Background Information: In this experiment, you’ll observe
how fluoride affects your teeth.
Materials Needed: • 1 Bottle of Fluoride
Rinse Solution (available
from your dentist, local
dental supply company and
some pharmacies)
• 2 Eggs
• 1 Bottle of white vinegar
• 3 Containers
MAP CORNER
DID YOU KNOW?
Enjoy these activities
that help you get
to know your St.
Louis American
newspaper.
Activity One — Dental Health: Use the
newspaper to find ads for
dentists and dental care. Locate
articles about dental health
care and save them in a journal.
Add to this journal throughout the
school year. Design a newspaper ad
encouraging people to take care
of their teeth. Next, write an
informational news article about a
dental health issue.
Activity Two — Timeline: Use a story in the
newspaper to create a timeline. Your timeline should
be in sequential order with at least five to 10 entries.
Choose or create illustrations that support the key
events of your timeline.
Learning Standards: I can
use the newspaper to locate
information. I can write for a specific
purpose and audience. I can select key
information and arrange it sequentially.
The St. Louis American’s award winning NIE program provides
newspapers and resources to more than 7,000 teachers and
students each week throughout the school year, at no charge.
African -American Dental and Golf Inventor George Franklin Grant
George Franklin Grant was
born to slaves in Oswega,
New York, in 1846. When
Grant was young, his father
became a barber and bought
some land and a small house
for his family. When Grant
was 15, he moved out on his
own and supported himself
by working as an errand boy
for a local dentist. Six years
later, he moved to Boston,
Massachusetts, where he
worked as an apprentice in a
lab. He enrolled in Harvard University, with recommendations
from his former employers. Grant chose the School of Dental
Medicine and graduated in 1870 with honors, and became
the second African-American graduate of the Dental School.
Harvard offered him a job in the Department of Mechanical
Dentistry and Grant became their first African-American staff
member. Grant helped people who were born with defects
in their mouth. He received patents for devices, such as
the oblate palate, which
helped his patients speak
and eat more easily. These
devices also improved their
appearance and helped them
feel more confident.
In his free time, Grant
loved to golf and had a golf
course on his property. He
would have to use wet sand
and create a mound to hit
the golf ball. After playing
18 holes, and creating 18
mounds, his hands were
quite messy! In 1899, Grant
invented the golf tee, patent
number 638,920. He was the
first American to patent this
design. Although he had
some golf tees created for
personal use, he never sold
his design to the public. In 1910, he died of liver disease
while visiting his vacation home. In 1991, the United States
Golf Association gave Grant recognition for his contribution
to the game of golf.
Learning Standards: I can read a biography about a
person who has made a contribution in the fields of science,
technology, engineering, or math.
Teachers, if you are using the St. Louis American’s NIE program and would like to nominate your class for a Classroom Spotlight, please email: [email protected].
SCIENCE CORNER
CLASSROOM SPOTLIGHT SCIENCE STARS
MATH CONNECTION
This special Newspaper In Education initiative is made possible, and delivered to classrooms, through The St. Louis American Foundation and its NIE Corporate Partners:
Tooth Decay
According to the Academy of General Dentistry (AGD),
more than 51 million school hours are lost each year
due to dental-related illness.
According to the US Centers for Disease Control, only
48 percent of children entering kindergarten have
seen a dentist within the past year, and 52 percent
of children aged six to eight have tooth decay.
Answer these questions about
teeth.
z An adult human has 32
teeth. If there are 80 adults in
a room, how many teeth are
there in all? ______
x If the dose for a
medication at the dentist office
is 250 mg per 70 kg body weight,
what would be the proper dose for
a 45 pound child? (remember that
2.2 lb = 1 kg) ______
c Survey your classmates to determine
their favorite flavor of toothpaste:
mint, fruit, or bubblegum. Create a
bar graph or pie graph to display your
results.
v If you brush your teeth 3 times per
day, for 2 minutes each time, how much
time do you spend brushing your teeth
per week? ______ How much time do
you spend brushing your teeth per
month? ______
b Karen knows that drinking soda is
harmful to her teeth. She drinks an
average of three sodas per day. She
decides she will drink half as much
soda for the upcoming week. She will
drink ______ sodas per day. The
following weekend, she drinks half of
that amount. She will drink ______
sodas per day.
Learning Standards: I can add,
subtract, multiply, and divide to solve
a problem. I can make text to world
connections.
Did you know that no two people have the
same set of teeth? Your teeth are as unique
as your finger prints. Our teeth are not
only the showcase of our smile, teeth serve
an important purpose. Humans have four
different types of teeth (incisors, canine,
premolars, and molars) to cut, tear and
grind their food.
Unfortunately, tooth decay is five times
more common than asthma and seven
times more common than hay fever. Left
untreated, pediatric dental disease can lead
to malnourishment, bacterial infections, and
emergency surgery. Dental disease has been linked to heart
disease, stroke, diabetes, pneumonia, and dementia. Pain
and infection caused by tooth decay can lead to problems
in eating, speaking and learning. Tooth decay is the most
common, and the most preventable, disease
in children, according to the American General
Dentistry (AGD).
How can you take care of your teeth? Brush your
teeth regularly. Use dental floss to remove food
from hard to reach areas. Rinse your mouth with
mouthwash. You can make your own mouth rinse
with baking soda, a pinch of salt, and warm
water. Dental exams are important, too. Your
dentist can x-ray parts of your teeth that you
can’t see, to detect problems.
To learn about the parts of your teeth, visit: http://idahoptv.org/dialogue4kids/season9/teeth/
facts.cfm.
Learning Standards: I can read nonfiction text for main
idea and supporting details.
According to the American
Dental Hygienist Association,
nearly 75 percent of American
adults suffer from various
forms of gum disease and
don’t know it.
SCIENCE EXPERIMENT
Bryan Hill
Elementary School
teacher, Mrs.
Hamilton, shows students
Khamryn Daniel and Kyron
Edward how to measure how
long it takes for ice to melt
at certain tempertures. They
were using an experiment they
foundontheSTEMpage. Bryan
Hill Elementary School is in
the Saint Louis Public Schools
District. Photo by Wiley Price /
St. Louis American.
The Power of Fluoride!
Math Problems with bite!
An estimated 17
million children
in America
go without
dental care
each year.
TreatedNot
Treated
Process:
q Place 4 inches of fluoride into a container, place an egg in the
fluoride, and let it set for 5 minutes.
w Pour 4 inches of vinegar in each of the
remaining two containers. Place the egg that
has been treated in fluoride in one, and the
untreated egg in the other. Label the containers.
e One egg will start to bubble as the vinegar
attacks the shell. Which egg do you think that
will be? Was your prediction correct?
Learning Standards: I can follow sequential directions to complete
a task. I can make predictions and draw conclusions.