Nutrition Unit

Designed by: Glenda Brown, Webber School

Grade Level: First         Subject: Health

1) Core Curriculum Objective(s): Name groups in the Food Guide Pyramid. (1HNDB1)

2) Overview: Students will complete activities which involve learning the six basic food groups.

3) Focus/Essential Question: What are the basic food groups?

4) Time Frame: This unit has five lessons that can be completed in 50 minutes each day for one week.

5) Resources/Materials(s)

Books: 

The Very Hungry Caterpillar, by Eric Carle Gregory

The Terrible Eater, by Mitchell Sharmat 

It Looks Like Spilt Milk, by Charles Shaw 

What's On My Plate, by Ruth Belov 

Gross Stone Soup, by Marcie Brown 

Yuck Soup, by Joy Cowley 

Ice Cream by Joy Cowley 

Bread Bread Bread by Ken Keyman 

The Enormous Watermelon, retold by Brenda Parks 

Green Eggs and Ham, by Dr. Seuss 

The Big Honey Hunt, by Stanley and Janice Berenstein 

Where the Sidewalk Ends (HarperCollins Children's Books 1974). The poem, "Hungry Mungry" by Shel Silverstein's poetry collection.

Websites used are as follows:
www.usda.gov/fcs/cnpp.htm
www.education-world.com/a_lesson/
www.dole5aday.comn/COOK/19.html
www.yahoo.com/

Health Supplies needed: Samples from the six food groups Paper plates Basket with pictures of foods from the story Green circular paper for each student Paper for writing stories Recipe page for writing Kabob sticks Food for the sticks (French bread slices, apple slices, cucumbers, ham cubes, cheese cubes and marshmallows.)

Computer Internet connections

Blank food pyramid for assessment

6) Culminating Assessment: The teacher will give each student a blank food pyramid and the students will label each section of the pyramid with the correct food group. The students will draw a food in each of the six categories of the food pyramid.

Rubric for Food Groups Pyramid

7) INSTRUCTIONAL ACTIVITIES: The teacher will display samples of foods from the bread and cereal group, the vegetable group, the fruit group, the milk group, the meat group, and the sugar and fats group. The students will then sample the foods from the six food groups as the teacher discusses how healthful eating helps children grow and develop properly. He or she will then discuss how a food pyramid was invented to guide people in their selection of proper foods for healthy eating. The students will then be given the web site http://www.education-world.com/a_lesson/. The students will go to the following: Serve up Classroom Nutrition Activities, (5 A Day Teachers' Lounge), Fun Stuff, and Cool Stuff. Each student will choose and draw a fruit or a vegetable, give it a fun name and write some important facts about their vegetable. They will read and share it with the class.

The teacher will then read the story, The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle. After discussing the food from the story, the students will choose similar food pictures from a basket and place them in the correct food group category on a large food pyramid. The students will be given a piece of circular paper and will draw their favorite food from the story. They will then glue their favorite food onto a chart to see which food would be eaten the most by their class.

The students will be given a paper plate and will be asked to divide it into six sections. They will draw a special meal for their family using the six food groups. They will then write about who they will share their meal with and what their meal might include. They will read their stories and share their special meal plates with their classmates.

The students will make a food pyramid kabob. It will include the following foods from the six basic food groups: French bread slices, apple slices, cucumbers, ham cubes, cheese cubes, and marshmallows.

The students will compile a classroom cookbook. Each student will bring in his or her favorite recipe from home. They will illustrate the recipe and write a paragraph to describe why the dish is their favorite and specify the food groups included in this dish.