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-NiE ,
1 March 2017
INTERMEDIATE Health and body image
Activity
A super-sized world IF only I were taller, skinnier, fairer, muscular. They sound all too familiar, don’t they? Are you putting yourself down? If so, you aren’t the only one. As a teenager, you are going through lots of changes in your body. As your body changes, so does your image about yourself. This can affect your
Each student will have a small note card taped to his back. Go around the class and pick four students to write a positive comment on. When you’ve done so, head back to your seat and sit. Remove the card taped to your back and read it. How many of these comments are about your physical appearance and how many are about your inner self (like your personality, values)?
NiE Activity Critical thinking l Identify
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self-esteem. How you perceive your body may be affected by lots of influences and you may not even realise that! But it’s important to be comfortable with who you are and the body you are in. In doing so, you, too, will be helping others along the way.
Based on the general feedback you received on your card, discuss as a class: • What is usually the first thing that you notice about someone? • Do you care about how others see you?
There are generally three different body types. In groups of four, scan The Star for pictures or images of these various types. Cut them out and group them under:
Endomorph (short and wide)
Ectomorph (tall and thin)
Mesomorph (muscular)
• Large amount of fat accumulation • Larger frame
• Small joints • Skinny appearance • Pencil frame • Low body fat
• Symmetrical build • Wide shoulders • Small waist • Low body fat Adapted from directlyfitness.com
Creative thinking l Imagine l Brainstorm
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Problem solving l Question
l Recreate
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Communicating l Oral l Non-verbal
l Written l Aural
From the pool of pictures collected, proceed to further group these people under the following categories: People who are…
healthy
popular
spiritual
compassionate
caring
What conclusion can you draw from this activity? Discuss your observations from your findings.
NiE Activity 2 The media portrays women as gaunt and very thin, and men as muscular figures. These are the dangers of gender stereotyping. From a very early age, boys pick up cues about what an adult man should look like through television shows, video games and even action heroes. Girls may desire to conform to being thin, or look like their favourite celebrities, not just in terms of body shape but clothing, as well. Read the following excerpt that appeared in The Star on June 9, 2016. Discuss the questions that follow in groups of four.
Critical thinking l Identify
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Communicating l Oral l Written
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Super encounter for fans Superman and Wonder Woman set the Komtar mall in Penang abuzz when they popped up for a meet-and-greet with fans. In the guise of Krypton’s favourite son was actually Filipino fashion designer Herbert Chavez, 40, who had gone to great lengths to practically become his favourite comic book hero. The Calamba City native fell in love with the kindhearted and morally righteous “Man of Steel”, otherwise known as Clark Kent, after watching the Superman II movie starring Christopher Reeve. He subsequently underwent 26 plastic surgery procedures over the past two decades to transform his Asian looks into that of the character, with sharp features, fair skin and blue eyes.
1. Is this how you, your friends, or the adult men you know, look like? 2. Why do you think the people who created these action figures made them look like this? 3. Do you need big muscles to be a hero?
4. Think of people with heroic qualities who don’t necessarily do good by using their muscles. Then, name one such person and explain his good deed(s). 5. If you had one question to ask Herbert Chavez, what would it be? Why?