Dietary Guidelines/Food Pyramid

Video:

Handouts:

Copies from the Dairy Council:

Optional activities:

Prepare and show some premeasured or weighed food examples from real food the actual size of a serving for each of the food groups or obtain plastic food model replicas from Nasco.

Background for Teachers

Review the new Dietary Guidelines as of 2000. Go to the Food and Nutrition Information Center with USDA at www.usda.gov/cnpp or contact the Dairy Council or County Extension Office for current information.

Be familiar with the Food Guide Pyramid - obtain copies through the Dairy Council (Daily Food Guide Pyramid and Guide to Good Eating and other reference materials).

Handouts: Glorious Foods copied two on a page, Dietary Guidelines and Food Pyramid Study Sheet, Basic Nutrients, Food Pyramid Summary, Six Essential Nutrients page 1 and 2,

Copies from the Dairy Council - Guide to Good Eating, Daily Food Guide Pyramid.

Optional activities: Vitamin Match-Up Quiz, Review for Food Pyramid Test.

Student Prior Knowledge

Knowledge of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2000 and an understanding of the Food Guide Pyramid.

Intended Learning Outcomes

The student should be able to know and list the recommended dietary guidelines and explain their function and implement them in their daily lives. The student should be able to identify and understand the Food Guide Pyramid, its servings, serving sizes, and the foods within each of the food groups which are grouped according to the nutrients they contain.

Instructional Procedures

Hand out the Study Sheet for the Dietary Guidelines and Food Guide Pyramid.

Using the overhead, read and go over the recommended Dietary Guidelines for Americans as of 2000. You can talk about each of them and why important from your own experience or knowledge.

Pass out to each student the paper called "Glorious Foods". Have the students circle all of the foods on the paper that they like. Have them put an "X" through any foods that they won't eat.

Now have the students fold the worksheet in half lengthwise and then in thirds. Ask them to open the worksheet and as a class, discuss, identify and label each food group and the number of servings needed each day. You can have the students identify the foods they like and dislike to make sure they are eating a well-balanced diet from all of the food groups and can see what areas they need to improve in.

Ask the class to comment for discussion: Why do you eat? (We eat to sustain physical well-being or to keep us fit, To sustain energy, To regulate body functions, To sustain growth of body cells and tissues, To alleviate hunger, etc.)

Show a video on the Food Guide Pyramid.

After the video, hand out handouts - Guide to Good Eating, Daily Food Guide Pyramid, Food Pyramid Summary, The Basic Nutrients, and the Six Essentials Nutrients. Review the handouts together.

Show using actual foods the portion sizes for the recommended serving sizes.

Illustrate with overhead: America's Diet Compared to the Food Pyramid. Discuss and talk about our diets.

Orally, go over the "Six Essential Nutrients" handout and give the students the information and notes to fill out their chart and answers.

Bibliography

"Glorious Foods", Nutrition News, Volume 55 Number 3, Winter 1992, published by the National Dairy Council.

Resources from the Dairy Council -

Plastic Food Model Replicas and Food Pyramid available through Nasco.