Grade Six Science
It’s time for Science once again!
How was your past week at school? Have you been paying careful attention to your teachers and to the work you have been doing? Remember that hard work helps you to achieve your goals. What activities have you been involved in to celebrate both Education Month and Amerindian Heritage Month?
Last week we saw how important our teeth were to us. We also found out that there were many types of teeth in our mouths. Can you name the different types of teeth that there are? Check this with a friend and state the function of each tooth.
Let’s now find out how we can care our teeth.
Caring our teeth
Have you ever heard this little poem/verse below?
Brush your teeth Brush your teeth Brush them every day
Up and down And all around That is the proper way
We do need to care our teeth. We only change our teeth once in our lives - at about six/seven years old. We get no more after that. How can we care our teeth? Yes, one way is by brushing them. When should our teeth be brushed? How often? We should brush them every day as the little poem says. We should brush our teeth after every meal. This should be at least three times a day, and each brushing should be for at least three minutes. Try to use fluoride toothpaste. It is especially important to brush them before you go to bed. (Why is this important?)
Brush the top teeth down and the bottom teeth up. Brush the insides and the outsides. Go around until you have covered the surface of every tooth. You should pay attention to the spaces between your teeth. Use a string called dental floss. It helps to remove the remains of food and plaque that get stuck between them.
You can prevent problems by eating fewer sugary snacks and drinks that contain sugar. Sugar helps to cause tooth decay/cavities. Eat, like the rabbit, crunchy foods that help to clean the teeth while you eat them. Can you name a few of them? Call up a friend and compare your examples.
Let’s look now at one of the reasons why we possess teeth. Yes, our teeth are for eating. So we will now turn our attention to the different types of food that we eat.
What is food? Food is any liquid or solid which we drink or eat to provide the body with nutrients. Food is so important to our lives. Can you do without food? For how long can a human being be without food? Have you ever heard of persons going on a hunger strike? Without food all living things would eventually die.
Name some of the foods that you like. Did you name chicken, icecream or any fruits? What are the functions of these and other foods to our bodies? How many functions did you name?
We use our teeth to chew, so now let’s look at some foods, how they are grouped and how they affect our bodies. Do take note that some names may be different from the ones to which you may be accustomed.
(a) Staple foods: Staple foods are those foods that form the bulk of the diet. Because they are usually the cheapest foods in our market, some people tend to eat too much of them! Some examples of staple foods are - (c) Food from animals: In this group are Dairy products - milk, cheese, eggs
Flesh foods - beef, chicken, labba, iguana
(d) Green and leafy vegetables: Sometimes we refer to the vegetables
as greens.
Fruits - bora, pumpkin, saime, peas, tomato, carrot, ochro
Leaves - calaloo, eddo leaves, pakchoy, lettuce, vabbage
Some may be served raw but they must be properly cleaned. They must