Eat and Play Lesson # 2 Learning the Food Guide Pyramid Kindergarten – 3rd Grades
Time: 30-45 minutes Objectives: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Identify the new Food Guide Pyramid. Identify the food groups on the Food Guide Pyramid. Identify numerous foods in each food group on the new Food Guide Pyramid. Identify favorite foods from each food group on the Food Guide Pyramid. Identify when a meal is balanced with 3 or more food groups.
Materials Needed: 1. New USDA Food Guide Pyramid poster visual aide and old Food Guide Pyramid poster visual aide. 2. Copies for each student of the new Food Guide Pyramid student worksheet. 3. Copies for each student of the Draw Your Meal worksheet (extra activity for grades 2-3). 4. 28 laminated colored new Food Guide Pyramids visual aides with #s on the back. 5. Crayons. 6. Scissors. 7. Laminated number cards in a jar. Teacher Gaining attention: Introduce and display the new Food Guide Pyramid poster. Ask the students to remember the old Food Guide Pyramid and what View new Food Guide Pyramid poster. Large new Food Guide Pyramid poster laminated visual aide. Students Materials
Recall the old Food Old Food Guide Pyramid Guide Pyramid and make poster laminated visual some comparisons. aide.
Teacher differences they notice. Allow response time. Teach the students that the new Food Guide Pyramid is similar to the old one because it has the same food groups, but they are organized differently. Now they are colorful and up and down on the pyramid instead of across. Tell students that the first group on the new pyramid is orange and it represents the grain/bread/cereal group.
Students
Materials
Understand that the old and new Food Guide Pyramids have the same food groups, but they are organized differently.
Laminated old and new Food Guide Pyramids.
Recognize that on the new pyramid, the groups are arranged up and down and not across and a color represents each type of food.
Ask the students to Tell the class a name some foods they grain/bread/cereal see or know that would food. go into the grain/bread/cereal group. Wait for their response. If they have trouble, you can mention more foods to give them ideas: bluebird flour, tortilla, bread, oatmeal.
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Teacher Tell the students the next group on the pyramid is green and it represents the vegetable group. Ask the students to tell you their favorite vegetable or other vegetables they know. Wait for their response. Again, you can mention additional vegetables: hominy (corn), cornmeal mush (taa’niil), Navajo kneel-down bread (nitsidigoi), squash, green beans.
Students
Materials
Tell the class their favorite vegetable and another vegetable they know.
Teach the students that Tell the class a fruit the next group is red they know. and it represents the fruit group. Ask them to tell you some fruits they enjoy: melon, apricots, sumac berries (tsiilchin) = small, sour, red/orange berry pudding, prickly pear cactus.
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Teacher Teach the students that the next group you want to talk about is blue and it represents the milk/dairy group.
Students
Materials
Ask the students to Tell the class a food in share with you some of the milk/dairy group. the milk/dairy foods they know. Wait for their response. If they miss stating any, you can fill them in: milk, yogurt, cheese. Tell the students that the next group is purple and it represents the meat/beans/nuts group. Ask the students to tell Tell the class a food in you some of the foods the meat/bean/nuts they know in this group. group. Wait for their response. Fill in any they may leave out: mutton, pinto beans, pinon nuts, fish. Next, tell the students that yellow represents the fats/sweets group: located between red and blue sections on the Food Guide Pyramid.
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Teacher Ask the students to tell you some of the foods they know in this group. Examples: Kool-Aid, lard, shortening, sweetened iced tea, soda, jello, chips, sheep intestines (ach’ii’ ) and fry bread. Ask the students why they think the fats/ sweets group is so small and why it isn’t labeled. Wait for their response. Tell the students that (1) the size of the column teaches us how much of certain foods we should eat, (2) the fats/sweets group is smaller than the rest because we should eat less food from this group because they are not as healthy for our bodies, and (3) eating too many foods from the yellow group may cause diabetes, heart disease, cancer, and weight gain.
Students Name some foods they know from the fats/sweets group.
Materials
Tell the group why they believe the yellow fats and sweets group is so small.
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Teacher Ask the students which group is the largest. Wait for their response. Answer: the grain/bread/cereal group. Teach students that it is the largest because our bodies need the most of this group to be healthy and have energy to grow, learn, and play. Show the students (by using the Food Guide Pyramid) that when you combine the vegetable and fruit group together, they become the biggest group. Explain that eating a lot of both vegetables and fruits (5 to 9 servings) is important. They give us important nutrients so that we can play, think and grow. Briefly explain the amount that represents a serving. Examples: 5 to 8 bites or ½ a baseball equals 1 serving of a fruit or vegetable.
Students Tell the class which group they see as the largest on the new Food Guide Pyramid.
Materials
Understand that the grain/bread/cereal group is very important to our bodies.
Know that when you combine the vegetable and fruit group that they become the biggest group.
Understand that it is important to eat 5 to 9 servings of vegetables and fruits a day and that combined together, the fruit and vegetable group is the biggest on the new pyramid.
