Food Foldable

Summary

Students will create a Food Foldable to be used as a study guide.

Materials

• Food Foldable Inserts (pdf)
• Food Foldable (pdf)
• Food Model Cards
• Styrofoam plates (preferably with five serving areas)
• Guess Your Food Group (pdf)
• Nutrition Song (pdf)

Additional Resources

Books

• Good Enough to Eat: A Kid's Guide to Food & Nutrition, by Lizzy Rockwell; ISBN 0060274352
• Food Safety, by Sharon Gordon; ISBN 0516259881
• Miles of Smiles, p. 52, by Bruce Lansky; ISBN 0439082110

Background for Teachers

According to the new food guide pyramid, the five food groups are: grains, vegetables, fruits, meat & beans, and milk. Oils are not a food group, but people need some oils for good health. When students eat a balanced diet they will eat from all of the food groups every day. Students should eat more from some groups than others. Within each food group there are foods that should be eaten more often than others.

A person's diet is what they usually eat. Some children may think that a diet is only something you "go on" to lose weight. A calorie is a unit used to measure the amount of energy in food. A calorie is also called a kilocalorie. We use the energy in calories during our daily activities and when we exercise. Food provides our bodies with nutrients.

Students should have a basic understanding of the new food guide pyramid and how it can help us make healthy choices.

Intended Learning Outcomes

4. Develop physical skills and personal hygiene.

Instructional Procedures

Invitation to Learn

Read the poem "Balanced Diet" found in the book Miles of Smiles.

Instructional Procedures

1. Cut out the Food Foldable Inserts.
2. Fold the Food Foldable in half and cut on the dotted lines.
3. Unfold the Food Foldable and weave the inserts through the openings. Make sure you can see the words Healthy Vocabulary on one side.
4. Teach the children the words on the Healthy Vocabulary side of the Food Foldable.
5. Have students complete the inside of each word's section. There are directions inside the Food Foldable for each word.
6. Turn to the Food Group's side of the Food Foldable. Give each student two food model cards.
7. Read the words next to the grains section on the top row of the Food Foldable.
8. Ask students to look at their food model cards and hold up any food model cards that belong in the grain group.
9. Attach the cards where everyone can see them.
10. Repeat this process for the other food groups. Students will have some cards left that do not belong in any of the food groups. Explain to students that we should only eat these foods once in a while. These foods are not in a food group.
11. Have students complete the inside of each food group section by drawing at least one example and one non-example.
12. Use the Food Foldable as a study guide.

Extensions

• Sing the "Nutrition Song".
• Investigate foods from other cultures.
• Discuss ways to handle and store food safely.
• Research the agricultural production of foods and the process involved in growing, processing, and transporting the food. Help children understand that food does not come from the grocery store.

Family Connections

• Ask families to keep a dinner diary and list what they eat. Ask students to work together with their families to improve their diet.
• Use the food guide pyramid to help create a healthy grocery list.

Assessment Plan

• Put the food model cards on a table. Give each child a paper plate (Styrofoam plates with five serving areas work best). Have each student walk along the table as if in a cafeteria and select food items to create a balanced meal.
• Guess Your Food Group
  1. Divide the students into groups of five.
  2. Give each child in the group one Guess Your Food Group card.
  3. Signal the students to place their Guess Your Food Group cards on their foreheads and stand up.
  4. Students should look at the cards on their team-members' heads without talking. The students should use deductive logic to guess their food group.
  5. Once the students know their food group, they may sit down while the other students guess.
  6. Each team member must state their guess before anyone looks at their cards.

Bibliography

Research Basis

Barton, M.L., & Jordan, D.J. (2001). Teaching Reading in Science: a Supplement to Teaching Reading in the Content Areas Teacher's Manual (2nd Edition). Retrieved November 27, 2006, from http://www.eric.ed.gov.

The Frayer model is a strategy used to teach vocabulary. There are two versions used to teach the Frayer model. In one model the students learn examples and non-examples, definitions, and characteristics. In the second model students also learn examples and non-examples, to this they add essential characteristics and nonessential characteristics.

Monroe, E.E., & Pendergrass, M.R. (1997). Effects of mathematical vocabulary instruction on fourth grade students. Reading Improvement, 34(3), 2-24.

This study compares the use of integrated graphic organizers that utilize the Frayer model and a definition only model. The results show a greater number of mathematical concepts recorded by the group using the integrated graphic organizers. The Frayer model is an effective method for teaching.