Teaching Sequence

Work through this resource material in the following sequence:

5 minutes

Part A: What do you know about wee?

20 minutes

Part B: What colour should your wee be?

30 minutes

Part C: Hydration colour wheel

15 minutes

Reflection: What did we learn about wee?

Part A: What do you know about wee?

Step 1.

Introduce the topic of body systems and that in today's lesson you will be investigating which body systems keep you healthy and how you can ensure you are taking care of yourself.

Activate prior knowledge by leading a brainstorm discussion by asking:

What do you know about wee?

Write the student's ideas as a brainstorm on the board and try to collect a suggestion from each student, to assist student engagement and sense of connection/ inclusion. Encourage all ideas, even if they have been suggested, show this by adding a dot/dash next to the idea to indicate that the idea is shared by other students. Count these up at the end to see how many ideas were shared.

Go further and encourage the students to think about the ways that different cultural groups refer to going to the toilet. For example ‘Take a leak’ or ‘I need to pee’ are American sayings, are there any other sayings that are connected to different cultures? Discuss how others may see this as a sensitive subject in families, communities, and cultures. See what your students bring to this discussion. Make sure the discussion is kept respectful and focused.

Step 2.

Reflect on the list that has been shared. Ask the students the following questions:

Are any ideas new to them?
Which ideas were shared more than one time?
What was the most popular idea?
Is there anything else they would like to learn about wee?

Part B: What colour should wee be?

Step 1.

Start the task by posing some of the following questions and facilitate a class discussion about how nutrition and lifestyle choices can affect your body:

Have you ever noticed that your wee changes colour?
Do you wonder what colour your wee should be?
Did you know that the colour of our wee is directly linked to the food we eat and the water we drink?
Did you know your wee can turn reddish-pink if you eat a beetroot?
What about carrots? Do they turn your wee orange?
What about vitamin B? Vitamins can turn your wee bright yellow!

Take time to explain how our body processes foods and write some keywords on the board: nutrients, filter, kidneys, diluted, water, hydration, and dehydration.

After you have discussed student’s opinions and wonderings formulate statements that are linked directly to their understanding of body systems or present facts such as:

Our bodies use the food we eat, to make energy for our bodies
Food is broken down to release nutrients (small particles of vitamins, minerals, proteins, fats and carbohydrates)
The nutrients from the foods are taken out of the food and passed into the bloodstream
The nutrients are taken around the body and used by cells to grow and repair themselves, any extra nutrients are eventually filtered by the kidneys (most people are born with 2 kidneys but some people have just one)
If we have eaten lots of food with natural colour like red beetroot, sometimes the colour can still be seen in our wee! It's not as bright because it has been diluted (watered down) by the water in our body. This is why it is very important to drink water, as it hydrates (or gives water to) your body. By adding water into your body the liquids are watered down or diluted. This makes your wee lighter in colour.

Ask students to think about these facts and create a class diagram of what one of these statements or facts might 'look like.'

Step 2. Wee colour chart

Begin this task by asking the class whether they know what a colour wheel is and what it might look like?

Then, present a colour wheel and explain that today they will investigate and create their own colour wheel based on the recommended colour of wee in the Hydration Chart

Give students a minute to observe the wheel and then ask the class what colours they notice and which colours are cool and warm tones?

Once students have established what a colour wheel is and the various tones (cool and warm) ask students to reflect on:

What are the various wee tones?
What colour should your wee be?
Why is it important to wee?

Refer to page 10 of the Filter Your Future Powerpoint presentation and observe the test tube of the various colours and what the symbols next to them suggest.

Begin by showing the whole group the wee colour chart resources and investigate the different colours by prompting students to consider:

Why are the colours of wee slightly different?
Why and how do they change?
Is there such a thing as being too hydrated and having too much water?
What is a healthy wee colour?

Part C: Healthy me healthy wee

Step 1.

Begin by providing each student with the spinning colour wheel template (located in the Student Worksheet) and then ask them to cut around the circles and colour in the colour wheel to match the example provided.

It is important for students to know and be able to indicate which colour matches the correct colour on the wheel. As students are building up the colours, ask them to consider which behaviours and lifestyle choices are leading to the build-up in colour and how can they make sure they are being healthy and staying hydrated.

Remind students that food is high in hydration too. Some fruits and vegetables are mostly water and that if they're feeling dehydrated or know that they need to drink more water they can also eat specific foods that might help them feel full and hydrated.

Please note: Medical professionals use different tools to measure hydration levels and the colour wheel is a simple tool to help us observe our bodies.

Reflection

Bring the students back together as a whole group. Discuss the new learnings that were discovered today:

What did we learn about the colour of our wee?
How can we change the colour of our wee?
What do we need to do to keep our bodies healthy?
How can we see if we have had enough to drink?

Remind the students that the colour wheel is a helpful guide of hydration, a simple activity that connects you to the fluids that you drink and how your body needs water to help it function.

Differentiated Learning

Extension - Go further and invite children to investigate the role of the kidneys and how they filter blood and water. Learn about the word hydration and the urinary system.

Provisions for Learning Support - Write the keywords on the board as helpful references to support the children's understanding of new terms to build their vocabulary. Draw pictures to visually support the learning journey.

Teacher Reflection

Take this opportunity to reflect on your own teaching:

• What worked well?
• What didn't work well?
• What would you share?
• Where to next?
• How are you going to get there?

SugarByHalf - Healthy Wee Healthy Me

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