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: nie@stlamerican.com.

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.