre Avenue YMCA opens of Pittsburgh to a third national to provide athletic activities for championship. African Americans.

1932 1933 Women from Homestead buys the Pittsburgh swim team go to Olympics. Steelers.

1941 1947 Pittsburgh resident Jackie Wilson William L. Colbert becomes wins national featherweight boxing first African American to win the title. Pittsburgh City Tennis Championship.

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1948 1953 University of Pittsburgh student Herb The General Douglas earns an Olympic bronze Manager requires the use of medal in the long jump. His jump was batting helmets. 24 feet and 7 inches.

1962 1972 Mildred Martin Allen starts by Franco Tri-Boro All Star Softball game for Harris. women.

1974 1976 win leads University of number Nine. Pittsburgh to national championship and wins the .

1983 1984 The first is run. Cleaner rivers allow the Three Rivers Rowing Association to bring back rowing events to Pittsburgh.

1991 win the championship led by .

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Sports and Memory

Pennsylvania Academic Standards for Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening 1.4.3. B “Write informational pieces” 1.4.3 A “Write narrative pieces”

Overview Why does sport play such a pivotal role in Pittsburgh? Much of it seems to be rooted in individual memory -- games watched on television or games attended with family and friends at Forbes Field, Three Rivers Stadium, , or the other parks that are part of the city’s heritage and landscape. This activity will help students reflect on a sporting event that is meaningful to them. They will record the facts of the event as well as what it meant to them as a participant or as an observer. These essays may be sent to the Sports Museum archives so that these memories will be preserved for future generations of sports enthusiasts and historians.

Procedure

1. People saved all of the objects in the Sports Museum because they associated those objects with memories. Each object is part of the stories these people tell and that the museum curators tell in the sports exhibits. Everyone has memories. Ask if any of the students have memories they attach to any objects. Do these things remind them of a particular moment, person, or event?

2. Explain that they are going to write their own sports memories. These memories will be shared with the museum so that their memories can be saved for students in the future.

3. In an essay, students will select and write about a sporting event, answering the following questions.

1) Did you observe the event or participate in it? 2) What kind of event was it? 3) Was it a competition? 4) Where did this sport originate? 5) Who played the game or competed in the event? 6) Where did it take place? 7) When did it take place? 8) If it was a competition, who won?

4. Have the students record their own reflections about the game with the following questions.

1) What did this event mean to you? 2) Did you participate, or know someone who did? 3) Were you rooting for a team or for an individual? 4) Was the event more special because you were with a friend or family member? 5) What makes you remember the event? 5. Have the students draw a picture to illustrate their sports memory.

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Extension Teachers can explain the activity beforehand and ask each student to bring in a sports object that they have a memory of. After writing, they can “show and tell” by presenting their memory to the class.

Instead of writing a personal sports memory, students could create a story written in the perspective of one of the sports figures they learned about while at the museum.

Create “Memory Boards,” story boards, or books about individual memories and share them with a younger grade or with parents (students could prepare “Family Sports Memories” books or stories).

Resources The following quotes may also help provoke discussion and thought prior to the writing activity.

“I knew the time when the Crawfords were coming along – that was a sad time for this country. Not only for blacks but for the majority of poor people – it was sad. And they could come to a ball game and forget about all their woes. That’s what satisfied me. I made a lot of people happy…But you know, it brings back a lot of glorious memories, to think the way we came up from nothing, to be somebody.” 1 Harold Tinker played for the , one of the city’s two “Negro League” teams. African Americans initially played baseball in integrated professional teams. However, segregation forced early African American players off these teams. In 1920, an organized league for African American baseball players was formed. When Jackie Robinson joined the Major League Brooklyn Dodgers in 1945, it marked the beginning of integrated , but the decline of the “Negro Leagues.” 2

“So many of my memories of Pittsburgh in the late 1940s and early 1950s are of playing ball on grassless city fields and poorly surfaced courts or hitchhiking out to Forbes Field, , and the to watch the city’s sports teams. The seasons of my youth on the flowed by to the rhythm of games played with and bats held together with masking tape and nails, footballs made of newspapers folded and tied with twine, hockey sticks pieced back together after being shattered and abandoned at Hornet games, and slick-surfaced often lopsided and bubbled from too much wear.” Richard F. Peterson is a writer and teacher at Southern Illinois University. 3

“It was not so much that I thought I was out of place in Camp Hill; I knew I was out of place. The teams I pulled for – and just assumed everyone else in American pulled for as well – were Panthers, Pittsburgh Steelers, and Pittsburgh Pirates. Conversations with new friends proved my innocent assumption groundless.” 4

1 Ruck, Rob. “’I Lived Baseball’: Harold Tinker and the Pittsburgh Crawfords.” In Pittsburgh Sports: Stories from the Steel City , ed. Randy Roberts. (Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 2000), 93-109.

2 Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, Museum Information Package for Teachers (Kansas City: Negro Leagues Baseball Museum), 2.

