Lesson 1: “Food Pyramid Bingo”
National Health Education Standard(s):
Standard #1 – Students will comprehend concepts related to health promotion and disease
prevention.
Performance Indicator: Students will recognize the relationship between personal
health behaviors and individual well-being.
Standard #7 – Students will demonstrate the ability to practice health-enhancing behaviors
and individual well-being.
Performance Indicator: Students will demonstrate strategies to improve or
maintain personal health.
Lesson Goal:
To have students eat healthful meals and snacks.
To have students use the Food Guide Pyramid.
To have students stay at a healthful weight.
Behavior Objectives: After discussing the Food Guide Pyramid, students will a) color the
correct foods in each food group worksheet and cross out the incorrect foods b) present
their answers to the class c) then will correct their own worksheets to assess their
understanding of the Food Guide Pyramid and have 5 foods correct.
Total Time Needed: 30 minutes
Materials Needed: pencils, crayons; Food Guide Pyramid poster; tape; Organize the Food
Group Worksheet; MyPyramid Worksheet; Food Model Bingo Cards; Bingo markers/chips;
Slips of paper with different foods, jar or hat to place Bingo slips
Special Preparations: Have the Food Guide Pyramid poster taped to be ready to hang on
the whiteboard in the front of the classroom. Also, have enough copies printed out of the
Food Group Worksheet, MyPyramid Worksheet and Food Model Bingo Cards. Slips of paper
should be made before class with different types of foods and place these slips in a jar or
hat. Also, have the markers/chips cut out and made before class.
Vocabulary:
Food Guide Pyramid – a graph/chart used to help adults and kids make healthy choices
when it comes to nutrition and choosing meals and snacks
Combination Foods- foods that are mixed together and do not fit into one specific food
group (ex. Casserole, pizza, peanut butter & jelly sandwich)
Vitamin – important for normal growth and nutrition; small amounts found in diets
Mineral – needed by the body for good health
Calcium – an element that helps build strong bones
Protein – Protein helps build and repair muscles. It is found mainly in meat, poultry, fish,
eggs, nuts, beans, milk, and cheese.
Curriculum Integration Ideas: Art: the students will color in the correct foods for the
Organize the Food Group Worksheet, Science: Students can discuss the affects on the body
if they make healthy or unhealthy dietary decisions, Math: Students will use addition with
the different servings in their meals to create a healthy diet, Communication Skills:
Students will raise hands and participate during class to help identify the different foods in
each food group
Procedure:
Hook: (2-3 minutes)
Introduce the lesson by having all the students direct their attention to the front of the
classroom, then ask them the following questions and define the terms.
Q: What is the Food Guide Pyramid? Wait for answers. Define Food Guide Pyramid.
Q: Why is the Food Guide Pyramid important and helpful for people? Wait for answer.
Describe there are many different kinds of foods and the Food Guide Pyramid will help
show students what foods they should be eating in their meals and snacks daily.
This will lead you into the lesson.
Awareness Building: (7-8 minutes)
At this time, hang the Food Guide Pyramid poster in front of the room. Ask students what
the six different colored stripes represent. Then ask students to list the food groups they
know. After the students have completed listing the food groups they know, begin talking
about the specific foods in each group. Go from left to right on the Pyramid, listing the food
group and the corresponding colored stripe that represents that group.
Orange = Grains – the grain group includes any food made from wheat, oats, cornmeal,
barley, or other grain. Then ask the students to list different examples of grains (bread,
tortillas, cereal, rice, and pasta) Whole grains contain dietary fiber that can help control
weight. Eating a diet rich in whole grains also might decrease the risk of developing heart
disease and diabetes.
Green = Vegetables – Vegetables provide many of the vitamins and minerals kids need for
good health. Then ask the students to list some examples of vegetables (green beans,
broccoli, carrots, peas, potatoes, celery, lettuce, squash, corn, peppers)
Red = Fruits - Fruits have important nutrients like vitamin C, potassium, and fiber. Explain
to students this helps them to have healthy skin, hair, and eyes. Fruit juice holds on to the
vitamins and minerals, but loses the fiber, so explain to students to choose whole or cut-up
fruits over juices. Then ask students to list some examples of fruits (apples, oranges,
bananas, kiwi, grapes, watermelon, peaches, strawberries, pears, pineapple, cherries,
lemon, lime)
(Students may ask why you are skipping the small yellow stripe, which is the Oil group, but
explain to them that you will come back to this group at the end.)
