Interdisciplinary Activities

Nutrition Concept: We should eat at least five fruits and vegetables every day. These activities address Illinois State Goals 4, 6, 12, 22.

1. Health: Explain that fruits and vegetables should be washed (just like our hands) before we eat. Ask how many people might have touched them (farmer, produce pickers, processors, produce department workers, shoppers). Demonstrate how to wash fruits and vegetables and let students practice.

2. Language Arts: Have students name as many fruits and vegetables as they can. Show the video "5-A-Day" from "Every Day, Lots of Ways" (40 CG), a curriculum produced by Penn State Nutrition Department, and have students describe one way they can add fruits and vegetables to their diet.

3. Math: Ask students to hold up fingers on two hands that equal five. Have students look at all the different combinations that add up to five. Have students form a circle with a number of food cards (each with a picture of a fruit or vegetable on it) in the center. Have students take turns picking a fruit or vegetable until five items have been picked (three vegetables and two fruits are recommended). Repeat until all students have participated. Emphasize that there are lots of different ways to get five-a-day.

4. Science: Read Growing Vegetable Soup, by Lois Ehlert. Ask students what vegetables need to grow (soil for nutrients, sun and water). Discuss why each is important. Let students plant seeds and observe the growing process.

Grades 2-3

Nutrition Concept: We can make wise food choices. These activities address Illinois 1997 State Goals 4, 10, 18, 26.

1. Math: Using food labels, packages or pictures of food, ask teams of students to sort foods as many different ways as they can think of. Have students graph results. For instance, if they sort by meals in which food is served, they can make a bar graph of how many foods are in each meal category. Introduce The Food Guide Pyramid and have students sort their foods according to the Pyramid and graph their results.

2. Arts: Ask children to paint The Food Guide Pyramid with their favorite foods in each food group.

3. Language Arts: Read Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs by Judi Barrett. As you read each food, direct students to place the foods in the proper Pyramid groups.

4. Social Studies: Challenge students to find information on the American Indian pyramids or Egyptian pyramids. Emphasize that the only similarity between these pyramids and MyPyramid is shape. Instruct students to find out if there were pictures (hieroglyphics) of food on the walls of the pyramids. Have students list and classify these foods using MyPyramid.

*Activities adapted from "Every Day, Lots of Ways" produced by the Penn State Nutrition Department for the Pennsylvania Department of Education, 1996.

Grades 4-6

Nutrition Concept: We can make wise food choices. These activities address Illinois State Goals 3, 10, 16, 22.

1. Health: Present the students with MyPyramid and the main nutrients provided by each MyPyramid food group. Have students complete the "What's in a Cheeseburger" worksheet from "Education for Self-Responsibility IV: Nutrition Education" (526 CG, p. 89), a curriculum from Texas Education Agency.

2. Language Arts: Have students keep a food diary and use the information they record to write a newspaper article on their nutrient needs and how they stack up to My Pyramid.

3. Fine Arts: Ask students to design an ad to promote a balanced diet or healthy eating. Display ads on the lunchroom wall.

4. Math: Pass out food labels to students. Review the Nutrition Facts label and how to use the information on the label to choose healthy foods. Have students complete "What Does This Label Tell Me?," a worksheet adapted from "Education for Self-Responsibility IV: Nutrition Education" by Texas Education Agency.

5. Social Studies: Have students classify foods which made up prehistoric man's diet using the MyPyramid (see the lesson "A Journey Through Time" in "MidLINC: Prehistoric vs. Modern Diet" (574 CG) by Penn State Nutrition Center).

*Activities adapted from "Every Day, Lots of Ways" with permission from the Pennsylvania Department of Education, Division of Food and Nutrition. Funding provided by the Nutrition Education and Training Program, U.S. Department of Agriculture.

WHAT DOES THIS LABEL TELL ME?

Complete this label by using the nutrition information from a label brought from home. Then answer questions below.

NUTRITION FACTS

Amount per serving:

Calories _______

Calories from Fat _______

Amount per serving and Percent of Daily Value*:

Total Fat ______ ______

Saturated Fat ______ ______

Cholesterol ______ ______

Sodium _______ ______

Total Carbohydrate ______ ______

Dietary Fibers _______ ______

Sugars ______

Protein ______

Vitamin A ______ ______

Vitamin C _____ ______

Calcium _____ ______

Iron _____ ______

*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

1. How many calories would 3 servings of your food provide?

2. Protein supplies 4 calories of food energy per gram of protein. How many calories are supplied by the protein in one serving of your food?

3. Carbohydrates supply 4 calories of food energy per gram of carbohydrates. How many calories are supplied by the carbohydrates in one serving of your food? 4. Fats supply 9 calories of food energy per gram of fat. How many calories are supplied by the fats in one serving of your food?

5. Do proteins, carbohydrates, or fats provide the most calories in your food? (Name the one which provides the most calories.)

6. How many servings of your food would you need to eat to get 75% of the Daily Value for Vitamin A?

7. Your food provides the highest percentage of the Daily Value for what nutrient?

8. The doctor has told you that you are anemic and that you need to meet 100% of the Daily Value for iron. A food is said to be a good source of a nutrient if it provides 20% of the Daily Value for that nutrient. Is your food a good source of iron? Why?

9. How many servings of this food would be required to provide 100% of the Daily Value for iron?

"What Does this Label Tell Me" is adapted with permission from a worksheet in "Education for Self-Responsibility IV: Nutrition Education" by Texas Education Agency.