Eating Well to Stay Healthy

Unit	World Olympics, p. 106
Lesson Name	Eating Well to Stay Healthy
Grade Band	Elementary (Grades 3-5) Middle School (Grades 6-8)

Unit

World Olympics, p. 106

Lesson Name

Eating Well to Stay Healthy

Grade Band

Elementary (Grades 3-5)

Middle School (Grades 6-8)

Required Materials	Based on the size of the class, determine how many small groups of five students per group will be created. (For example, a class of 29 students will have six groups – five groups of five and one group of five.) Print the definition of junk food on chart paper: Junk Food is a term for food that contains a lot of salt, sugar, fat and calories and less protein, vitamins or minerals. Most fast food is junk food, and most junk food is fast food. Print the definition of calorie preprinted on chart paper: A calorie is a measure of energy in food. Have white dinner-size paper plates, one for each student plus extras on hand if needed. Copies of the MyPlate Nutrition Guide, enough for every student and some extras if needed. Provide a copy for each student of the five-page Nutrition Tips from the US Department of Agriculture, which they will use throughout the unit. (Note: Encourage students to take the packet home to their families to use in purchasing groceries and planning meals.) Have chart paper and markers for each group. Have tape to post students’ menus.
Standards / Competencies	CASEL Core Competencies Self-Awareness Self-Management Social Awareness Relationship Skills Common Core ELA-Literacy Standards Listening and Speaking Reading NCSS Social Studies Themes Individual Development and Identity
Recommended Time	55 mins

Required Materials

Based on the size of the class, determine how many small groups of five students per group will be created. (For example, a class of 29 students will have six groups – five groups of five and one group of five.)
Print the definition of junk food on chart paper: Junk Food is a term for food that contains a lot of salt, sugar, fat and calories and less protein, vitamins or minerals. Most fast food is junk food, and most junk food is fast food.
Print the definition of calorie preprinted on chart paper: A calorie is a measure of energy in food.
Have white dinner-size paper plates, one for each student plus extras on hand if needed.
Copies of the MyPlate Nutrition Guide, enough for every student and some extras if needed.
Provide a copy for each student of the five-page Nutrition Tips from the US Department of Agriculture, which they will use throughout the unit. (Note: Encourage students to take the packet home to their families to use in purchasing groceries and planning meals.)
Have chart paper and markers for each group.
Have tape to post students’ menus.

Standards / Competencies

CASEL Core Competencies

Self-Awareness
Self-Management
Social Awareness
Relationship Skills

Common Core ELA-Literacy Standards

Listening and Speaking
Reading

NCSS Social Studies Themes

Individual Development and Identity

Recommended Time

55 mins

Essential Question	What does it mean to eat well to stay healthy?
Learning Objectives	Describe the elements of good nutrition based on the USDA MyPlate Guidelines Recognize how what they usually eat meets or does not meet the MyPlate Guidelines Identify some of the consequences of a poor diet on a person’s health Identify various kinds of foods that are part of the MyPlate food groups: vegetables, grains, protein, fruits and dairy

Activating Prior Knowledge	Ask students to quickly go around the group and name a food they love to eat which they eat often. Chart responses (using a black marker) on newsprint. If a food is already on the list and is repeated, put a check next to the item. Post the pre-printed definition of junk food and read it aloud to class. Ask students to tell you which foods on the list fit the definition of junk food. Using a red marker, circle each food with the marker. Ask the class: Why do you think we should be concerned about the kinds of foods we eat? Chart responses. Tell students you are going to keep the list posted so they can refer back to it during the lesson.
Core Instruction	Give each student a marker and a white paper pie plate. Tell them to think of the last meal they had for dinner that they really enjoyed. Tell them it could be a meal they had at home or at a friend’s or relative’s home. Ask them to remember the different kinds of food that was on their plate. Hold up a sample plate with lines drawn to show portions of different sizes. Do not label the sections. Tell them: This is what the meal I am thinking of looks like. Point out that a certain section represents the largest portion of a type of food, then point to a smaller section to indicate that the portion of food in this section was smaller, and so on. Tell students to divide their paper plate into sections to represent each type of food they ate and to make the sections represent the size of the portion on the plate. When they have drawn the lines, ask them to label the sections with the name of the food. Ask for a few students to share the meal that they enjoyed by holding up the plate and reading the food in each section. Thank them for sharing. The teacher should then share his or her plate in the same manner, this time with the sections labeled. (Note: It is important that the teacher should make sure not to have a “perfect” plate per the MyPlate guidelines.) Say: Now let’s see how well all of us are doing when it comes to following the United States Department of Agriculture MyPlate Nutrition Guide. Distribute Handout 1: United States Department of Agriculture MyPlate Nutrition Guide. Say: Let’s compare our plates to the picture of MyPlate. The teacher should hold their plate and talk about how it did not mirror the MyPlate guide, such as “I had a really big portion of meat and no fruit,” or “I didn’t eat any grains.” Ask for a show of hands of how many other people in the class had plates that didn’t look like the MyPlate Guide. Ask for two or three students to share. Ask: Why do you think the government came out with the MyPlate guide? Get three or four responses. Ask: What kind of illnesses can people get from poor nutrition, that is, from not eating well? Chart responses. If students have trouble with this question, list some possible results of poor nutrition: teeth decay and cavities, diabetes, high blood pressure, poor eyesight, weak muscles, poor bone strength, slow healing, fatigue (tiredness), etc. Ask: Why do you think athletes are particularly concerned about what they eat? Chart responses. Ask: Why do you think you should be concerned about your diet? Chart responses. Distribute the Packet of Nutrition Tips from the US Department of Agriculture, one to each student. Tell them that they will need this packet for another lesson after this one, so it is important that they keep it in a safe place. State: Our team is preparing to compete in the World Olympics and we need to eat well. Each student now has a packet of nutrition tips on eating vegetables, grains, fruits, protein and dairy. Review each of the five food groups with students. Encourage students to ask questions about any of the foods mentioned or any of the key concepts. Be sure to go through each group to check that students understand new vocabulary words. Tell students: In our next lesson, we are going to divide into groups of five students per group and pretend that each group is a group of dieticians. A dietician is an expert on diet and nutrition.
Wrap-up	Ask: By a show of hands, how many people were surprised at what we found out when we looked at how most or some of us were eating compared to what we should be eating? Ask: By a show of hands, how many of us “get” that we need to figure out how to eat better? Go around the room, each person saying one word that expresses how they feel right now.