Blue = Milk - This group includes milk and other dairy products that provides calcium.
Explain to students that calcium is important for healthy, strong bones and teeth. Then ask
students to give some examples of things in the mild group (milk, yogurt, cheese)
Purple = Meats & Beans - This food group provides protein, which helps build, maintain,
and repair body tissue which is important in students bodies. Next ask for examples of the
meat and beans food group (meat, poultry, fish, dry beans or peas, eggs, nuts, and seeds)
Next, explain to the students that the reason you decided to skip over the yellow stripe is
because it represents the Oil food group. Although the oil group is necessary in ones diet, it
should be limited. Then give the students some examples of oils (vegetable oil and oils that
are commonly used for cooking oils)
Next ask the students if they can guess what a combination food would be? Wait for
answers. Then describe a combination group as foods that are mixed together and do not
fit into one specific food group (ex. Casserole, pizza, peanut butter & jelly sandwich) These
foods are beneficial because you can eat several different food groups in one food.
To wrap up the Food Guide Pyramid explain to the students that the width of each stripe is
different, reminding you to eat more from some food groups, such as vegetables and grains,
and less from others, like meat and oils.
Assessment: (10 minutes) Pass out to each student the Organize the Food Group
Worksheet and have students individually follow the worksheets instructions. Emphasize
to students to only color the foods that belong to the food group shown and cross out any
food that does not belong to the Food Pyramid at all.
When all students are finished, go through the worksheet and have them correct their own
papers. Students should have 5 correct answers (one in each food group.) This worksheet
will help you assess if students understand which foods belong to the correct food groups.
Assessment Activity: (10 minutes) Pass out to each student a Food Model Bingo card and
enough markers/chips to cover each Bingo space. Explain to the students that you will be
drawing names of different foods between the Grain, Vegetables, Fruits, Milk, Meats &
Beans, Oils (“others”) groups and Combination foods. When they hear the foods being read
they need to write the food name down on the marker/chip and place it over the correct
food group space. Continue to play this game until a student gets a “Bingo” which is five
spaces vertically, horizontally or diagonally. As a check, have the “winner” read off the
name in the winning food/food group spaces.
If there is still time left in the class, play another game or continue to play until a student
can fill every space of his or her Bingo card (Blackout).
Home and Family Involvement: An activity to take home with students is the MyPyramid
Worksheet. This is a goal setting worksheet that allows students to write the food choices
they made during the day and goals they can choose to try and reach the following day.
This is something that would be very beneficial to have students take home to show and
have their parents/guardians work with them to create healthy food choices.
Resources:
Meeks, L. & Heit, P. (2003). Totally Awesome Strategies for Teaching Health. New York, NY:
McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. page 213
Nemours. (2010). The Food Guide Pyramid. Retrieved from
http://kidshealth.org/parent/nutrition_center/healthy_eating/pyramid.html#
Nutrition Explorers. (2010). Five Food Group Bingo. Retrieved from
http://www.nutritionexplorations.org/educators/lessons/foodmodels/foodmodels
-act-bingo.asp
United States Department of Agriculture. (2010). MyPryamid for Kids Worksheet. Retrieved
from http://www.fns.usda.gov/tn/Resources/mypyramidworksheet.html
Nourish Interactive. (2010). Organize the Food Group Worksheet. Retrieved from
http://www.nourishinteractive.com/free_printables/food_groups_worksheets/kids
-food-pyramid-food-groups-learning-nutrition-worksheet-K-5-elementaryschool.pdf
“Label Lingo”
o Health Education Standard and Performance Indicator:
o Standard 3: Demonstrate the ability to access valid information and products
and services to enhance health.
 Performance Indicators:
 Students will identify valid characteristics of a food labels
 Students will compare food labels to figure out which foods are
healthier than others.
o Standard 5: Students will demonstrate the ability to use decision-making skills
to enhance health.
