National Nutrition Month® 2010
Teacher’s Guide
Learning Objectives
Students will be able to:Teacher’s Guide

Understand that healthful eating includes a variety of foods from all the food groups.
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Name the food groups of the MyPyramid food guide.

Give an example of a menu that includes foods from all of the food groups.
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Share information about unusual or favorite foods with other students.
Key Messages for 2010
Start with the basics. Eating right doesn’t have to be complicated. A healthy eating plan emphasizes
fruits, vegetables, whole grains, low-fat or fat-free dairy and includes lean meats, poultry, fish, beans
and nuts. A healthy eating plan is also low in saturated fats, trans fats, cholesterol, salt and added sugars.
Make calories count by thinking nutrient-rich rather than “good” or “bad” foods. Most food choices
should be packed with vitamins, minerals, fiber and other nutrients – and lower in calories. Be aware of
portion sizes. Even low-calorie foods can add up when portions are larger than you need.
Focus on variety by eating a variety of foods from all the food groups. Fruits and vegetables can be
fresh, canned or frozen. Look for locally grown produce that’s in season. Vary protein choices with
more fish, beans and peas. Include at least three servings of whole grain cereals, breads, crackers, rice or
pasta every day.
Make the most of family mealtime. Eating meals together provides the opportunity to help children
develop a healthy attitude toward food. It also enables parents to serve as role models, introduce new
foods and establish a regular meal schedule.
Balancing physical activity and a healthful diet is your best recipe for managing weight and promoting
overall health and fitness. Set a goal to be physically active at least 30 minutes every day.
New for 2010
 Ask children to draw a picture of a worm crawling up from the soil to illustrate a puzzle: “How do
worms get to school?” F r o m t h e g r o u n d u p !
 During this time of greater need, conduct a food drive at the school. For ideas go to:
http://feedingamerica.org/default.aspx
 Create a bulletin board calendar for March. Feature a different food group each week -- post a
picture of the “Food of the Day” chosen from the “Food Group of the Week.”
 Child obesity is a national concern. Develop a presentation on portion sizes. See
www.mypyramid.gov/kids for ideas.
 Provide a nutrition question every day in March using the Question of the Day or the Tip of the Day
at www.eatright.org
 Teach the children how to put together their own snacks. Provide the free “25 Healthy Snacks for
Kids” flyer from the Web site www.eatright.org/nnm
 Encourage children to create a place mat illustrating “Nutrition From the Ground Up.” Have them
think about how food is grown and harvested.
 Peel and spread avocado on crackers for the children to taste. Have them look at the large seed
inside. Wash the pit, and poke three toothpicks evenly around the middle (equator) of the pit. Use
those tooth picks to support the pit on the rim of a clear glass or plastic cup with the pointed end up.
Fill the water so that the bottom third of the pit is covered in water. Place the clear glass in a bright,
warm location but out of direct sun. Change the water once a week. In a few weeks, the pit will split
open, the roots will grow out the bottom, and a shoot will emerge from the top.
 Bring in various grains and their end products. Discuss how these grains, such as wheat, are grown
and then made into bread and other foods.
 Grow a tomato plant in the classroom. Discuss potential end products such as spaghetti sauce and
pizza.
 Invite a local plant and garden representative to present to the class. Then plant several common
herbs such as parsley, cilantro, spearmint and basil in egg containers to study in the classroom over
the following weeks.
 Play a nutrition game. ADA has free instructions for food-focused Memory Game, Jeopardy, Fill in
the Blank and Password. Write to nnm@eatright.org
Small Group Activities
 Children create an alphabet poster of foods. (Hints: ugli fruit, xtra carrots, yellow peppers)
 Assign a MyPyramid food group to each team. Ask children to choose a food, create a television
commercial and perform it for the class.
 Form small teams. Each team is responsible for selecting a country and researching one or two of
their foods and celebrations with food. On presentation day, children arrange their desks by teams
and decorate as appropriate to that country. They may also dress in native costumes
From the Past
Suggested Classroom Activities
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Read books with food-related titles: Green Eggs and Ham, If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, Charlie
and the Chocolate Factory, La Tortilleria
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Create a fish pond, using a large tub. The “fish” are plastic foods from the children’s play area.
When a child catches a “fish,” he tells the class its food group name.
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Ask children to create a calendar highlighting development of new food products; e.g.: George
Washington Carver and the peanut. This site will help: http://www.foodtimeline.org/
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Microwave s’mores as a post-lunch treat. Discuss graham crackers (made from unsifted wholewheat flour containing the bran of the wheat kernel); chocolate (dating back to the Aztec king
Montezuma); and marshmallow (once made from the root of the marshmallow plant, but now made
from corn syrup, gelatin and sugar).
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Contact your school nutrition program or state Dietetic Association to request a presentation by a
registered dietitian. http://www.eatright.org/
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Provide a world map handout with a food list. Have children match the food with the country. Or use
a map of the States and match foods to the region. See Activity 4 for examples.
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Give children a week’s notice to bring in empty food product boxes. Spend some time reading labels
and comparing calories, fat, sugar content and vitamins. “Shop Smart – Get the Facts on Food
Labels” can help. Find it at http://www.eatright.org/NNM/content.aspx?id=5342