Activating Prior Knowledge

Ask students to quickly go around the group and name a food they love to eat which they eat often. Chart responses (using a black marker) on newsprint. If a food is already on the list and is repeated, put a check next to the item.

Post the pre-printed definition of junk food and read it aloud to class. Ask students to tell you which foods on the list fit the definition of junk food. Using a red marker, circle each food with the marker. Ask the class: Why do you think we should be concerned about the kinds of foods we eat? Chart responses. Tell students you are going to keep the list posted so they can refer back to it during the lesson.

Core Instruction

Give each student a marker and a white paper pie plate. Tell them to think of the last meal they had for dinner that they really enjoyed. Tell them it could be a meal they had at home or at a friend’s or relative’s home. Ask them to remember the different kinds of food that was on their plate.

Hold up a sample plate with lines drawn to show portions of different sizes. Do not label the sections. Tell them: This is what the meal I am thinking of looks like. Point out that a certain section represents the largest portion of a type of food, then point to a smaller section to indicate that the portion of food in this section was smaller, and so on.

Tell students to divide their paper plate into sections to represent each type of food they ate and to make the sections represent the size of the portion on the plate. When they have drawn the lines, ask them to label the sections with the name of the food.

Ask for a few students to share the meal that they enjoyed by holding up the plate and reading the food in each section. Thank them for sharing. The teacher should then share his or her plate in the same manner, this time with the sections labeled. (Note: It is important that the teacher should make sure not to have a “perfect” plate per the MyPlate guidelines.)

Say: Now let’s see how well all of us are doing when it comes to following the United States Department of Agriculture MyPlate Nutrition Guide.

Distribute Handout 1: United States Department of Agriculture MyPlate Nutrition Guide.

Say: Let’s compare our plates to the picture of MyPlate. The teacher should hold their plate and talk about how it did not mirror the MyPlate guide, such as “I had a really big portion of meat and no fruit,” or “I didn’t eat any grains.”

Ask for a show of hands of how many other people in the class had plates that didn’t look like the MyPlate Guide. Ask for two or three students to share.

Ask: Why do you think the government came out with the MyPlate guide? Get three or four responses.

Ask: What kind of illnesses can people get from poor nutrition, that is, from not eating well? Chart responses. If students have trouble with this question, list some possible results of poor nutrition: teeth decay and cavities, diabetes, high blood pressure, poor eyesight, weak muscles, poor bone strength, slow healing, fatigue (tiredness), etc.

Ask: Why do you think athletes are particularly concerned about what they eat? Chart responses.

Ask: Why do you think you should be concerned about your diet? Chart responses.

Distribute the Packet of Nutrition Tips from the US Department of Agriculture, one to each student. Tell them that they will need this packet for another lesson after this one, so it is important that they keep it in a safe place.

State: Our team is preparing to compete in the World Olympics and we need to eat well.

Each student now has a packet of nutrition tips on eating vegetables, grains, fruits, protein and dairy. Review each of the five food groups with students. Encourage students to ask questions about any of the foods mentioned or any of the key concepts. Be sure to go through each group to check that students understand new vocabulary words.

Tell students: In our next lesson, we are going to divide into groups of five students per group and pretend that each group is a group of dieticians. A dietician is an expert on diet and nutrition.

Wrap-up

Ask: By a show of hands, how many people were surprised at what we found out when we looked at how most or some of us were eating compared to what we should be eating?

Ask: By a show of hands, how many of us “get” that we need to figure out how to eat better? Go around the room, each person saying one word that expresses how they feel right now.

Download this lesson to access handouts.

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