 Performance Indicators:
 Students will identify parts of a nutrition label to determine
nutritional value on their label worksheet
 Students will analyze food label to decide whether a food is
healthy or not by comparing food labels with a partner
o Goals:
o Students will learn to break down a food label
o Students will learn to look at a food label to determine it’s nutritional value.
o Behavioral Objective:
o Students will work in class and with pairs to develop an understanding of the
basics of reading a nutritional label. By learning the 3 key aspects of any label
and working to determine the healthiest of a given group of foods based on
these 3 aspects.
o Total Time Needed: 30 minutes
o Integration Skills:
o Math: Looking at the percentages of nutrients in a particular food and analyzing
them.
o Language Arts: Learning new vocabulary and applying these new words
o Materials:
o Enlarged food label Poster
o Food Boxes and Containers of various types
o Several Food Labels (brought in by students and teachers)
o Nutritional label worksheet
o Pencil/Pen
o Vocabulary:
o See attached “Label Lingo” (for teacher use) sheet
o Anticipatory Set:
o Last health lesson we talked all about aspects of the Food Pyramid. I need some
volunteers to review what we learned! 
 Help all students come up with all categories.
o Well, today we are going to talk about the foods within those groups. Teacher
and helpers hold up various things with food labels. Ask students where the
food labels are located on each element
o Ask students if they have ever looked closely at a food label before.
 Mainly looking for head nods or shakes.
 Possibly hand raises saying yes. Ask a follow up question about what
they were looking for if they had.
o Procedure:
o 2 minutes: Ask students if they know how to read the parts of a food label
 Likely no…inform the students they will learn how to read parts of a food
label today.
o Have students brainstorm things they think make a food healthy.
 Once students have exhausted their ideas, let them know their ideas
were all excellent and then tell them there are many parts of a food label,
and there are 3 main parts of a food label they will be learning about.
o Transition: Have students take their food labels they brought in to start
analyzing. Hand out a copy of “Parts of the Label” to students. For those
students who don’t have a label, have a few extra to pass around
o 15 minutes: Ask students if they know where to start when reading a food label.
 Most students probably will not know, so tell them reading a food label
from the top is the best way to go.
 Using the enlarged food label, point out where the “serving size” section
is and have students find it on their label and share it with someone
sitting near them.
o Ask if anyone knows what a serving size is?
 If they don’t know, let them know what it is. The definition is “an
individual quantity of food or drink taken as part of a meal” This means
this is the amount of the food you should eat at one time.
o Tell students there are many ways to display a serving size.
 Examples: Cups/Liters/Ml/Amount of that food
o Also, point out the idea of calories per serving. Ask students if they know what
the word calorie means.
 If not, use the definition provided on the “Label Lingo” reference sheet
provided.
 Also, tell the students these labels are often based upon a 2,000calorie/day diet. Then, point this out at the bottom of the enlarged label.
o Ask what their labels say. (Choose 3 volunteers)
 Ask all students if they have found their serving size and if anyone has
any questions with that aspect.
 If all students have found it, then have them record it on their “Parts of
the Label” log. Have “helpers” move around the classroom to any
students having trouble finding the serving size.
o Once all students have found and understand the aspect of serving size, tell
them the remaining two parts are very basic.
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 A. “Bad stuff” or Things you want to keep at low percentages
 B. “Good Stuff” Things you want a lot of in your food (high percentages)
Ask students what they think they should keep at low percentages:
 Students may know to keep fat low, and sodium.
Let them know there is a whole category on the label and it is right below the
serving size. Point it out on the enlarged food label.
Point to cholesterol and fat on the label and ask students if they know what it is.
 Students will probably not know. Let them know the definitions given on
the “Label Lingo” worksheet provided and give proper examples of things
that could happen with too much of either of these.
Ask students to find the cholesterol and fat contents on their label and record it
on the worksheet.
After this, have them find and label the sodium content of their food on their
worksheet. Given them a few minutes to do so, being that there are a few things
they will have to identify and label.
Remind students these are the things they will want to keep low in their diet,
and if they have any questions
Next, move on to the lower portion, or the “Good Stuff” portion of the label.
Point it out on the label and ask students if they know what vitamins are.