3 Peterson, Richard F. “Rinky Dinks and the Single Wing.” In Pittsburgh Sports: Stories from the Steel City , ed. Randy Roberts. (Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 2000), 25-46.

4 Roberts, Randy. “Between the Whale and Death.” In Pittsburgh Sports: Stories from the Steel City, ed. Randy Roberts. (Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 2000), 6-24.

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Randy Roberts is the author of several books about sports and the editor of Pittsburgh Sports: Stories from the Steel City.

“At that moment, standing there with my best friend in the shadow of Yankee Stadium, decked out in my Yankee cap, I felt like a real fan. We threw the ball around for a few minutes in the parking lot before heading to the ballpark. Soon we were walking through the tunnel to the stadium. I could hear the fans shouting, smell the hot dogs, and feel the anticipation. The whole experience was intense. In the Bronx, you are a Yankee fan or you’re dirt.” Cooper Oznowicz was 12 when he wrote this story for Stone Soup magazine. 5

“My life at home did not improve over the next month or so. In fact, the only high point in my life at all became basketball. Even when Momma and Dad yelled until three in the morning, it made me feel better when I did well in practice the next day. When Coach told me I could start the game against Sunset Park in two days, it didn’t matter that Dad hadn’t come home at all the night before. I put my soul into the practices and games. Basketball set me free.” Lia Regal was 12 when she wrote this story for Stone Soup magazine. 6

“It was early in the morning with a nip in the air when my dad and I went canoeing…We got to the lake and pushed the canoe into the water. Then we climbed in. We sat for a moment. Then my dad whispered, ‘Paddle silently.’…’Look,’ my dad whispered. I looked up in the sky. Spiraling over the trees was a hawk searching for something to eat. Then a loon called out, breaking the silence.” Heather Goff was 9 when she wrote this story for Stone Soup magazine. 7

5 Cooper Oznowicz, “A Connecticut Yankee Visits the Bronx,” Stone Soup, November/December 2000, 45-46.

6 Lia Regal, “Of Basketball and the Valley of the Stoops,” Stone Soup, November/December 2002, 25-29.

7 Heather Goff, “Canoeing,” Stone Soup , March/April 2003, 17. 17

Fitness and Nutrition: Small Changes Add Up

Pennsylvania Academic Standards for Mathematics 2.2.3 A “Apply addition and subtraction in everyday situations using concrete objects” 2.1.3 B “Use whole numbers and fractions to represent quantities” 2.2.5 A “Create and solve word problems involving addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division of whole numbers” 2.1.5 D “Use models to represent fractions and decimals” 2.5.3 A “Use appropriate problem-solving strategies” 2.5.5 A “Develop a plan to analyze a problem” 2.3.3B “Determine the measurement of objects” 2.3.5 B “Select and use standard tools to measure the size of figures”

Overview

How can students learn to make better choices as part of a healthy lifestyle? This activities encourages students to make good nutritional and fitness decisions while practicing basic math skills.

Procedure

1. Have students bring in wrappers from their morning or afternoon snack or a lunchtime treat. Have them add up how many calories and grams of fat they consume in a regular snack. If they follow a 2,000-calorie a day diet, what percentage of their calories and fat grams are they consuming in this snack? Many nutrition labels include how many fat grams are part of a 2,000 calorie a day diet.

2. Have them pick one healthier alternate food as a replacement. An apple can replace a cookie. Wheat crackers or popcorn can replace chips. Have them calculate how many calories and grams of fat they save. They can also do a multiplication exercise. If a small apple has 50 calories, and a regular candy bar 250, how many apples can they eat to equal one candy bar?

3. Have students measure the size of some of their favorite foods. How big is a tablespoon of peanut butter compared to what they use on a sandwich? How big is a cup of spaghetti when its in a plate or bowl? How big is a 3oz hamburger? They can also compare the measurements of different foods. How many cups is an ounce of chips? How many cups is an ounce of popcorn? If they are hungry, which will be more filling?

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Extension Have students share their findings with their parents. Students can keep a food journal a week before the activity, recording the nutrition information for their snacks. After the lesson, keep a food journal recording the calories they are saving with the new snacks.

Resources There are many excellent web sites that help students learn about the health risks of poor diet, the benefits of physical activity, and healthy lifestyle patterns. www.diabetes.org . Provides information on diabetes prevention and an on-line risk test. www.eatright.org Contains nutritional facts sheets on different foods, tips to eating well, a Healthy Habits for healthy Kids brochure, and other on-line resources regarding nutrition and healthy living. www.caloriecontrol.org Provides the calorie and fat content of different foods as well as information on the calories burned by the type of activity. While this is a non-profit organization, it does represent the low-fat and low-calorie food industry. www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/bmi . Provides information on Body Mass Index for adults and children. It also include information on calculating BMI. www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/obesity/ . Provides information on obesity in general and the increase in childhood obesity. www.caloriesperhour.com Provides an on-line calculator to determine the amount of calories burned by the type of activity.

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