1. Fast Food
Who’s to Blame?
Fast Food : Unit One

2. Reading selections for unit:
Brownlee, Shannon. “It’s Portion Distortion That Makes America Fat.” Sacramento Bee. 5 Jan. 2003
Barboza, David. “ If You Pitch It, They Will Eat It.” New York Times. 3. Aug
Weintraub, Daniel. “The Battle Against Fast Food
Begins in the Home”. Sacramento Bee. 17 Dec
Zincenko, David. “Don’t Blame the Eater.” New York Times. 23 Nov
1. Reading selections are done in MLA format.
-Intro. MLA
-What do students notice about page?
~spacing
~alphabetical
~dates
~titles of articles vs. titles of books
Fast Food : Unit One

3. Fast Food: DAY ONE
Fast Food : Unit One

4. Fast Food : Unit One

5. Activity 1: Getting Ready to Read
~On a separate sheet of paper, write a response to the following topic:
Who’s at fault for America’s growing weight problem?
Fast Food : Unit One

6. Activity 2: Surveying the Text
1. What does the titles “It’s Portion Distortion That Makes America Fat” tell you about the author’s position on who is responsible for America’s weight problem?
Fast Food : Unit One

7. Activity 2: Surveying the Text, cont.
2. What do you think is the purpose of this article?
3. “Portion Distortion” was published in The Sacramento Bee, and “If you Pitch It” was published in The New York Times. What similarities do you think these articles might have? What differences? Do you think they will be equally reliable?
Fast Food : Unit One

8. Activity 2: Surveying the Text, cont.
4. What else can you tell about the articles just by looking at them?
5. Do you think that this article might support your claims?
Fast Food : Unit One

9. Activity 3: Making Predictions & Asking Questions
Read the first three and the last paragraphs of Brownlee’s article. What is the point of comparing burger’s, fries and cigarettes? What arguments so you think she will make?
Who is the intended audience for these articles? How do you know this?
3. What information and ideas is the author likely to draw on to convince you of their positions?
Fast Food : Unit One

10. First Reading
~Read:
-Brownlee’s, “It’s Portion Distortion That Makes America Fat.”
Fast Food : Unit One

11. Rereading Exercises: Activity #1:
Now that you now what “Portion Distortion” is about, answer the following questions.
1. Think back to your original predictions. Which were right? Which did you have to modify as you read “Portion Distortion”?
2. What is the main idea of “Portion Distortion”? Who does Brownlee think is to blame for America’s obesity problem? Underline or highlight the sentence that most clearly indicates who is to blame.
3. What does Brownlee think is the solution to the problem?
Fast Food : Unit One

12. Rereading Exercises: Learning How to Use Your Readings
Activity #2:
Reread & Annotate “Portion Distortion”
~underline & identify:
author’s thesis (make sure to star this info.)**
arguments made to support the thesis
evidence used to support thesis
the conclusion
Fast Food : Unit One

13. Responding to Reading: Writing a Summary
(See attached assignment sheet)
Group A
Write 6-7 sentence summary of Brownlee’s “Portion Distortion” following the summary guidelines from Reading Rhetorically p
Then write a 3-4 sentence response to Brownlee’s views.
Fast Food : Unit One

14. Peer Response to Summary
Exchange your summary/response with a partner from Group B. Use the Peer Response Form to evaluate your partner’s summary/response.
Then talk about both articles with your partner and decide whether you agree or disagree with the authors’ views about marketing and its relationship to obesity.
Fast Food : Unit One