Expanding on the previous suggestion, divide children into teams. Ask them to plan a healthy meal,
using what they learned from reading food labels.
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Invite children to bring their favorite recipes – illustrated with their own food art -- and prepare a
cookbook. This can be as simple as stapling together or doing a 3-hole punch with rings purchased
from an office supply store.
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Encourage children to write and illustrate a story with food as a central part. This can be a fantasy
(with foods being characters) or a real-life experience.
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Have a “blind taste test” for young children, and teach the concepts of sweet, sour, bitter and salt.
Take turns blindfolding children to see if they correctly recognize the various tastes.
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Play the alphabet game. One child begins with: “My father owns a grocery store, and he sells
apples.” The next child says, “My father owns a grocery store, and he sells apples and bananas.” The
game continues with each child taking a turn reciting the entire list and adding a new item for the
next letter of the alphabet.
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Arrange a tour of the school cafeteria so that children can see how the food service staff prepares
lunches.
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For young children, display pictures of foods and ask them to name the food group of each.
Suggested Resources:
MyPyramid for Kids: www.mypyramid.gov/kids
MyPyramid for Kids Worksheet and Coloring pages
MyPyramid Blast Off Game – an interactive computer game for children 6 to 11 years old
Tips for Families handout
USDA Team Nutrition lesson plans: http://teamnutrition.usda.gov/resources/popularevents.html
Fizzy’s Lunch Lab, PBS http://pbskids.org/lunchlab
USDA Food and Nutrition Information Center Resource Lists:www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/resource_lists.shtml
Nutrition Explorations, National Dairy Council: www.nutritionexplorations.org
How to Teach Nutrition to Kids, 3rd edition, by Connie Liakos Evers, MS, RD. 24 Carrot Press, 2006
Classic Favorites
Activity 1
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Ask the students to tell the class what their favorite foods are and why.
Ask them to share a story about eating their favorite food with their family or friends.
Have the class share a story about a food or special recipe that is unique to their family’s special
celebrations.
Activity 2

Plan a menu for a day! Split the class into 5 groups. Each group is responsible for planning
breakfast, lunch, after-school snack, dinner or bedtime snack. They plan a meal or snack using the
MyPyramid for Kids as a resource. Then, each group tells the teacher their meal or snack, and she
writes it on the board.