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Teacher Point out that the meat/bean/nut group isn’t that big. This shows that although these foods are important, small servings are all our bodies need to stay healthy. Briefly explain the amount that represents a serving. Examples: a piece of mutton the size of a deck of cards equals 1 serving; 2 eggs equal 1 serving; 2 tablespoons of peanut butter equals 1 serving. Point out the person walking up the side of the pyramid and ask the students what they think this means.
Students Understand that although the meat/bean/nut group is important, small servings are all their bodies need to stay healthy.
Materials
View the person walking up the side of the new pyramid.
Wait for their response. Tell the class why they believe the person is walking up the side of the pyramid.
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Teacher Teach the students that the person walking up the side of the pyramid is showing us that a part of being healthy is being physically active. The new Food Guide Pyramid says: “Be active sixty minutes each day”.
Students Understand that the new Food Guide Pyramid is showing us that a part of being healthy is being physically active.
Materials
Understand that the new Food Guide Pyramid says: “Be active sixty minutes each day”. Raise their hands to show if they follow the guideline of sixty minutes of physical activity most days of the week. New Food Guide Pyramid student worksheet and crayons. Color their Food Guide Pyramids with the appropriate color for each food group.
Ask the students to raise their hands if they are active for sixty minutes most days of the week.
Pass out the New Food Guide Pyramid student worksheet. Tell the students to color in their Food Guide Pyramid by referring to the large poster on the wall or at the front of class.
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Teacher Tell the students to draw a line with the matching crayon color from the foods on the sides of the worksheet to the correct food group on their pyramid. Tell the students to use a brown crayon to draw a line from a physical activity to the person walking up the side of the pyramid. Walk around the classroom to help and compliment students. When the students are finished, review by going over the worksheet with them as a class. Ask the students to put their worksheets away in their cubbies or desks.
Students Draw a line with the matching crayon color from the food on their worksheet to the correct food group column.
Materials
Draw a line using a brown crayon from the physical activities on their worksheet to the person walking up the side of the pyramid.
Review with the teacher what they learned by listening and asking any questions about their pyramid worksheet. Put away their worksheets in their cubbies or desks.
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Teacher Extra activity for Grades 2-3 Pass out the Draw Your Meal worksheet, the laminated colored new Food Guide Pyramids and scissors. Ask the students to draw a meal they had recently, suggest either the foods they ate last night or this morning. Example: mutton stew potatoes squash broth Walk around the room to guide and compliment. When the students finish, ask them to cut their food out and place each food on the laminated new Food Guide Pyramid in the correct group. Ask the students if their meal was balanced (had foods from three or more food groups).
Students
Materials
Receive the Draw Your Meal worksheets and scissors.
Draw a meal they ate recently, separating out each food.
28 laminated, colored, new Food Guide Pyramids (8 1/2x11), Draw Your Meal worksheets, crayons, and scissors.
Cut their food out from their plate and place them on the laminated Food Guide Pyramid.
Understand if their meal was balanced and notice if their meal had foods from three or more food groups.
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Teacher Ask them students if their meal had a milk/dairy food; a vegetable; a fruit; a meat/bean/nut food; a grain/bread/cereal food; or a fat/sweet food.
Students Look at their meal on their pyramid and notice if they had a milk/dairy food; a vegetable; a fruit; a meat/bean/nut food; a grain/bread/cereal food; or a fat/sweet food. Understand that by eating foods from at least three food groups they are getting more nutrients (vitamins/ minerals). Recall that the fat/sweet group should make up the smallest part of a meal.
Materials
Teach the students that the more food groups they can eat in a meal, the more nutrients (vitamins/minerals) they will get. Ask students which food group should take up the smallest space on their plate. Answer: the fat/sweet group. Tell the students to look at the back of their laminated new Food Guide Pyramid to see their number. Tell the students that you are going to draw a number, and if you draw their number, they get to come up and share their meal with the class.
Flip their laminated new Food Guide Pyramid over and see a number.
Students listen for their number.
Jar full of small laminated numbers.
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Teacher Draw a number and ask the student with that number if they would like to share their meal in front of the class. Select another number if the student declines. Write each food on the board or overhead transparency and show the class how it fits on the pyramid. Refer to the large laminated new Food Guide Pyramid poster. Use the student’s meal to illustrate balanced meals and offer suggestions if their meal could use adjustments. Allow the students’ meals to become a teaching tool to creating healthy, balanced (foods from 3 or more food groups) meals. Have as many students share their meal as time allows.
Students Come up and share their meal with the class if chosen.
Materials Large-sized laminated new Food Guide Pyramid, chalkboard and chalk, overhead projector, and blank transparency with pens.
Learn to recognize a balanced meal through viewing and participating in the discussions about their classmates’ meals.
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Teacher Ask the students to pass in their laminated new Food Guide Pyramid, scissors, and crayons. Optional: Review by asking questions and giving away incentives.
Students Pass in their laminated new Food Guide Pyramid, scissors and crayons.
Materials
Orally, answer questions directed at them by the teacher.
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