Hydration: Dehydration

Audience: Students ages 9 years and older

General program objective: Participants will demonstrate an understanding of the importance of staying hydrated.

Specific program objective: Participants will identify dehydration as a reason to stay hydrated.

Behavior change strategy: Self-Efficacy

Educational activities:

  • Elicit—ask the students what they know about staying hydrated every day.
  • Explain—play the provided video for the students.
  • Expand—have the students reflect on the information provided in the video
  • Exit—have the students set a goal for staying hydrated over the next week.

Length of time to complete: 10-15 minutes, depending on length and depth of conversation.

Materials Required:

  • Note paper and writing utensils
  • Multi-media display (e.g. computer monitor, projector, or SmartScreen)
  • Access to the internet and YouTube
  • Optional: clear cups, marker, and water

Procedure:

  • Ask the students what they already know about staying hydrated every day (they can write their thoughts, answer in small groups, or discuss as a class):
    • Think about a time you have been outside on a hot day. Did you feel different than if you were inside with air conditioning?
    • Why do we have to make sure we get fluids every day?
    • Where do our body’s fluids go?
    • Besides sweating or going to the bathroom, how else does the body lose fluids?
  • Introduce the short-form video and play for the students.
  • Ask the students to reflect on the video (they can write their thoughts, answer in small groups, or discuss as a class):
    • What is “Insensible Fluid Loss?”
    • How does the climate affect your hydration needs?
    • When do you think you might lose the most fluids through breathing or being outside?
    • How can you make sure you are hydrated enough each day?
  • Have the students write a SMART goal for staying hydrated over the next week. Remember, this means the goal is Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-Bond.
    • Example: I will drink one bottle of water each day after lunch to stay hydrated.

Further enrichment:

Do the evaporation experiment! Have each student write their name on a cup and pour some water into it. Make sure the cup is on a solid surface and the water is still before drawing a line to mark the water level. Have each student pick a place outside to leave their water cup for a few hours. Later, see how much water has evaporated from the cup. Did some students lose more or less? Why?

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