Synergy: Exploring Health

HEALTH describes a person’s physical, mental, and social well-being. A person in good health is free from disease or injury.

To understand a concept, it’s useful to read a cluster of books related to a theme. Explore these recently published books for young people:

UNSEEN JUNGLE: THE MICROBES THAT SECRETLY CONTROL OUR WORLD written by Eleanor Spicer Rice and illustrated by Rob Wilson explores the science of microbes. Part of the Your Hidden Life series, this fact-filled, humorous work of nonfiction examines the fascinating microscopic world of these tiny organisms and impact your health and the life of other creatures. Chapters include microbes in the house, yard, food, and you! ARC courtesy of MIT Kids Press, an imprint of Candlewick Press.

THE OTHER PANDEMIC: AN AIDS MEMOIR by Lynn Curlee traced the AIDS pandemic from the 1970s through the 1990s telling the story of the author’s partner alongside the larger crisis. The book begins with examples of people with AIDS and a comparison with the COVID-19 years. It concludes with tributes and additional information about AIDS. ARC courtesy of Charlesbridge Teen, an imprint of Charlesbridge.

WHAT’S A GERM, JOSEPH LISTER?: THE MEDICAL MYSTERY THAT FOREVER CHANGED THE WAY WE HEAL written by Lori Alexander and illustrated by Daniel Duncan explores the history of surgery and how Lister proved that unsanitary conditions contribute to infections. Along the way, readers learn about germs and how scientific discoveries are made. This engaging, highly illustrated biography includes the perfect balance of humor, gore, and fascinating facts. ARC courtesy of Clarion Books, an imprint of HarperCollins.

Synergy: Vegetarian

A VEGETARIAN is a person who chooses not to eat meat such as fish, beef, pork, and chicken. Some vegetarians don’t eat animal products such as dairy or eggs. The term is also used to describe meals or places that exclude animal products.

Working in pairs, ask children to create two menus for the day, one traditional and one vegetarian.

Read the recently published informational children’s picture book, then learn more at the websites:

BAKE, MAKE & LEARN TO COOK VEGETARIAN written by David Atherton and illustrated by Alice Bowsher features healthy, green recipes for children. After an introduction, readers explore recipes for  meals, snacks, sweets, and showstoppers. Each recipe includes an overview, ingredients, and step-by-step instructions with useful visuals and useful text. Most of the ingredients are commonly found in grocery stories. ARC courtesy of Candlewick Press.

VEGETARIANISM from Britannica for Kids introduces the concept, diet, and history.

To read the article, go to https://kids.britannica.com/kids/article/vegetarianism/609722.

WHAT IS A VEGETARIAN? is a page from the Vegetarian Society that explains the basics of a vegetarian diet.

To read the article, go to https://vegsoc.org/info-hub/definition/.

VEGETARIANISM: THE BASIC FACTS is short article discussing the reasons why people choose a vegetarian diet.

To read the article, go to https://www.eatright.org/food/nutrition/vegetarian-and-special-diets/vegetarianism-the-basic-facts.

Website: Fuel Up to Play 60

FUEL UP TO PLAY 60 is a nutrition and physical activity program.

A collaboration with the United States Department of Agriculture along with the National Dairy Council and the National Football League, the website contains resources for students, educators, parents, and the community.

The program includes a wide range of contests and activities that involve the entire school. The Playbook section of the website contains step-by-step instructions for healthy eating and physical activity ideas. The Tools section includes background information for educators.

Librarians will find that the library serves as a great place to coordinate a school-wide health and active living program. Be sure to check out the school funding opportunities and examples from past programs.

To visit the website, go to https://www.fueluptoplay60.com.

Website Review: Airview

AIRVIEW is a tool the provides information about air quality in a specific location.

Users begin by entering a street address or city. A Google Street View will appear in the background with a layer of information presented above the street view. Users can click on a particular type of pollution such as pollen, dust particles, or road wear to learn more about the air pollution type and the rating. Clicking in the upper right corner of the screen presents an overall air quality score.

Librarians will find this to be an interesting tool for teaching about data literacy. Ask students to compare their location with a global city such as Tokyo or Beijing. Or, involve students in learning more about the science of a particular type of air pollution.

Keep in mind that this website is sponsored by the Blueair air filter and purifier company.

To visit the website, go to https://airview.blueair.com/.

Website Review: Native Voices

NATIVE VOICES is an online exhibition from the National Library of Medicine exploring health and illness from the perspective of Native peoples.

