Introduction to Nutrition: Teaching Students Healthy Eating Habits

1. Introduction to Nutrition: Teaching Students Healthy Eating Habits Stefanie Pagano-Kor and Conor Quinn Education 200 Curriculum Project December 2005 Trinity College

2. Overall Goal We want first graders to understand the importance of making good nutritional decisions and realize how healthy eating habits impact their everyday lives.

3. Objectives • Students will identify foods as healthy vs. unhealthy and will classify foods in terms of their nutritional value. • Students will predict the nutritional value of foods consumed at home. • Students will recognize different food groups from the food pyramid and foods that fit into each group. • Students will apply basic knowledge of greater than and less than to numerically compare nutritional information. • Students will create their own definitions of “healthy” eating habits. • Students will assess their own nutritional habits.

4. Justification • State Recognized Curriculum Standards • Meets the Connecticut State Department of Education’s Content Standards established for grades K-2 emphasizing a healthy and active life. • “Students will establish and maintain healthy eating patterns.” • Childhood Obesity • According to the American Obesity Association, approximately 30.3% of children ages 6-11 are overweight and 15.3% are obese. • "Obesity has reached epidemic proportions in the United States, especially in children and adolescents. Those statistics are even more alarming among Latin populations." • Personal Placement in Hartford School System • Our observations of a first grade snack time evidenced that children are making unhealthy eating choices.

5. Weekly Planner *As a continuation to the unit, students will take a field trip to a local grocery store to choose a healthy snack.

6. Nutrition Diary • Throughout the week students will be keeping a picture diary of foods they consume during snack-time. They will write a short sentence reflecting on why they ate what they did. “I ate a Snickers because it tastes good.” “I ate cookies because they are sweet.”

7. Nutrition Diary • On the final day of the unit, students will review their diary entries and will count up how many snacks they consumed from each food group. They will then place check marks in a blank food pyramid to show how often they ate a snack from a specific food group.

8. Students will then share their personal food group tallies with the class and will add their own results to the class’ food pyramid to show the class’ collective nutritional habits. ||| | | Meat & Beans Milk Oils Fruits Vegetables Grains

9. Nutrition Diary • As a culmination of the unit, there will be a class discussion in which students reflect upon and assess their personal and collective eating habits. • What do your results tell you about your eating habits? • Are you eating healthy foods? • How can you improve your nutritional habits?

10. Evaluation • Nutrition Diary • Daily entries, categorization, reflection • Nutrition Chart Activities • Estimating, Greater Than/Less Than • Food Pyramid Construction • Posters Defining “Healthy”