Lesson 4 Choose Your Plate In this lesson, students will: 1. Explore MyPlate to recognize that eating a variety of healthful foods in recommended amounts and doing physical activities will help their body stay in energy balance. 2. Apply the MyPlate guidelines to their eating habits.* *Learning Objective Outline: Lesson 4 Suggested Time Activities Audio/Visual Student Materials 14 1. Review Transparency 5 GO-SLOW- WHOA List Handout 5 24 2. Worksheet Transparency 6A Transparency 6B Optional: Empty school milk carton Transparency B Handout 6A Handout 6B Handout 7 2 3. Summary 40 minutes 63
Activity 1: Review Purpose: To explore MyPlate to recognize that eating a variety of healthful foods in recommended amounts and doing physical activities will help their body stay in energy balance. A. Have students take out their GO-SLOW-WHOA List. Ask how many sections are in the list. (Seven) Point out that the first five sections are considered food groups. The last two sections, Fats and Other, are not food groups, even though small amounts of oils should be part of everyone s diet. B. Ask students why they think it is important for them and all people to eat foods from the five food groups every day. (Different kinds of foods provide different kinds of nutrients like vitamins and minerals.) Point out that by eating foods from the five food groups, a person is more likely to get all the nutrients their body needs to stay healthy, feel good, and have lots of energy. C. Emphasize the following: (1) Even though people come in all shapes and sizes, it is important for everyone to eat meals regularly every day and to eat a variety of foods; (2) everyone should try to eat portions that are not too big. D. Project Transparency 5: MyPlate. Explain to students that MyPlate is a guide to help them remember to eat a variety of foods every day. It also helps them remember not to eat portions that are too big. E. Distribute Handout 5: MyPlate, and tell students they are going to label their plate. Model writing the labels on the transparency as you go through the explanation below. Let s review: Why should you eat foods from each food group? (To get all the nutrients like protein, vitamins, and minerals that your body needs) Let s look at the different sections of MyPlate. How many sections are there? (Five) There is one section for each food group. Which two sections fill up the left side of the plate? (Fruits and Vegetables) You should make half of your plate fruits and vegetables. Let s look at the Vegetables section on the lower left. Write Vegetables in this section. It s important to eat vegetables of different colors. Why is this true? (Vegetables of different colors provide you with different vitamins and minerals.) It s especially important to eat dark-green and orange vegetables. 64
Which section is above the Vegetables section? Write Fruits as the label for this section. Remember that you can eat fruits that are fresh, frozen, dried, or canned. But if you re going to eat a fruit that isn t fresh, try to eat one that hasn t had sugar added to it. Also, there is something else to keep in mind: 100% fruit juices are GO foods; but since they contain a lot of natural sugar, it s best to drink only one small glass of fruit juice a day. Let s look at the two sections on the right half of the plate. Which section is larger, the top or the bottom? (Top) Write Grains in this section. Some grains are refined, which means that parts of the grain containing healthy nutrients have been taken away. Other grains are whole, which means that these parts haven t been taken away. At least half of the grains you eat should be what type refined grains or whole grains? (Whole grains) What is the last section on the plate? (Lower right section) Write Protein in this section. This includes beans, eggs, fish, lean meat, and poultry. This food group is called Meat, Beans, and Eggs in the GO-SLOW-WHOA List. What are some of the GO ways to prepare meat, chicken, turkey, and fish? (Baked, grilled, broiled; not fried) Which section do you think is the circle? (Dairy) What is the best kind of milk, or dairy product, to eat and drink? (Plain [unsweetened], either fat-free or 1% low-fat) This section is called Milk and Dairy in the GO-SLOW-WHOA List. You know that what you eat and drink is important for your health. What else is important? (Doing physical activity) What is an important idea you ve learned so far that connects healthful eating and physical activity? (Energy balance: You ll help your body stay in energy balance by doing physical activities and by taking in about the same number of calories as your body needs.) If you eat portions of food that aren t too big, it will be easier not to take in too many calories. F. Tell students that they are now going to apply what they have learned about MyPlate. 65
