Food Groups.
Math and Science Applications
(Upper Elementary or Middle School Grade Level)
OBJECTIVES: The student will demonstrate knowledge of the various food groups by creating a food guide pyramid of their own. 2. The student will develop a menu of foods to be used on an extended ocean passage by sail (three weeks) taking into account sailing stowage, refrigeration, caloric need and consumption criteria.
DEMONSTRATION / LECTURE: Teacher discusses the standard Food Guide Pyramid (Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture/U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services. To order a copy of the booklet, send a $1.00 check or money order made out to the Superintendent of Documents to: Consumer Information Center, Department 159-Y, Pueblo, Colorado 81009. August 1992, Leaflet Number 572.
BACKGROUNDINFORMATION: BASE: Bread, Cereal, Rice, & Pasta Group 6-11 servings daily 2nd TIER: Vegetable Group 3-5 servings daily - - Fruit Group 2-4 servings daily 3rd TIER: Milk, Yogurt, & Cheese Group 2-3 servings daily - - Meat, Poultry, Fish, Dry beans, Eggs, & Nuts Group 2-3 servings daily
TIP of PYRAMID: Fats, Oils, & Sweets - Use sparingly. Note: Fat and added sugars come mostly from fats, oils, and sweets, but can be part of or added to foods from the other food groups as well.
Start with plenty of breads, cereals, rice, and pasta; vegetables; and fruits. Add two to three servings from the milk group and two to three servings from the meat group. Each of these food groups provides some, but not all, of the nutrients you need. No one-food group is more important than another is - for good health you need them all. Go easy on fats, oils, and sweets, the foods in the small tip of the Pyramid.
ACTIVITY: 1) After teacher models a diagram of the food group pyramid on the overhead. The student will draw one in their notebook or on construction paper. The student will then cut out pictures of different foods to represent those groups and paste them in the pyramid in the appropriate location.
2) The students will conduct a survey for a week to see what each child actually eats at lunchtime and documents all foods consumed.
3) After a discussion by the teacher on sailing stowage issues, lack of refrigeration for extended passages (use of power/batteries) energy consumption based on weather and activity on board, the students will plan a menu of foods to be eaten by two adults and two children. They will incorporating all the food group needs and sailing passage considerations over a three-week ocean passage period.
DISCUSSION: Teacher and student can discuss the findings after the teacher or student logs the foods down on the chalkboard/overhead on a tally like chart for ease of visual identification. Students can discuss if the school lunches or lunches prepared by your parents meet the dietary requirements?
ASSESSMENT: Informal observation of students' time on task creating food group chart. Formal assessment of correctly pasted foods. Formal assessment of diet survey.
HOMEWORK: Students survey their own eating habits by documenting their breakfast, dinner and snack time diet over a week's time.
MATERIALS: paper, pencils, construction paper, glue, scissors, magazines, newspapers
POINT OF REFERENCE: I conducted an informal survey of one class each of 4th, 5th, and 6th graders over the course of a week and found that approximately 60% of students drank either a carbonated soft drink (soda-pop). 10% or less drink fruit juice or 16 oz. Isotonic (Gator-aide) for lunch. I documented in my own 5th grade class the students who drank these drinks were going to the rest room twice each during the time frame from 12:00 p.m. until 2:30 p.m. That is an average of 15 students or 30 times a child gets up out of their seat to leave instruction for 5-7 minutes at a time during the course of the afternoon. This is time off task, missing instruction, directions, and causing continuous minor interruptions to acquire the information missed.
Lesson plan by Phil Frandino