This online exhibition is divided into four sections: exhibition, interviews, timelines, and resources. The exhibition explores ways that wellness, illness, and cultural life of Native peoples are interconnected exploring the perspectives of Native Americans, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians as well as providing an art gallery. The project contains interviews with health professionals, community leaders, traditional healers, and others working on health-related issues. Users can access these by theme, name, or region. The timelines highlights key events from antiquity to today. Finally, the resources section contains career planning and educational materials.

Librarians will find lesson plans, online activities, and other resources that can easily be woven across the K-12 curriculum.

To visit the website, go to https://www.nlm.nih.gov/nativevoices/.

Website Review: Fire & Freedom

FIRE & FREEDOM: Food & Enslavement in Early America examines how meals reflected the power structures of the time period.

The online exhibition is organized into six sections: introduction, commerce on land and seas, producing food/negotiating power, kitchen contradictions, labored meals, and freedom. The interactive narrative weaves in primary source documents to illustrate key ideas. During or after working through the exhibition, students can explore additional resources in the digital gallery. The education section provides resources for teachers including lesson plans, higher education resources, online activities, and other resources.

Librarians will find this resource to be useful for both students and teachers. Students will enjoy exploring the well-organized exhibition and teachers will find the education section useful for history class.

To visit the project, go to https://www.nlm.nih.gov/exhibition/fireandfreedom/.

Digital Spotlight: Medicine and Madison Avene

MEDICINE AND MADISON AVENUE is a digital repository exploring the rise of the consumer culture during the first half of the 20th century.

Contents: Housed at Duke University Libraries, this collection contains 600 health-related advertisements connecting modern medicine with the consumer culture. From cough and cold remedies to laxatives and vitamins, users can search by date, company, product, subject, publication, medium, or format.

Classroom Connections: Advertisements are an effective way to engage students with health and history topics. This digital collection can also be used to teach about marketing techniques and changes in society and culture during the 20th century.

Featured Digital Objects:
Listerine https://repository.duke.edu/dc/mma/MM0600
Classroom Germs https://repository.duke.edu/dc/mma/MM0709
Scot Tissue https://repository.duke.edu/dc/mma/MM0572

To visit the collection, go to https://repository.duke.edu/dc/mma.

Digital Spotlight: Contagion

CONTAGION: HISTORICAL VIEWS OF DISEASES AND EPIDEMICS is an open collection exploring Harvard’s history of medicine collection.

Contents: This large web project contains digitized copies of books, serials, pamphlets, incunabula, and manuscripts along with many visuals. In addition to searching the collection, users can also explore thematic collection related to cholera, plague, smallpox, flu, syphilis, tuberculosis, and yellow fever epidemics along with a notable person section.

Classroom Connections: Science and history teachers will find fascinating documents that bring the history of disease and epidemics to life. English teachers may incorporate these primary source documents into historical fiction literature circles.

Featured Digital Objects:
Cholera Epidemics http://ocp.hul.harvard.edu/contagion/cholera.html
Spanish Influenza http://ocp.hul.harvard.edu/contagion/influenza.html
Yellow Fever of 1793 http://ocp.hul.harvard.edu/contagion/yellowfever.html

To visit the collection, http://ocp.hul.harvard.edu/contagion/.

Book Review: The Nature Fix

THE NATURE FIX: WHY NATURE MAKES US HAPPIER, HEALTHIER, AND MORE CREATIVE by Florence Williams examines why humans need to experience nature.

Written by a journalist, this appealing work of nonfiction weaves together scientific findings with interesting observations about life in nature. With stories from Asia and Scotland to the United States, readers will be drawn to the universal need for time with nature.

Librarians will find this book appeals to a number of audiences including those who enjoy books about science, psychology, creativity, nature, health, and the outdoors, so it would be useful to include it on reading lists across genres. Although written for adults, it is likely to appeal to young adults as well.

Published by W.W. Norton and Company on January 31, 2017. ARC courtesy of the publisher.

Book Reviews: Germs

GERMS by Lesa Cline-Ransome is an informational picture book exploring the world of germs.

This colorfully illustrated text describes the history of germs, the scientists who learned about them and the different types of germs. It stresses both the good and bad that germs do. The author’s conversational style and the illustrator engaging visuals will appeal to young readers. The book concludes with additional information and a glossary.

Librarians will find this informational picture book to be a useful resource to the science collection. It could also serve as a read-aloud book to introduce students to the science of germs. Ask students to learn about one of the diseases introduced in the book.

To learn more about the author, go to http://lesaclineransome.com/.

Published by Henry Holt, an imprint of Macmillan on January 10, 2017. ARC courtesy of the publisher.

Technology Review: Kids Environment, Kids Health

KIDS ENVIRONMENT, KIDS HEALTH is a website filled with educational materials related to health, science, and the environment.

Sponsored by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, the website is divided into four sections: topics, games, activities, and lessons.

The Topics area directs users to online activities related to the environment and health; healthy living; pollution; reduce, reuse, recycle; science and how it works; and the natural world.

The Games section contains brainteasers, puzzles, riddles, and songs.

The Activities area provides engaging, hands-on experiences focusing on the areas of Be a Scientist, Coloring, Science Experiments, and Stories.

The Lessons section helps educators locate lesson plans and other classroom materials on environmental health topics.

Librarians will find that this attractive website contains valuable resources related to the health and science curriculum.

To visit the website, go to https://kids.niehs.nih.gov.

App Review: Ed and the Curious Crew

ED AND THE CURIOUS CREW is an educational app exploring life at a children’s hospital.

Designed for ages 9-11, children choose from five areas: fun and learning, film and television, nutrition and allergies, fundraising and helping, and sustainability and environment. In each section, users can learn, watch, play, and explore. The easy-to-use activities engage children in age-appropriate learning experiences related to hospital and health-related topics.

Librarians will find this adorable app to be a great way to explore health-related topics. Pair it with books about illness and hospital visits.

To download the app, go to https://itunes.apple.com/…/ed-curious-crew-at-…/id1014855340.

Website Review: Mawah

MAWAH: WHEN EBOLA CAME TO OUR VILLAGE is an amazing, interactive storytelling experience.

This true story is told in ten engaging chapters. The experience begins in the summer of 2014 with a prologue explaining the beginnings of the Ebola outbreak in West Africa. Then, readers work their way through ten, interactive chapters featuring a narrative along with background information, videos, photographs, infographics, and links to additional information.

The subdued watercolor illustrations weave the narrative together in this ground-breaking approach to nonfiction storytelling.

Librarians will find this online experience to be an excellent way to introduce high school students to both the science and social issues associated with Ebola. The mixture of the compelling narrative with the informational segments will attract many students to this important and timely topic.

To visit the website, go to http://www.mawahtale.com.

Website Review: The Truth

TRUTH is a website designed for young adults focusing on the issue of teen smoking.

The website kicks off with anti-smoking public service announcements and connections to social media.

The Facts section provides text, visuals, charts, graphs, infographics, interactives, videos, and other information connecting specific topics and issues with smoking. Users are invited to react to the information to extend the experience.

The Truth Events section features activities around the world related to anti-smoking efforts. It also include interactive elements such as a quiz related to pets and tobacco.

The About section provides an overview of the website and cause. The Take Action section section encourages users to sign up for more information. Social media links extend the experience.

Librarians will find this website to be an effective resource for anti-smoking campaigns and lessons. Create a display that features the public service announcements along with health information, and books related to the anti-tobacco theme. Collaborate with the health, science, and social studies teachers for a school-wide campaign.

The Truth Initiative website is available for additional educational materials and health information.

To visit the website, go to https://www.thetruth.com.

To visit the supplemental website, go to http://truthinitiative.org/.

Website Review: Cancer

CANCER: THE EMPEROR OF ALL MALADIES is a three-part PBS series and website with lots of online content.

The About the Film section explores the information about the film and it’s producers.

The Our Story Wall section shares stories from people’s whose lives have been impacted by cancer.

The Media Gallery section provides access to digital shorts, full episodes, and film clips.

The History of Cancer Timeline section visualizes key events before 1940, 1940-1970, 1970-today, and tomorrow.

The Producers’ Blog shares information about updates related to the program and the second screen option provides supplemental information to go with the film.

The Classroom section features video, trivia, infographics, discussions, and other resources to supplement the films.

Librarians will find that this amazing three-part series provides high-quality information useful for health, science, and social studies classrooms.

To visit the website, go to http://cancerfilms.org/.

Technology Review: The Voyage of Van Diemen's Land

THE VOYAGE TO VAN DIEMEN’S LAND is an educational game set in the 19th century.

Produced by the Australian National Maritime Museum, the learning experience immerses players in the year 1830. As the surgeon superintendent aboard a convict vessel, players must successfully transport human cargo from Britain to what is now known as Tasmania Australia.