Once they have given their answers, tell them that vitamins serve different
purposes but the big definition is: any of a group of organic substances essential
in small quantities to normal metabolism.
Point out the vitamins on the food label and have them point out and record the
vitamins on their worksheet. Have helpers circulating to help students.
Next, have them look at Calcium and Iron on the big food label.
Ask students if they know what these things are. Give them the following
definitions if they don’t know.
 Calcium: an element that helps build strong bones
 Iron: Increases energy and it is good for the blood cells that keep a
person healthy
Have students identify this on their label and record it on their worksheet.
Transition: Tell students they have made it through the three main aspects of a
food label and that now they are going to work with a partner to see who’s food
is “Healthier”
Remainder of time 8-10 minutes: Once students all have a partner to work with,
tell them they will need to compare the aspects of their label and figure out
what they think is healthier and why.
Let them know this can be difficult because some foods might be good in one
aspect, but not in another. Make sure to look closely!
Have students work in their pairs while teachers circulate helping students and
asking questions like why they think foods are healthier. Point out that
something might be unhealthy about a particular food.
Remind students they need to put this on their worksheet, as well.
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Once all of the groups have determined which food is healthier, or the time has
run out. Ask students several questions such as:
 How many parts of a nutritional label did we learn about today?
 What did we call these parts?
 Do you think you will pay a little more attention to what you are eating a
lot of now?
o Tell students that next time, they will be looking at the health levels of entire
meals and the nutritional values of their lunches.
Assessment:
o There will be an assessment based on the worksheet they complete about
nutritional labels.
Modifications/Enrichment/Extension:
o Modifications for this lesson could come with having students look at several
labels at one time (versus just 2 in this lesson) to determine the order of
“healthiness” that they fall.
o To make things more simple in this lesson, a teacher could avoid the strict
vocabulary of cholesterol and vitamins and just break the label into the 3 parts:
 Serving size
 Bad stuff
 Good stuff
o A great extension for this lesson plan would be to provide the students with a
sheet with several different food labels on it along with a worksheet asking
various questions in which they would have to search the labels and locate the
information asked for in the questions
 For example, asking which food (s) have 210 calories per serving.
Home and Community Involvement:
o Teachers could send a worksheet home with students to share with their parents
about reading nutritional labels. Students will be given the chance to show what
they learned about eating healthy and possibly teach their parents something.
Resources:
o Rose, N. (2003). Kids net. Retrieved on Nov 15th, 2010
f r o m h t t p : / / w w w. k i d s . n e t . a u
o Health Strategies, Inc. (2010) Food Label. Retrieved on: Nov 15th 2010 from:
http://www.healthteacher.com/lesson/index/232
Lesson 3: It’s a Matter of Balance
National Health Education Standard(s):
Science Standard NS.5-8.6 Personal and Social Perspectives: As a result of activities in
grades 5-8, all students should develop understanding of: personal health,
populations, resources, and environments, natural hazards, risks and benefits, and
science and technology in society.
Language Arts Standard 5 Communication Strategies: Students adjust their use
of
spoken, written, and visual language to communicate effectively with a variety
of audiences and for different purposes.
Language Arts Standard 6 Applying knowledge: Students apply knowledge of language
structure, language conventions, media techniques, figurative language,
and genre to
create, critique, and discuss print and nonprint texts.
Lesson Goal: Importance of eating a variety of foods for good nutrition.
Behavioral Objectives: Students learn about the Dietary Food Guidelines and
demonstrate the importance of eating a balanced diet based on the guidelines by creating a
mobile of food pictures. Students will explain the importance of eating a variety of healthful
foods.
Total Time Needed: 30-35 Minutes
Materials Needed:
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Have magazines with pictures of food in them for students to cut out.
Have string or yarn, scissors, and hole puncher for students.
Have one coat hanger for each student.
Get lunch menu from the school.
Special Preparations: None
Vocabulary: None
Curriculum Integration Ideas: Fine motor skills: Using scissors to cut out pictures.
Communication skills: sharing that they know what good decisions are by making their
own meal.
Procedure:
Hook: (5 Min.) Continue on with what they have been learning. Have them review what
they have learned from previous lessons about nutrition like the food pyramid and food
labels.
