Grains Lesson:
Pasta
Materials
Ingredients
• Interactive MyPlate
• Colorful food pictures (found in
appendix)
• “Pasta” handout
• Items listed on the Cooking Guide
(found in appendix)
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Makes 8 servings
1 Tbl oil
1 medium onion
2-3 cloves garlic
1 (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup basil, fresh
1 tsp oregano, dried
1 Tbl parsley, dried
1 lb whole wheat pasta
1/4-1/2 cup favorite veggies
Goal:
• To create a simple pasta sauce from scratch with
additional vitamins and minerals (from added
vegetables) to serve over whole-wheat pasta.
Pasta is easy to overeat because
it is so tasty. Adding veggies and
using whole wheat pasta helps to
keep a larger portion still healthful!
Objectives:
1. Recognize each food group that is included in
MyPlate and provide examples for each, given teacher
instruction.
2. Learn the ingredients in a basic pasta sauce and how
you can their your favorite vegetables right into the
sauce, given teacher instruction.
3. Explore possibly unfamiliar ingredients such wholewheat pasta or vegetables, with familiar ingredients
such as pasta sauce to create a new pasta dish.
4. Follow directions to create pasta sauce, given
modeling from teacher.
5. Complete “Pasta” worksheet, independently.
Related Books:
• Strega Nona by Tomie dePaola
Worksheets included:
• Pasta Sauce Family Letter
• “Pasta” Worksheet
© 2015 Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank
The high
amount of
fiber and iron
is from the
whole-wheat
pasta.
Grains Lesson:
Pasta
Introduction:
• Ask students if they have eaten pasta sauce before. Ask
them what they like about that meal.
• Ask students to think of all the ingredients needed to make
pasta. What do these ingredients look like? What do they
smell like?
Instruction:
• Introduce an interactive MyPlate to the class. Ask students
about their prior knowledge on MyPlate. Depending on
students’ prior knowledge, explain each food group and
examples for each group.
• Introduce the students to all of the ingredients they will be
using. Ask the students to classify which food group each
of the ingredients go into. Explain to students that they are
going to add veggies right into the sauce for extra vitamins
and nutrients.
• Explain to the students the importance of whole grains in
their diet. Whole grains provide fiber which helps our body
regulate. Additionally, whole grains provide iron, which
helps carry oxygen in our blood.
• Review different parts of a whole grain with students.
• Introduce to the students the recipe they will create today:
Whole-wheat pasta with homemade pasta sauce.
Objective 1
Objective 2
Modeling and Guided Practice:
• Before cooking begins, review safety rules. Children should
ask an adult before using a stove. When using a stove, it is
important to be careful not to touch the metal on the stove,
the pan itself or any metal utensil left in the pan.
• Place the ingredients for the pasta sauce throughout
the room on tables. Work through the recipe as a class,
identifying the various ingredients spread throughout the
room.
• Have students add the olive oil and chopped onions into
the saucepan. Start sautéing the onions until they are
translucent. Ask students what happens when they get
really hot. When we sweat, what happens? Water leaves our
body. Right now, that is what we are trying to do for the
onions. We are “sweating” the onions.
• While the onions are cooking, have the students at each
table rip the basil leaves until small pieces.
© 2015 Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank
Objective 3
Objective 4
• Once the onions are slightly brown, add various veggies
and garlic to the pan. Spinach, green peppers, celery or
shredded carrots are great options.
• After five minutes, add the tomatoes, salt, pepper, basil,
parsley and oregano.
• Once all the ingredients are added, cover the pan and place
on the stove on medium high for 10 minutes.
• While the tomato sauce is cooking, read Strega Nona
by Tomie dePaola. Be sure to ask prompting questions
throughout to ensure student’s engagement.
Independent Practice:
• After reading the story, have students complete the “Pasta”
worksheet provided to them.
Closure:
• Review “Pasta” worksheet.
• Review with students the ingredients in the Pasta Sauce
• Asks students to identify the food groups each ingredient is
in.
Extra Activities:
• “Guess the Group” game where students are given a colorful
food picture and they need to work together as a class to
identify which food group it is in.
Standards (3rd grade):
• 1.6.3.A: Listen critically and respond to others in small
and large group situations. Respond with grade level
appropriate questions, ideas, information, or opinions.
• M3.B.1.2.2: Compare and/or order objects according to
length, area, or weight.
• S3.C.1.1.1: Describe matter in terms of its observable
properties (e.g., weight, mass, shape, size, color, texture,
state).
• S3.C.1.1.5: Describe how the properties of matter can be
changed (e.g., heating, cooling, physical weathering).
• S3.C.2.1.2: Identify simple transformations of energy (e.g.,
eating food to get energy, rubbing hands together to create
heat).
These standards can be adapted for your particular class. If students are
younger than 3rd grade, the instructor should be prepared to complete
more of the cooking measures. If students are younger than 3rd grade,
the instructor should give students more responsibility in the cooking.
If your class is a mixture of age levels, pair older students with younger
students to engage all age groups in the lesson.
© 2015 Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank
Objective 5