CAPTAIN CHOLESTEROL

and the

GRANNIES from MARS

Teachers’ notes

Key Stage 2

INTRODUCTION

Captain Cholesterol and the Grannies from Mars is based on Attainment Target 2 of the National Curriculum for Science and explores the sections on health and nutrition.

During the play we look at the effects of exercise on the body, how the circulatory system works, what happens when teeth are not cleaned, how to put together a balanced diet and in general how to achieve a healthy lifestyle.

The play takes the form of a mystery as we follow our two heroes, Fox Mouldy and Dana Scullery from the FBI (Fruit Bureau of Investigation) as they get to the bottom of the strange goings on in the sleepy village of Much Merrydown.

SCIENTIFIC CONCEPTS EXPLORED

A HEALTHY LIFESTYLE

Fox Mouldy is called in to investigate an incident at the apple growing contest in the village of Much Merrydown, but during his briefing session his boss points out that he eats all the wrong things and takes no exercise. She explains what you should do to keep yourself fit and healthy.

It is important to eat a balanced diet consisting of proteins, carbohydrates, fats, fibre, vitamins, minerals and a lot of water to drink, take plenty of exercise and rest.

The boss sings a song and the audience learn the chorus:

You gotta get fit, eat healthy

If you wanna stay wise and wealthy.

Good food, exercise and rest

Come on, you know it’s for the best.

Just eat a balanced diet

I wanna see you try it.

Work that body, fuel it right

And then make sure you sleep all night.

So go on, be good to yourself, for health.

EXERCISE

Scullery tells Mouldy that what he needs to do is exercise to give him added stamina, suppleness and strength. Mouldy then discusses with the audience the merits of exercise. Between them they discover that exercise strengthens the muscles, heart and lungs and also helps to burn off fat.

Exercise helps in three ways: it determines how well our muscles work and makes them work better, it increases our ability to keep going and helps extend the flexibility of our bodies. Scullery sums up these three benefits as ‘stamina, suppleness and strength’.

Fitness can help you look good and feel better. It firms up your body and helps with posture and can also improve your skin and hair. The more you exercise the more energy you have in everyday life and it also helps you relax too.

Muscles need exercise to keep them firm and strong otherwise undue strain will be put on the joints. The heart is made to work harder when we exercise, which keeps it strong. As the muscles need more oxygen during exercise the heart is made to beat faster to pump deliver more oxygenated blood to them.

The lungs are strengthened through exercise. We are made to breathe more deeply to take in more oxygen.

Exercise also uses up energy so helps burn off fat. It increases the metabolic rate which means that more energy is released, not just during an exercise session but throughout the day as well.

We do not discuss the term ‘aerobic exercise’, which involves a sustained intake of oxygen to fuel the exercise, but we do say that a sustained form of exercise is required to make the heart work a bit harder over a period of time to get the above effects.

CIRCULATION

Dr Dickie Gripes explains to Scullery how the blood circulates around the body.

As we breathe in oxygen passes into our lungs and is absorbed by the blood. Oxygenated blood is a bright red colour.

The blood is then returned to the left hand side of the heart from where it is pumped all around the body in thick tubes called arteries. As we exercise the oxygen is used to fuel the activity and the blood turns a bluey purple colour. More oxygen is needed so the blood is pumped back to the right hand side of the heart in thinner tubes called veins. From there it is pumped back to the lungs where it is re-oxygenated.

The effects of exercise on the circulatory system are then examined briefly.

The more exercise we do the harder the heart has to work to provide enough oxygenated blood for the activity. This strengthens the heart and also ensures that the arteries remain clear of fatty deposits as well as causing them to open up and grow more. Thus our blood pressure is kept low.

Dr Dickie Gripes concludes that a heart attack can occur if enough fatty deposits build up in the arteries to prevent the blood from getting through and that this is more likely to happen through an unhealthy diet and a lack of exercise.

OUR TEETH

The Cox boys, two young tearaways, have been suffering from terrible toothache and Mouldy discusses with the audience how tooth decay occurs and how we can prevent it.

Our teeth are made up of layers of different materials. On the outside is the enamel which is the hardest and toughest substance in the body and this covers a layer of dentine, which itself is harder than bone. The tooth mostly consists of dentine, but right in the centre is the pulp cavity and here you find the nerves and blood vessels.

Tooth decay is caused by the bacteria which live in the mouth feeding on the sugar we eat creating plaque. The plaque clings to our teeth and begins to erode the enamel coating causing small holes to appear. As there are no nerve cells in either the enamel or dentine layers of a tooth we do not know that there is damage until the decay reaches the pulp at the centre. At this point the dentist usually fills the tooth!

The children learn the couplet: Don’t lose the war of tooth decay

Fight back that plaque, brush twice a day!

An interesting experiment, which illustrates tooth decay well, is to put a hard boiled egg in a cup of malt vinegar and to leave it for a day. When you come back to the egg part of the shell will have been eaten away and parallels can be drawn between the vinegar and the egg and what sweets and fizzy drinks do to our teeth.

EATING A BALANCED DIET

Throughout the play we stress the importance of eating a balanced diet and Scullery, with the help of the audience, puts together a healthy meal from a variety of foodstuffs. Each of the main types of food are introduced and discussed.

Proteins: the usual sources of protein are meat, fish and dairy products although strict vegans can gain their protein from beans, pulses and nuts, another good source of protein. Proteins are used by the body to build new cells and to repair damaged tissue. They help the body stay strong.

Carbohydrates: carbohydrates supply most of the energy the body needs and mainly come from bread, pasta, rice and potatoes although hard and leafy vegetables and fruit are also good sources. If the carbohydrate intake exceeds the amount needed by the body then the excess is converted and stored as fat.

Fats: butter, milk, cheese and oils are our main source of fat. Fats contain twice as much energy as carbohydrates, weight for weight, and are stored by the body for use at another time when more energy is needed.

Vitamins and minerals: these are mentioned by not covered in detail. Fruit and vegetables provide most of the vitamins and minerals we need to keep our body functioning properly.

Fibre: fruit, vegetables, wholewheat bread, brown pasta and rice, beans and nuts are all rich in fibre. It has no nutritional value but speeds up digestion and keeps our digestive system healthy. It also helps fill you up!

Water: As two thirds of our body is water we need to drink plenty to keep us healthy. Water dissolves the digested food and carries it around the body in the blood stream. We get about a litre of water a day from our food but we need to ensure we drink at least a litre as well and more if we are exercising hard as we lose a lot of water in sweat.

An experiment in finding fat is foods is to rub brown paper against the foodstuff and holding it up to the light if the paper turns see-through the food has fat in it.

In class the children can cut out paper plate shapes are draw their favourite meals. Which food types do they contain? The children can then draw a balanced meal using foods they like to eat.

A demonstration of how fibre works can be done with a sock, a hard ball and a soft foam ball. Put the hard ball in the sock and squeeze the sock so that the ball moves along. Then try the same thing with the soft ball and compare results.

Show Requirements

The actors will be arriving approximately forty minutes prior to the start time in order to set up and will need to have access to the school hall from then. They bring the set, lighting and sound equipment with them so only need access to a plug socket. They’ll need a space approximately 15’ wide by 10’ deep with the children sitting in front, either seated or on the floor. The show works well ‘on the flat’ but if it’s more convenient for them to use your stage, please let them know on arrival. Captain Cholesterol and the Grannies from Mars lasts one hour with a two minute q & a session at the end.