Together the class decides if they are getting enough servings from each group in the MyPyramid
food guide. If not, the class can think of ways to get what they need. See the chart on the next page,
and also go online to www.MyPyramid.gov to determine serving amounts for other ages. Amounts
for teen boys increase as they get older, while those for teen-age girls remain constant from age 1418. Children should be encouraged to be physically active as well.
MyPyramid for Kids Food Guide
Grains
Start smart with
breakfast. Look for
whole grain cereals.
Make sure the first
word is “whole” (like
“whole wheat”).
For an 1,800 calorie
diet, you need the
amount below.
Eat 6 oz. every day; at
least half should be
whole.
Vegetables
Color your plate with
all kinds of greattasting veggies: try
broccoli, spinach,
carrots and sweet
potatoes.
For an 1,800 calorie
diet, you need the
amount below.
Eat 2 ½ cups every
day.
Fruits
Milk
Meat & Beans
Fruits are nature’s treats –
sweet and delicious. Go
easy on juice and make
sure it’s 100%.
Move to the milk
group to get your
calcium. Calcium
builds strong bones.
Eat lean or lowfat
meat, chicken, turkey
and fish. Remember
nuts, seeds, peas and
beans, too.
For an 1,800 calorie diet,
you need the amount
below.
Eat 1 ½ cups every day.
For an 1,800 calorie
diet, you need the
amount below.
Get 3 cups every day;
for kids ages 2 to 8,
it’s 2 cups.
For an 1,800 calorie
diet, you need the
amount below.
Eat 5 oz. every day.
Activity 3
Working on the Web

Assign students to go to www.mypyramid.gov, enter their age, sex and physical activity
level, then print their MyPyramid plan.

Hand out copies of the MyPyramid for Kids Worksheet. Ask students to fill out the
worksheet with the foods they ate and drank for the previous day.

Ask the students to compare this with their MyPyramid plan. How well do their food choices
match up to the MyPyramid plan recommendations?
Activity 4
Investigating and Researching New and Exotic Foods

Ask older students to work in groups or individually to select one or more of the following
foods (or others you may have in mind).

Assign students to find as much information as they can about the food. For example, the
origin or history, where and how it grows, where it fits into the Food Pyramid, and how it is
prepared. If possible, bring the foods to the classroom for students to see, feel and taste.
Foods from around the World:
Lychee
Couscous
Kohlrabi
Plantain
Bulgar
Jicama
Kiwi
Pomegranate
Kumquat
Foods from the Americas:
Chocolate
Hot peppers
Tomatoes
Corn
Squash
Turkey
Star Fruit
Basmati rice
Bok choy
Beans
Match the food with the country; examples:
France – crepes
Spain – tapas
Italy – biscotti
Scotland – haggis
Great Britain – mincemeat pie
China – spring rolls
Mexico - empanadas
Activity 5
“Fearless About Food”

Assemble a variety of 20-30 unfamiliar fruits and vegetables. Suggestions: blood oranges,
bok choy, edamame, zucchini, papaya and fresh pineapple.

Formulate questions about these foods, such as “Where is edamame grown?” “What are
some good ways to use bok choy?”

Choose teams. This can be done by grade level, girls vs. boys, students vs. parents, etc.

Moderator asks a question, and whoever shouts out the answer first gets a point for their
team.

When all questions have been asked, distribute to the participants samples of the foods on
small plates. On a given signal, they begin eating. Prizes can be given to everyone who tastes
all the foods. (Go to www.eatright.org/nnm and see the catalog for NNM stickers, pencils,
etc. which may be used as prizes.)
GAMES: Instructions for the following games are available free upon e-mail request to
muhrick@eatright.org
“Jeopardy” Game
This game consists of a layout with food group questions and answers, as well as instructions for play.
“Fill in the Blanks” Game
A take-off on the old “Hangman,” the game includes suggested food-related titles as well as instructions for play.
“Test Your Memory” Game
Remember the television show “Concentration”? This game offers children an opportunity to recognize different foods
and see if they remember where the matching picture is placed. The game may be adapted for use by children of different
ages, depending on the food pictures you provide.
“Food Group Password”
Fun for children and adults, this game permits clues of more than one word – it even allows gesturing and jumping around
to help the contestant get the word. A good team game.