Nutrition Activities Using the Internet

Outcome: Children will learn that they need to eat fruits and vegetables every day for good health. This lesson addresses Illinois Learning Goals 1, 4, 6 and 22 while improving technology skills.

Lesson:

1. Ask children how much fruits and vegetables they think they need to eat each day. (See http://www.fruitsandveggiesmatter.gov or How Many Fruits and Vegetables Do You Need to find out how many cups children need based on age, sex and activity level). Older children can calculate their own needs.

2. Show students what 3-4 cups of fruits and vegetables (the amount they need daily) by using real fruits and vegetables. Use How Many Fruits and Vegetables Do You Need to create the display.

3. Encourage children to name fruits and vegetables that they have tried and those that they haven't tried.

3. Groups of students can take turns helping prepare the Breakfast Banana Split. You can modify this recipe, by having kids layer sliced bananas, yogurt and fruit in small beverage cups.

4. Have students use "Miss Mango's 5-A-Day Recipe Inventor" to come up with their own fruit and veggie recipes. Kids can take recipes home and encourage parents to help them make their recipe.

4. Ask students to draw five fruits and vegetables they would like to taste using children's drawing software.

5. While enjoying the Breakfast Banana Split have children summarize what they've learned.

Grades 4-6

Outcome: Students will learn why we need to consume water, where the water in their community comes from, how its quality can be affected, and will plan and implement a project to protect the local water supply. This lesson addresses Illinois Learning Goals 1, 3, 4, 11, 13, 22 and 24 while improving technology skills.

Preparation: Visit the "Give Water A Hand" website and download the Action Guide and other resources. You can adapt activities on this site to your students' abilities.

Lesson:

1. Ask students what they need to consume each day that has no nutritional value. Give additional clues as necessary to lead students to the answer --water.

2. Divide students into groups. Each group is assigned to learn why people need water for health, where water comes from and what sources of pollution might affect water quality. Based on their assessment of data, students then plan and implement a project to address a local problem they've identified. Students should be encouraged to use all resources at their disposal including the library, Internet and interviewing local experts.

3. Have students use kids' multimedia presentation software to organize and present their findings and projects to others. Another option is to have students edit and publish print or electronic reports of their findings and projects.