Nutrition Education and Activity LESSON PLAN. Art Contest Preferred Meals

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1 Nutrition Education and Activity LESSON PLAN

2 Healthy Lunch for a Healthier Me Art Contest Teacher Lesson Plan & Activity Build Your Lunch the Healthy Way! Overview: Studies show that children who eat school lunch consume more fruits and vegetables than those that bring a lunch from home. New regulations instituted over the last few years require even more fruits and vegetables on lunch trays than ever before. The goal is to encourage students to eat those fruits and vegetables by educating them on the benefits. This lesson has 2 parts: 1. Learning how to build a healthy plate using the My Plate concept 2. Improving expression skills by talking about and creating a drawing that depicts how healthy school meals and an active lifestyle helps students to be healthy. Grade Ranges: 4th through 6th grades. Approximate Time Part 1: minutes. Curriculum and Curriculum Connections: Primary alignment: health and nutrition education along with health-enhancing behaviors. Secondary alignment: Goal-setting, decision-making and creative skills. Materials: Print out Black and White MyPlate page for students Pencils or pens for students 11x17 plain white paper for student s art contest drawing entry Crayons, markers or colored pencils for students Objectives: The MyPlate Method is a way to choose the correct size of food portions without weighing or measuring foods. Encouraging students to recognize food groups in the correct quantities and to make healthy choices will improve their overall well-being.

3 Teacher Lesson Plan & Activity Part 1 Theme: Intro to MyPlate Briefly introduce MyPlate by drawing a picture on the board, or showing a color picture of the MyPlate (attached). Emphasize the importance of eating a variety of healthy foods and how easy it can be: o Different foods have different vitamins and minerals that help your body grow and stay strong. o Each food category provides support to different parts of your body to help it function correctly and to keep away illness. o Concentrating on eating a rainbow of colors on your plate help fuel different parts of your body: eyes, hair, skin, heart, muscles, blood and more Point to each section on the MyPlate graphic and have students identify each section and give samples of food items that would go in that section. (See below list for suggestions) o Fill 1/2 of your plate with Fruits and Vegetables - (Name foods in these groups) o Fill 1/4 of your plate with Grains and Breads - (Name foods in this group) o Fill 1/4 of your plate with Meat/Protein - (Name foods in this group) Have students list his or her favorite foods in the corresponding section of the blank MyPlate diagram handout. Ask students how much of their plates are normally taken up by fruits and vegetables and how they feel about trying new fruits and vegetables. Ask students to write down a goal that they want to work on in regards to eating healthier. Suggestions: o Try their vegetables at every meal, or list a new vegetable to try o Eat fruit everyday o Encourage healthy eating, fruits and vegetables at home What s In Each Food Group? GRAIN VEGETABLE FRUIT MEAT/BEAN MILK/DAIRY Bread Popcorn Couscous Pretzels Crackers Grits Cereal Oatmeal Buns White Rice Cornbread Pita Bread Pasta Brown Rice Tortillas Baked Chips Pizza Crust Broccoli Collard Greens Tomatoes Sweet Potatoes Cauliflower Asparagus Carrots Beets Lettuce Eggplant Onions Potatoes Celery Green Peppers Corn Apples Honeydew Melon Blueberries Prunes Raspberries Cherries Blackberries Kiwi Watermelon Avocado Peaches Lemons Pineapple Oranges Bananas Strawberries Lean Beef Black Beans Veg Burgers Lean Veal Lean Ham Eggs Salmon Dry Beans Lean Pork Tofu Nuts Tuna Fish Chicken Turkey Peanut Butter Chickpeas Refried Bean Low Fat Milk Frozen-Yogurt Yogurt Swiss-Cheese Cottage- Cheese Cheddar- Cheese String- Cheese Pudding with Milk

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5 Activity 1 List your favorite food items in the correct section on this plate. List a new food item you would be willing to try. Write your nutrition goals in the space below: