Prepare several carbohydrate samples of different levels of sweetness (fructose, glucose, sucrose, lactose, starch, etc.); a few natural sweeteners such as stevia, agave syrup, maple syrup, honey, etc.; and a few artificial sweeteners of choice (saccharin, etc.). Prepare solutions of these samples in approximately equal concentrations and a set of disposable teaspoons. Have the students try each of the samples on offer and then share how sweet they thought each one was in the Mentimeter tool. Have the students present their views and discuss them. Refer them to this chemistry web site (with chemistry-related digital content in Croatian for students and teachers) to study the concept of relative sweetness. Use the second Mentimeter slide to show the students the relative sweetness values of the tested substances and have the students compare these with their subjective impressions.

Point out that sucrose is usually set as the standard of sweetness, and you can have them compare its sweetness level to that of other sweeteners. Note that sucrose is almost ubiquitous in food products. It often appears as "hidden sugar" in foods such as canned fruit, fruit yogurt, packet soup, sauces, fitness cereals and the like. Talk to the students about the importance of limiting the intake of such foods, especially those that we do not view as "sweet".

Students can create an infographic on hidden sugar in food using Piktochart.

Activities to support Special Education Needs students

For visually impaired students, prepare an audio recording on what the concept of relative sweetness means, if there is no text in Braille available. For partially sighted students, the font should be adjusted accordingly. The Mentimeter activity allows these students to work in pairs with their peers, who can help them complete tasks by describing what they need to do and what the results of the sweetener sampling were, by entering data, and by creating graphics. Depending on their needs, other students with disabilities, e.g. students with motor impairment, can also take part in pair work.

Use the Padlet tool to show the students a few photographs downloaded from the websites on this page and published under the Creative Commons license. Include photos showing, for example, honey, cotton, starch/potatoes, fruit, etc. Ask students what associations and experiences the photos make them think of. Encourage students to find the link between the photos and guide them to the conclusion that each of the photos demonstrates the presence of carbohydrates. Have them name the main carbohydrates in each photo, then ask them to divide these carbohydrates into simple and complex ones. Discuss why we often prefer simple carbohydrates in our diet.

Refer the students to an article on the balanced diet pyramid on a website covering biology-related topics (in Croatian). Divide the students into two groups, one of which represents a "healthy diet pyramid" and the other "my pyramid", and organize a debate. The aim of the debate is to identify the advantages and

disadvantages of the two suggestions on how to achieve a healthy diet. After the discussion, talk to the students about the benefits of the "Healthy Eating Plate". Draw their attention to the fact that complex carbohydrates are heavily represented in such a diet and discuss the reasons for this.

Activities to support Special Education Needs students

In the introductory activity, students with sight impairment may taste or touch the foods shown in the photographs, or the photographs may be described to them. You can tell them which main carbohydrates appear in the photos (instead of eliciting these) and ask them to match these to the photos. Check if they understand the concepts of simple and complex carbohydrates and have them divide the carbohydrates in the photos into these two groups. The text on the healthy diet pyramid may be given to visually impaired students in the form of an audio recording, and other students may be given questions to help them find the relevant points in the text. Students with disabilities (especially those with intellectual disabilities) should have an image of a healthy diet pyramid glued to a page in their notebooks. In the discussion, make sure peers help students with motor disturbances, vision and hearing impairments.

Students with voice, speech and language disorders are able to express themselves, but you should prepare the content for them beforehand, and ask them short and clear questions. An exception to this may be students who stammer, but their level of fluency tends to vary, which affects their ability to express themselves).

Show the students the nitrocellulose test video (0:07 minutes), which shows the burning of an "unusual cotton wool", more specifically, nitrocellulose. For comparison, you can take a piece of ordinary cotton wool, whose composition the students are already familiar with, and demonstrate how it burns. Ask the students to compare the differences in burning they have observed. Describe the use of nitrocellulose, and then have the students brainstorm examples of numerous other common cellulose products using the Bubbl.us tool. Cellulose is the most common organic matter on Earth. Discuss the role of cellulose as a building material in plant cells and the role of cellulose in people’s everyday lives. Draw the students’ attention to the link between the properties and structure of cellulose on the one hand, and the way we use it on the other. Divide the students into groups based on their ideas about cellulose use and refer to them to various websites to explore the topic in depth and share the results on Yammer. Using the "Summarize-Pair-Share" method, students can summarize the results shared on Yammer and discuss the similarities and differences between their summaries in pairs.