Awareness building: (10 Min.) Take out the school’s lunch menu and hand out copies. Go
over what good choices they can make even at lunch using previous information from
previous lessons. Go through a couple of items on the menu and ask what food group they
belong to and how much of that food group we should have.
Activity: (15 Min.) First split the class into groups. Depending on how many students in
the class split the class into groups of six or seven. Then pass out hangers to each student
then pass out magazines. Give them directions to cut out pictures of food from the
magazines to make a healthy meal. Can be breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Then put them on a
string and attach them to the hanger.
Assessment: Have them share with each other their meals and why it is healthy and why
they chose those certain foods. Then if they want to they can share with the class.
Home and Family Involvement: Have the students take their mobiles home and share
them with their family members. Also have them do a word puzzle of the different foods
and food pyramid groups.
Resources:
"It's a Matter of Balance." Health Teacher. Health Strategies, Inc.,
2010. <http://www.healthteacher.com/lesson/index/226>.
2010. Web. 16 Nov.
Lesson 4: “Fruit and Vegetable Goals”
o Health Education Standard and Performance Indicators:
o Standard #5: Demonstrate the ability to use decision-making skills to enhance
health.
 Performance Indicator:
 Students will compose goals they want to reach for healthy eating
in the fruits and vegetable categories.
 Students will create a “food diary” to keep track of the food
choices they made over the course of 5 days.
o Standard #6: Demonstrate the ability to use goal-setting skills to enhance
health.
 Performance Indicator:
 Students will set goals during this lesson based on fruit and
vegetable intake
 Students will track their goals over a 5 days and try to reach them.
o Goals:
o Students will understand the concept of integrating fruits and vegetables into
their daily diet
o Students will learn the concepts of setting short-term goals to enhance their
health.
o Behavioral Objective:
o Students will work individually to develop an understanding of the basics in
setting food-related goals and track their progress of these goals by creating a
food diary to enhance their health.
o Total Time Needed: 35-40 minutes
o Integration Skills:
o Art: Creating and decorating a “Food Diary”
o Life Skills: Setting Goals
o Materials:
o Food goals worksheet
o Food diary log sheets
o Construction paper
o Scissors
o Stapler
o Preparing Fruits and Veggies handout
o Pencil/Pen
o Create-a-Meal handout
o Parent Letter
o Copies of Food Label Analysis for project
o Vocabulary:
o Goal: The state of affairs that a plan is intended to achieve and that (when
achieved) terminates behavior intended to achieve it; “the ends justify the
means”
o Log: A written record of messages sent or received; “they kept a log of all
transmission by the radio station”; “an email log”
o Anticipatory Set:
o So far in our unit on Nutrition we have learned all about the food pyramid and
food labels. These are two topics you will need to be familiar with for a very long
time. We are going to have a quick reviewing brainstorming session on what we
know about these two topics.
 Call on several volunteers and keep the conversation going until all bases
are covered. Cue students with follow-up questions if they miss any
important aspects.
o Procedure:
o 2-3 minutes: Tell students they did an excellent job and inform them they will
be creating goals about their diet today, focusing on fruits and vegetables.
o Teacher will have students think for a minute about ways to eat fruits and
vegetables besides eating them raw.
o The teacher will then have the students work with someone close to them and
share the ideas they came up with.
o Finally, the teacher will have volunteers raise their hands and share a few ideas
with the class. Telling students to stay away from unhealthy forms of preparing
fruits and vegetables (such as French fries)
o Transition: The teacher will pass around the “My Fruit and Veggie Goals
Worksheet” along with the list of ways to prepare fruits and vegetables.
o 1-2 minutes: The teacher will ask for a volunteer or two to give a definition of a
goal and how to create a goal.
 wait for students to come up with the correct answers, and give them a
proper definition if they are stumped.
 Goal: an idea that a person comes up with to create a new habit, or
terminate a bad habit. A person setting a standard for either themselves
or a team to reach (this may not be the dictionary definition, but it is a
definition that young children will understand).
o 10 minutes: The students will work individually on the worksheet because these
goals are on a personal basis. Not secret, but something you come up for
yourself.
o Transition: When students begin finishing up the goal worksheet, the teacher
will inform the students they will be creating a food log to keep track of their
veggie and fruit consumption to see if they can meet the goals they created.
o 10 minutes: The teacher will then pass out the materials necessary to create the
“Food Diary” and explain to students they will cut each page in half on the
dotted line and create a cover for their diary out of construction paper.
Reminding the students to decorate the covers on their books.
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o When the students have cut a part and created their covers, the teacher will tell
students they can come to the front of the room to have their diaries stapled
together.
o When all students have finished up created their diaries, the teacher will remind
the students they will need to fill it out every day with what vegetables and fruits
they ate that day to see if they can begin to meet the goals they created (write
this on the board, and have students write it in their homework logs).
o Transition: The teacher will have them put their diaries away and pass around
the “Create-A-Meal” project handout.
o 10 minutes: The teacher will inform the students they are going to plan a menu
for their family for one snack and one meal for the assessment for the unit on
nutrition.
o The teacher will then go over all of the requirements of the project. (See
attached handout) and ask if there are any questions.
o Then, the students will be given a chance to ask questions and begin thinking of
what they may create for their family. During this time, the teacher will pass
around a parent letter for the students to take home, as well.
o When time is up, the teacher will have students place everything from the lesson
in a take home folder to ensure that the students get started on this assignment.
The teacher must also inform the students this project will be due the following
Monday.
Assessment:
o Students will be assessed with the content of this lesson by the creation of their
goals and diaries.
Modifications/Enrichment/Extension
o This lesson could be modified for struggling students by breaking down the goalwriting process into steps to help them form goals about eating fruits and
vegetables.
Home and Community Involvement:
o This lesson is pretty involved with home life. The teacher could have students
share their goals they created and ask parents what goals they would set for
themselves.
Resources:
o N o r t h C a r o l i n a N u t r i t i o n E d u c a t i o n a n d Tr a i n i n g P r o g r a m .
(2007, January). Food for thought: 4th grade integrated
curriculum . Retrieved from
h t t p : / / w w w . n u t r i t i o n n c . c o m / R e s o u r c e s F o r S c h o o l s / p d f /2 0 0
7/ f f t / f f t - g r a d e 4 . p d f o n N o v e m b e r 1 6 , 2 0 1 0 .
CREATE A MEAL PROJECT:
o
We have been learning all about nutrition in our class, and now it is time to
see what you have learned! Everyone is going to create a “menu” for one
health meal and one healthy snack for their entire family.
What you need to do:
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Think of what you are going to prepare
What are the ingredients to prepare these menu items
What food groups are involved in your snack and meal?
Find 2 food labels that are involved in your menu and analyze them
like we did in class. (I will give you 2 more copies of the worksheet
we did in class)
o Between your snack and your meal you will need to include all of the
following for each person:
 3 servings of grain
 2 servings of vegetables
 2 servings of fruit
 1 serving of dairy
 1 meat/bean serving
o Use your favorite meal or look through cookbooks with an adult to
decide what you want to create.
Your Final Product Will Be a Poster
Including the Following:
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A menu of your snack and meal
List of ingredients
A list of food groups and where the serving requirements are met
A representation of your snack and meal. (You can draw this or create it. BE
CREATIVE!!)
o A list of the people you are serving.
o Analysis of 2 food labels, include the food labels
Lesson 5: “What Could this Be?”
o Health Education Standard and Performance Indicators:
o Standard 1: Comprehend concepts related to health promotion and disease
prevention to enhance health.
 Performance Indicators:
 Students will display knowledge of what foods groups foods fall
into
 Students will create a fun and healthy snack to consume
o Standard 7: Demonstrate the ability to practice health-enhancing behaviors and
avoid or reduce health risks.
 Performance Indicators:
 Students will create a healthy snack understanding what foods are
healthy and which should be limited to moderate use.
