Elementary (Grades 3-5)

Middle School (Grades 6-8)

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 

• Understand what a calorie is and how calorie consumption relates to weight

• Collaborate in a small group to create a menu for one or two healthy meals based on their packet of nutrition documents and report to the class

Ask students if they know what a calorie is. Display the definition. Make sure all students understand that it is a unit of food energy.

Say: In a way, people are like cars. We know that if someone has
to drive 90 miles a day and his car gets 30 miles to the gallon, he has
to have at least 3 gallons of gas in the car to drive the 90
miles.

90 miles divided by 30 miles to the gallon = 3 gallons of
gas

State: Food is the fuel that people use. Suppose a person needs
1000 units of food energy (calories) every day to do all the things they
do. Seely spends 1000 unit of energy a day. So, she needs 1000
units of food energy as her fuel for the day.

Suppose she only gets 800 units a day for a week. How many units
of food energy is she short at the end of a full week – 7 days? Have students do the math.

Ask: If a person is short 200 units of food fuel every day for a
week, where does her body get the fuel to keep going? If no one says
from extra weight or fat, then provide the answer. If someone has no
extra weight or fat, where do you think the body looks next? If no one says muscles, provide the answer.

What do you think will happen if Seely eats a total of 1400 fewer
calories than she needs? Students should answer that Seely will start to lose weight.

Say: Suppose Seely, who only needs 1000 calories a day, eats 1200
units of food energy (calories) every day for a week. How many extra
calories does she have at the end of the week? (1400.) What’s
going to happen if she eats an extra 1400 calories every week? (She will gain weight.)

Tell students that 3,500 calories equals about 1 pound of fat. Explain that we want to keep ourselves in balance. We want to eat the right number of calories to maintain a healthy weight. We want to balance how much we eat with how much energy we expend.

Draw a scale in equilibrium. On the left write “1000 units of food energy needed;” on the right, write “1000 calories of food eaten.” Explain that we want to balance the energy we need and use with the amount of food we eat.

Draw scales to illustrate the following:

Say: If a doctor tells someone he is overweight because he has
been out of balance between the amount of food energy he needs and the
amount of food he has taken in, the scale may look like this

1200 calories of food eaten | 1000 calories
needed

Say: To get them back into balance he may need to do this until
he loses the weight he has gained

1000 calories needed | 800 calories eaten

Ask: What do we call this? (Elicit going on a diet.)

Say: If a doctor says someone is underweight and needs to gain
additional pounds, the scale between the calories needed and the
calories that can be eaten looks like

1200 calories eaten | 1000 calories needed

Ask students why people need to eat proteins plus fruits, grains, dairy, and vegetables?

Tell the class that a trip to McDonalds for one Big Mac, a small order of fries and a vanilla milk shake equals 1250 calories.

Ask the class if they know what they are getting too much of when they eat fast food? (Elicit too much fat, too much sugar, and too much salt/sodium.) Ask them to look at the tip sheets and the MyPlate. Ask: What are you not getting enough of?

Tell students that each group will pick a Student Diner. They are a group of meal planners who will read about their Student Diner and create a menu for one meal. The meal (breakfast, lunch or dinner) that the group must plan is found at the end of the Student Diner Description.

Ask each group to send a representative to pick a Student Diner card/slip of paper with information about the group’s Student Diner.

Tell the group they have approximately 30 minutes to plan their menu, using the information they have been given about their Student Diner along with all the handouts they have been provided with. The group will write out the menu on the chart paper and must be prepared to explain why they chose the foods they did. The group must select one person to read aloud their final menu, one person to read aloud the description of their Student Diner, and one to post the menu. All group members will be responsible for answering questions about their menu choices.

The teacher should circulate around the room to monitor group progress and provide guidance as needed. Tell students when 15 minutes have passed. Tell them again when 20 minutes have passed and once more, when they have five minutes left.

Each group should post their menu. One person should read the menu and another should read aloud the Student Diner Description.

When all five menus are posted, the teacher should choose a group and ask: What was the biggest challenge you faced in making this
menu? Ask this question of each group until all have responded.