Activity 2: Worksheet Purpose: To apply the MyPlate guidelines to their eating habits. A. Project Transparency 6A: MyPlate Worksheet Part 1. Tell students that they are going to fill out their own worksheet. To demonstrate how this should be done, point out the example items shown in the Dinner section and Physical Activities section in the first column of Transparency 6A, and then use the Codes box at the bottom right to code the food items as follows: baked chicken P; cooked carrots V; green beans V; bread G; milk D. B. Distribute Handout 6A: MyPlate Worksheet Part 1. Tell students to list everything they ate and drank at meals or for snacks and all the physical activities they did yesterday. Then have them code the food items. Inform students that they will have only a few minutes to do this. Monitor their work. C. On Transparency 6A, point out the Estimated Amount column. Fill in the following for the physical activities: 30 minutes for jogging; 15 minutes for sweeping. Tell students to fill in the estimated number of minutes they did each physical activity they listed on Handout 6A. Then ask, How can we estimate the amount of a food or beverage? Use the following dialogue box to explain how to estimate amounts. If you have an empty milk carton available, show it to students instead of asking them to visualize it. Visualize a carton of milk from the cafeteria. Imagine how much this milk carton can hold whether it s something liquid, like milk or juice, or something solid, like cooked beans. The amount this milk carton can hold is 1 cup. You ll use the unit of one cup to estimate amounts of foods you ate that are in the Vegetables, Fruits, and Milk food groups. Let s look at some examples. D. Project Transparency 6B: MyPlate Worksheet Part 2. Go over the quantity information for Vegetables, Fruits, and Dairy in the first column. Then, on Transparency 6A in the Estimated Amount column, fill in the following amounts for cooked carrots, green beans, and milk: cooked carrots 1/2 c.; green beans 1/2 c.; milk 1 c. Point out that, to save time, c. can be used as an abbreviation for cup. 66
E. Explain that something else is used to estimate amounts for foods in the Grains and the Protein food groups. Ask students to define the word equivalent. (Something that is equal in amount, or quantity) Point out that, just as a cup is the unit used to estimate some foods, an ounce equivalent is the unit used to estimate foods in the Grains and the Protein food groups. Project Transparency 6B, and go over the quantity information for Grains and for Protein in the first column. F. On Transparency 6A in the Estimated Amount column, fill in the following amounts for baked chicken and bread: baked chicken 2 oz. equiv.; bread [1 slice]-1 oz. equiv. Point out that oz. equiv. can be used as an abbreviation for ounce equivalent. G. Tell students to fill in the estimated amount for each food item they listed on Handout 6A. Monitor their work as needed. H. Demonstrate on Transparency 6B how students will complete Part 2 of their worksheet (Handout 6B). Using the Dinner items from Transparency 6A, calculate the estimated total amount for each food group. Fill in the following amounts in the Estimated Total Amount column of Transparency 6B: Grains 1 oz. equiv.; Vegetables 1 c.; Dairy 1 c.; Protein 2 oz equiv. For the physical activities, fill in 45 in the Estimated Total Amount column. I. Distribute Handout 6B: MyPlate Worksheet Part 2. Have students complete it using the estimated amounts they recorded on Handout 6A. Point out that they will do the calculations for all the food items and physical activities they listed. Suggest that they use the back of the page for calculating as needed. Monitor their work as needed. J. Tell students they will use the last column of Part 2 of the worksheet for an outside-of-class assignment: to get a personalized plan for eating and physical activity from a web site. Announce when and where they will do the assignment. K. Distribute Handout 7: MyPlate Daily Food Plan. Explain that the image on the handout is what they will see when they go to the web page. Briefly go over the directions. Point out the NOTE at the bottom of the page, which encourages students to further explore the web site. Tell students to read this note when they do the assignment. 67
Students whose weight is higher than may be healthy for their age and height will be navigated to an intermediate page. A note on this page suggests that the student consult a health care provider. From this page the student navigates to MyPlate Plan. L. Show Transparency B: MyPlate Daily Food Plan. Tell students that this is an example of what their personalized MyPlate Plan will look like. Point out the parts of the plan as you explain the following. Look at the middle column (ounces/cups) of the chart. Notice that the word ounces used in this chart refers to equivalent ounces. These are recommended amounts for a day. The amounts on your chart will be different because they re for you. Look at the information below the chart about grains and veggies. Read this information under your own chart because it will be different for you. There is information about how much oil and extra fats and sugars you should eat in a day. Finally, there is a recommendation about physical activity: get at least 60 minutes of physical activity most or all days just as you learned from the FIT formula! M. Make sure students understand that they will fill out the Recommended Amount from MyPlate Plan column of Part 2 of their worksheet (Handout 6B) with the food amounts shown on their MyPlate Plan personalized chart from the web site. N. Inform students that the next lesson will begin with a brief discussion of their findings and a goal-setting. Encourage them to start thinking about one thing they can do to eat amounts of foods that are closer to the recommended amounts from their MyPlate Plan. O. Finally, stress the importance of eating more or less the recommended number of ounce equivalents or cups of foods. Emphasize that by doing this they will find it easier to keep their body in energy balance. 68
Activity 3: Summary Purpose: To review the main points of Lesson 4. A. Emphasize the importance of eating a variety of healthful foods. Ask students what feature of the plate will help them remember this. (The plate is made up of several different sections.) B. Emphasize the following: (1) Even though people come in all shapes and sizes, it is important for everyone to eat meals regularly every day and to eat a variety of foods; (2) everyone should try to eat portions that are not too big. Ask students what feature of the plate will help them remember this. (The sections on the plate show the size of the portions.) C. Ask students what else is important besides what they eat and drink. (Physical activity) Remind them that, along with eating healthful foods that provide about the same number of calories that their body needs, doing physical activities helps their body stay in energy balance. D. Encourage students to take one step at a time when they are making changes toward more healthful eating, rather than try to change everything all at once. As time permits, ask students for examples of small steps they could take. (Examples: eat more fresh fruit; eat a salad at a meal; eat fewer fried foods) 69
Lesson 4 Transparency 5 MyPlate 70
Lesson 4 Transparency 6A MyPlate Worksheet Part 1 Food Estimated BREAKFAST Group* Amount LUNCH SNACK DINNER Baked chicken Cooked carrots Green beans Bread (1 slice) Milk PHYSICAL ACTIVITIES Jogging Sweeping G = Grains V = Vegetables *Codes: F = Fruits D = Dairy P = Protein 71
Lesson 4 Transparency 6B MyPyramid Worksheet Part 2 MyPlate Worksheet Part 2 Estimated Total Amount Recommended Amount from MyPlate Plan FOOD GROUP Grains (G) ounce equivalents ounce equivalents Use ounce equivalents. Examples of an ounce equivalent: 1 slice of bread, 1 cup of readyto-eat cereal, or ½ cup of cooked rice, cooked pasta, or cooked cereal. Vegetables (V) cups cups Use cups. A milk carton from the cafeteria holds 1 cup. Fruits (F) cups cups Use cups. A milk carton from the cafeteria holds 1 cup. Dairy (D) cups cups Use cups. A milk carton from the cafeteria holds 1 cup. Protein Foods (P) ounce equivalents ounce equivalents Use ounce equivalents. Examples of an ounce equivalent: About two chicken nuggets, ¼ cup of cooked dried beans, 1 egg, 1 large spoonful of peanut butter, 1 small handful of nuts or seeds. PHYSICAL ACTIVITIES minutes minutes 72
Lesson 4 Transparency B MyPlate Daily Food Plan 73
Lesson 4 Handout 5 Name MyPlate 74
Lesson 4 Handout 6A Name MyPlate Worksheet Part 1 Food Estimated BREAKFAST Group* Amount LUNCH SNACK DINNER PHYSICAL ACTIVITIES G = Grains V = Vegetables *Codes: F = Fruits D = Dairy P = Protein 75
Lesson 4 Handout 6B MyPyramid Worksheet Part 2 Name MyPlate Worksheet Part 2 Estimated Total Amount Recommended Amount from MyPlate Plan FOOD GROUP Grains (G) ounce equivalents ounce equivalents Use ounce equivalents. Examples of an ounce equivalent: 1 slice of bread, 1 cup of readyto-eat cereal, or ½ cup of cooked rice, cooked pasta, or cooked cereal. Vegetables (V) cups cups Use cups. A milk carton from the cafeteria holds 1 cup. Fruits (F) cups cups Use cups. A milk carton from the cafeteria holds 1 cup. Dairy (D) cups cups Use cups. A milk carton from the cafeteria holds 1 cup. Protein Foods (P) ounce equivalents ounce equivalents Use ounce equivalents. Examples of an ounce equivalent: About two chicken nuggets, ¼ cup of cooked dried beans, 1 egg, 1 large spoonful of peanut butter, 1 small handful of nuts or seeds. PHYSICAL ACTIVITIES minutes minutes 76
Lesson 4 Handout 7 Name MyPlate Daily Food Plan DIRECTIONS: 1. Go to this web page: http://www.choosemyplate.gov 2. Click on Get a Personalized Plan. 3. Enter your information on the Daily Food Plan web page. 4. Click on SUBMIT. 5. Read the information in the chart for your Daily Food Plan. 6. In the column titled Recommended Amount from MyPlate Plan on Part 2 of your worksheet (Handout 6B), write the ounces and cups information from your MyPlate Daily Food Plan chart on the web page. Write 60 as the recommended number of minutes of physical activity. 7. Compare the numbers in the column titled Recommended Amount from MyPlate Plan with the numbers in the column titled Estimated Total Amount. At another time, explore other features of the MyPlate web site on your own. Get tips and more information about food groups by clicking on parts of your MyPlate Plan. Also, click on For Kids (6 11 yrs) on the home page. 77