 Students will be learn several “odd” items that fit into food groups
that they may have not considered in the past.
o Goals:
o Students will learn several “odds and ends” items in the food pyramid that can
be put together into one delicious snack.
o Students will learn they can make a snack on their very own
o Behavioral Objective:
o Students will work to create a healthy snack based on the “odds and ends” foods
that fit into the food pyramid and understand healthy snacks can be delicious
and enhance their energy and health.
o Total Time Needed: 35 minutes
o Integration Skills:
o Math: portions of foods within the “GORP” snack must be created
o Materials:
o GORP (ingredients may vary): M&Ms or Chocolate Chips, Peanuts or Almonds,
Raisins, Dried berries, Dried Banana and Apple Chips, Dried Coconut, Unsalted
Pretzels, Granola Clusters
o GORP recipe
o Brown Paper Bag
o Notebook Paper
o Pen/Pencil
o Bowls
o Latex Gloves
o Blank Food Guide Pyramid
o Answer Key for “quiz”
o Vocabulary:
o GORP: Good Old Raisins and Peanuts or Trail Mix!
o Anticipatory Set:
o 5 minutes: The teacher will have a blank food pyramid to use as a resource while
having students take out a piece of paper
o Have the students number their paper 1-6 leaving 4 lines in-between each
number
o The teacher will proceed to point to each blank category, have students write
what the category is, have the students give two foods that belong in each, and
how many daily servings a person should have of each group.
o When all groups have been covered, the teacher will ask for volunteers for each
answer and collect the papers. Remind students to put a heading on the paper,
as well.
o Procedure:
o 2: minutes: The teacher will inform the students even though the students may
feel like they know everything about the food pyramid, there are many “odds
and ends” that fit into different categories that are healthy.
o The teacher will ask the students what else is important in a diet besides healthy
meals:
 Looking for Health Snacks. (Cue students if they just say snacks what we
want those snacks to be.)
o Transition: The teacher will retrieve a brown paper bag with all the materials for
“GORP” in it from a separate location.
o 10 minutes: The teacher will pull out one ingredient at a time and first ask
students what the item is, then ask them what category it belongs in on the food
pyramid. (See GORP recipe for list of ingredients and categories)
o After all the items are out of the bag and introduced, the teacher will ask the
students what they think they can make using all of the items
 Trail Mix is a likely answer. The teacher will say that is one name for it,
but another name is GORP, which stands for Good Old Raisins and
Peanuts.
o 2 minutes: The teacher will then pass around multiple bottles of hand sanitizer
for students to use before they get a chance to make their own GORP. The
teacher will be in charge of the chocolate item chosen for this GORP to ensure
that students are limiting their portion of chocolate.
o 10 minutes: In small groups, the students will be given a bowl and a latex glove
to create their very own bowl of GORP. The teacher must remind each student
that just because they haven’t tried something before, doesn’t mean it is bad.
o Transition: Once all students have made their very own bowls of GORP, the
teacher will tell the students that they all did a wonderful job creating their very
own meal.
o 5 minutes: Students will have an opportunity to explore all of the final posters
from the Create-a-Meal project. The teacher will have set them up in a semiopen space in the classroom or in the hallway. Students will be informed that
they can enjoy their GORP while they do this, but if they drop something, it must
be picked up and thrown in the garbage. While the students are exploring, the
teacher will put a recipe for GORP on each student’s desk to take home.
o
o
o
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o 1 minute: The teacher will bring students back to their desks and tell them on
their way that they need to dispose of their bowls of GORP, whether they have
finished it or not.
Assessment:
o Students will be assessed in this lesson by how well they can identify the
different food groups, what belongs in each, and amount of daily servings are
required for a healthy diet.
Modifications/Enrichment/Extension:
o An imperative modification is for the teacher to know the allergies of all of the
students and to remove any items that may cause a reaction for these students
from GORP recipe.
o An extension idea would be to have students share the snack they came up with
for the Create a Meal Project and give their classmates a recipe for it.
Home and Community Involvement:
o Students will be given a recipe for GORP to take home and share with their
parents.
Resources:
o Bumgardner, W. (2005, April 27). Trail mix and gorp
recipes. Retrieved on November 18th, 2010, from
http://walking.about.com/cs/snacks/a/recipetrailmix.htm
on November 18th, 2010.
o Rose, N. (2003). K ids net. Retrieved on November 18th,
2 0 1 0 f r o m h t t p : / / w w w. k i d s . n e t . a u
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