Activities to support Special Education Needs students

The Didactic-Methodical Guidelines for Natural Sciences and Mathematics for Students with Disabilities (instructions available only in Croatian on the teaching scenario website) describe how to involve students in data collection and processing activities, as well as oral speech activities and in participating in a discussion. Refer students with disabilities in advance to websites where they can find the data they will need and give them questions to explore key data. Students with voice, speech and language disorders can be helped to prepare for spoken interaction/production if they would like some help, but they need not speak in front of the group if this is a problem. Encourage students who stammer to engage in spoken production if they feel ready to do so. Describe the video to partially sighted students.

Prepare a poll for the students, incorporating a few short questions on diabetes, such as: What does the world-famous symbol of the blue circle represent? What is the normal blood glucose concentration? What kind of diabetes is most common in young people? You can use Google Forms to create the poll. Analyze the results with your students and then refer them to online diabetes diet websites like the Diabetes Diet blog (in Croatian) to explore the incidence of diabetes around the world and in Croatia (explore the differences in region, age and gender). Talk about the possible causes of the higher incidence of this disease in certain populations. Discuss with students the importance of identifying the symptoms and preventing diabetes, because the disease has assumed epidemic proportions. Elicit ways students would help a person with diabetes in the case of emergency. Students can share their insights in Moovly by creating animated videos on the topic of identifying the symptoms of diabetes and giving first aid to diabetic patients. The videos can be posted on Youtube or Facebook in order to make information on diabetes available to the wider community.

Activities to support Special Education Needs students

Make sure students know how to use Moovly and demonstrate if necessary. Make sure students with disabilities are involved in developing an animation in Moovly by having them suggest ideas and having their peers help them as they work on the animation. When partially sighted students are answering the poll, read the questions aloud to them or give them the questions in advance.

To help control blood sugar levels, nutrition planning for diabetics often takes into account the glycemic value of ingredients/food. Explain to the students how this kind of planning can help avoid health complications, both in healthy people and in diabetics. Share the glycemic value table for selected foods with the students in Google Drive or project them onto a whiteboard. Ask them to use Web Whiteboard to draw a traffic light, classifying foods according to their glycemic index into the high, low and middle category. Talk to students about the importance of balancing various foods in one’s diet and making sure certain foods are not overrepresented on the menu, both in diabetics and in healthy people.

 

You can ask your students to compare the glycemic index and the calorific value of various natural and artificial sweeteners we use in our diet. Encourage them to make note of the disadvantages and advantages of using natural and artificial sweeteners. Students can present their conclusions in the form of an infographic in Canva, and publish it on the school website to raise awareness of healthy lifestyle habits.

Activities to support Special Education Needs students

Encourage visually impaired students to participate in activities where they can express their opinion and discuss facts learnt prior to the class. Read the instructions to partially sighted students or give them the instructions in advance, and plan pair work when doing the activity with the table of glycemic values. Students can be given the conclusions on the advantages and disadvantages of using natural and artificial sweeteners so they can supplement their notes and subsequently use them for revision.

For students who want to know more

Interested students can be assigned the task of preparing and running a workshop on Hair and Fiber Traces in Forensic Tests for the other students in the class. Students can demonstrate the production of microscope hair slides, natural (most commonly used herbal ones are cotton fibers) and synthetic fibers, and explain which methods forensic specialists use to distinguish between these three groups of evidence. They can explore online which hair and fiber properties are examined under a microscope and, when preparing for the workshop, they can use the article titled Alphabetical Guide through the World of Artificial Fibers (in Croatian) and the .pdf document Hair and Fiber Traces in Forensic Examinations (in Croatian).