2011 CLASSROOM GUI DE
National Nutrition M onth ® 2011
National Nutrition Month® is a time when the American Dietetic
Association reinforces the importance of making informed food
choices and developing sound eating and physical activity habits.
The theme for 2011: Eat Right with Color. Adding a variety of colors to your plate makes for
more than just an appealing meal. A rainbow of foods creates a palette of nutrients and
phytonutrients, each with a different bundle of potential benefits for a healthful diet.
This classroom guide provides suggested learning activities and games for students in grades K
through 8. Selected activities can be adapted for different grade levels by adjusting the
complexity of the assigned tasks. You may find that some activities can be incorporated into
your curriculum for math, social studies, science or language arts.
Learning Activities: Grades K-4
Classroom Activity
„
Ask each student to tell the class what their favorite food is and why.
„
Ask students to share a story about eating their favorite food with family or
friends. Is this food part of special family celebrations or traditions?
„
Optional question: How have you helped to prepare your favorite food or any other
food at home?
I ndividual, Small Group or Classroom Activity: Name the Foods
For individual or small groups: Hand out copies of the Name the Foods activity sheet from the
NNM Reproducible Set. Ask each student or group to see how many foods they can name for
each color.
For classroom activity: Write the seven colors on the board. As students name them, write foods
on the board under their color.
Note: Include blue foods under purple. Light brown or tan foods under brown.
Give all the students a NNM sticker and coloring page to take home.
Group Activity
„
Plan a menu for a day: Split the class into 5 groups. Assign each group breakfast,
lunch, after-school snack, dinner or bedtime snack. Each group¶VWDVNLVWR plan
their assigned meal or snack using MyPyramid for Kids as a resource. Copies are
available in the NNM catalog or download from
www.mypyramid.gov/kids/index.html.
As the groups share their menus for meals and snacks, write them on the board.
„
„
Together, the class decides if they are getting enough servings from each group in
the MyPyramid food guide. If not, ask students to suggest ways to get the
additional foods needed. See the following chart or go to www.MyPyramid.gov for
recommended food guide and additional information.
M yPyramid for Kids Food Guide
Grains
Start smart with
breakfast. Look for
whole grain cereals.
Make sure the first
ZRUGLV³ZKROH´OLNH
³ZKROHZKHDW´
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
M ilk
M eat & Beans
)UXLWVDUHQDWXUH¶VWUHDWV±
sweet and delicious. Go
easy on juice and make
VXUHLW¶V
Move to the milk
group to get your
calcium. Calcium
builds strong bones.
Eat lean or low-fat
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,
LW¶VFXSV
For an 1,800 calorie
diet, you need the
amount below.
Eat 5 oz. every day.
Learning Activities: Grades 5 ± 8
I ndividual Activity - Working on the Web
„
Assign students to go to www.mypyramid.gov, enter their age, sex and
physical activity level, then print their MyPyramid eating plan.
„
„
Hand out copies of the MyPyramid for Kids Worksheet, available at
http://teamnutrition.usda.gov/resources/mpk_worksheet.pdf. Ask students to
fill out the worksheet with the foods they ate and drank for the previous day.
Students compare their worksheet with their individual MyPyramid plan.
How well do the foods consumed match up to the MyPyramid plan
recommendations? What foods do they need to add?
I ndividual or Small Group Activity ± Foods From Around the World
„
Ask 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, country of origin, history, where and how it grows, nutrient content,
how it is prepared (perhaps a recipe) and any other interesting facts related to
the food. If possible, bring food samples to the classroom for students to see
and taste.
Foods from around the World:
Artichoke
Couscous
Basmati rice
Dates
Coconut
Eggplant
Foods from the Americas:
Avocado
Corn
Beans
Hot peppers
Chocolate
Jicama
Fennel
Lychee
Mango
Olives
Plantain
Pomegranate
Papaya
Quinoa
Squash
Tomatoes
Additional Resources:
American Dietetic Association, www.eatright.org
Additional learning activities and games, www.eatright.org/nnm
Good Nutrition Reading List, www.eatright.org/gnrl
Eat Right Nutrition Tips, www.eatright.org/Public/content.aspx?id=206
Power Up with Breakfast
25 Healthy Snacks for Kids
Color Your Plate with Salad
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
Tips for Families handout
USDA Team Nutrition lesson plans: http://teamnutrition.usda.gov/resources/popularevents.html
)L]]\¶V/XQFK/ab, PBS: http://pbskids.org/lunchlab
Smithsonian, Food Traditions: www.folklife.si.edu/
Encyclopedia of Food and Culture: www.enotes.com/food-encyclopedia
GAM ES: I nstructions for the following games are available free upon e-mail request to
[email protected]
³-HRSDUG\-type´*DPH ± layout with food group questions and answers
³)LOOLQWKH%ODQNV´*DPH - a take-off on the oOG³+DQJPDQ´JDPHZLWK suggested food-related titles
³7HVW<RXU0HPRU\´*DPH ± played with food pictures
³)RRG*URXS3DVVZRUG´ ± allows clues of more than one word and even gesturing and jumping around to
help the contestant get the word. A good game for teams.