The game’s introduction provides a fast-paced, highly illustrated overview of history connected to the game. Players begin by selecting a ship, captain, and supplies. After loading the supplies, convicts, an overseer, and assistant are chosen. Finally, rats much be caught. During the voyage, the mood and health of the passengers must be carefully supervised. Stops along the way are essential, but can also cause problems. Games are built into the story keeping student players motivated.

Librarians will find that the combination of humor along with the use of realistic problems and historically accurate information makes this a highly engaging way to learn about world history. Much like the old Oregon Trail game, the key is helping students make historical connections as they work their way through the game experience.

To visit the website, go to http://voyage.anmm.gov.au/.

Website Review: Generation On

GENERATION ON is a website exploring youth service projects from around the world.

While to website features it’s own projects, the ideas can be applied to any local service learning organization. The website is divided into resources for kids, teens, and adults.

The Kid’s section begins by providing stories about young people doing good in their communities. Next, students can explore a wide range of service areas including animal welfare, bullying and tolerance, literacy, education, environment, citizenship and civic engagement, emergency preparation and response, homelessness and poverty, health and wellness, hunger, senior citizens, peace and kindness, as well as military and veterans. Within each area students can view dozens of project ideas and examples. The resources section provides specific guidelines and fact sheets to help youth better understand the activities involved in service learning. Links are provided to games and interactives that contain background information about many of the topics such as emergency preparedness and environmental issues. Finally, current opportunities are featured to help jumpstart service learning projects.

The Teen’s section contains similar sections to the kid’s area, but includes more depth and age-appropriate activities and project examples. This section also promotes the idea of service clubs and sharing.

Parent, Educator, and Organizations sections provide information about ways to involve youth in service learning projects and detail upcoming activities.

Librarians will find endless ideas for service learning projects at this constantly updated website. A blog and calendar provide easy access to news and information about upcoming opportunities.

To visit the website, go to http://www.generationon.org/.

Website Review: GirlsHealth.Gov

GIRLSHEALTH.GOV is an informational website focusing on the health and well-being of girls.

Sponsored by the Office on Women’s Health at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the website’s tagline is “be healthy, be happy, be you, beautiful.”

The information sources are divided into the following sections: body, fitness, nutrition, illness & disability, drugs, alcohol & smoking, your feelings, relationships, bullying, safety, your future, and environmental health. Each section provides an easy-to-understand overview and sub-pages exploring key ideas. Many of the pages include testimonials or experiences of teens that will be of interest to youth.

In addition to the major sections, users can also try quick quizzes, use interactive tools, and explore lists and tips. A search box provides an easy way to locate information by topic.

The website also links to social media. The Twitter feed contains links to youth health topics of interest across government websites. The Pinterest board contains short articles and images related to popular topics.

Librarians will find this website to contain useful information for teens taking health classes along with teens who have questions about specific topics related to personal issues such as relationships and bullying. Teachers will find the self-contained sections match well with health science topics such as fitness, nutrition, and environmental health. The website is also useful for addressing up-to-date topics such as Zika virus.

To visit the website, go to http://www.girlshealth.gov/.

Website Review: Flu Near You

FLU NEAR YOU is an informative and educational website focusing on community health in North America.

Users can identify where flu is more prevalent and also report instances of the flu.

Using data from the CDC, the Flu Map shows flu in your local area. The map can be expanded to show all of North America. Icons show areas exhibiting flu-like symptoms, any symptoms, and no symptoms.

The About section provides information about how the data is collected and who is sharing the data.

The News section features short articles about flu, prevention, and related health issues.

Librarians will find that this focused, easy-to-use website useful in teaching data literacy. The attractive format will appeal to students and the quality content will draw in teacher users.

To visit the website, go to https://flunearyou.org/.

Website Review: Just Think Twice

JUSTTHINKTWICE is a website for teens focusing on topics related to drug abuse and prevention.

Sponsored by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the website contains text, videos, images, and infographics related to topics of interest to young adults.

The Drug Information section includes details regarding specific types of drugs and paraphernalia.

The News and Media area includes articles, videos, publications, and other current information about drugs and drug abuse.

The True Stories section features teens whose lives were destroyed by drugs.

The Consequences area explores the impact of drugs on health, family, and future.

The Facts and Stats section provides facts, quizzes, and resources related to drug abuse.

Librarians will find this website to be an excellent source for student researchers in health or social studies classes.

To visit the website, go to https://www.justthinktwice.com/.