Learning Experience

Food Pyramid

Author: Roberta Matthews

School: Remington Elementary School

District: Ilion Central Schools

Ilion, NY 13357

TITLE: Food Pyramid

Grade level: Intermediate: Grades 3-6

Learning Standards :

This learning experience addresses the ELA, MST, Health and PE learning standards.

ELA: 1, 2, 3

MST: 1

Health and PE: 1, 2, 3

Benchmarks:

1) Gather and interpret information and data from a variety of sources. 2) Select appropriate information to their purpose and use strategies for note taking, organizing, and categorizing information. 3) Support inferences about information and ideas with references to text features, such as vocabulary and organizational patterns.

Benchmarks: 1) Present information clearly in a variety of oral and written forms including letters, stories, and charts. 2) Select a focus, organization, and point of view for oral and written presentations. 3) Use the writing process to produce

Benchmarks: 1) Use mathematical notation and symbolism to communicate in mathematics and to compare and describe quantities, express relationships, and relate mathematics to their immediate environments. 2) Use simple logical reasoning to develop conclusions, recognizing that patterns and relationships present in the environment assist them in reaching these conclusions. 3) Explore and solve problems generated from school, home, and community situations, using concrete objects or manipulative materials when possible. 4) Ask "why" questions in attempts to seek greater understanding concerning objects and events they have observed and heard about.

Benchmarks: 1) Have the necessary knowledge and skills to establish and maintain physical fitness, and maintain personal health. 2) Understand and create a safe and healthy environment. 3) Understand and be able to manage their personal and community resources.

Context:

The purpose of this learning experience is to make students aware of the life long skill of choosing a proper diet. Students will research the food pyramid, keep a week long diet diary, categorize the foods eaten on computer and evaluate why a pyramid is the best model for healthy eating. Students will read books having to do with food. At the end, students will evaluate their food choices and suggest areas that might be improved upon.

Students need to have basic competency on the computer. Specifically, they need to be able to: get on-line, word processing skills, grade reading level, basic writing skills (can write 3-5 sentences in response to a topic.

Initiating Activity: To initiate this learning experience, I will pass out menus from a variety of restaurants (McDonalds, Burger King, Friendly’s, Chinese Restaurant) and ask students to highlight the foods they think are healthy and compare their ideas with a friend. Evaluate answers. Discuss results.

Procedure:

Teacher Activities:

• The teacher will model the initial step of cataloging foods into a food group template (Microsoft Word) on the computer as a means of later evaluation.
• The teacher will set up headings in a computer file for students to log their daily diet dairy entries. e.g. (fats/oils, meat, fruits and vegetables, breads and cereals)
• The teacher will set up a dietitian’s visit.
• The teacher will provide geometric shapes for compare/contrast with pyramid concept
• The teacher will provide other geometric models for students to explore. Has the food pyramid ever changed? Was healthy eating always considered to be "pyramid shaped?".

Student Activities:

The students will read, write, listen and speak about their diets and the food pyramid. They will investigate geometric shapes and evaluate why a pyramid is used rather than another shape. Students will work in cooperative groups to hypothesize and experiment with other geometric models. At the end students will evaluate their pre-learning and post-learning diet diaries and be asked to make comments and observations.

They will also evaluate the food pyramid in terms of its ability to model healthy eating over another shape.

Modifications:

small groups

cooperative groupings

peer help

one to one assistance, if necessary, from teacher

Time:

• planning; 3 hours
• implementation; 10 hours, 1 hour each day for a two week period
• assessment; on going during implementation phase

to successfully complete this experience

Resources:

• The resources needed for this learning experience are computers with Internet access and access to a library with a variety of media (books, tapes, poems) on food.
• Web sites
• Books

Culminating Activity: The class will be broken up into small, cooperative groups for the purpose of designing a menu for the Food Pyramid Restaurant. The menu will reflect the students’ learning and understanding of proper nutrition as modeled by the food pyramid.

Assessment:

• Observation of student work
• Submission of student work
• Quiz/test on food groups
• Final analysis of pre and post dietary entries in diet diary. Students will evaluate their own diet diaries and share the strengths and weaknesses found as well as how they could improve their own personal eating habits.
• Rubric

Reflection:

The lesson was developed for the learning standards noted because of the need to integrate as many curricula areas as possible both as an academic as well as a motivational point. I learned a great deal in preparing this unit. I have not yet taught this unit.

Web Sites:

http://www.ganesa.com/food/index.html

http://www.ring.com/health/food/food.htm

http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/fpyr/pyramid.html

http:www.dietitian.com/foodguid.html

http://www.myfood.net/storage1.htm

http://www.wellweb.com/nutri/food_guide_pyramid.htm

http://warp.nal.usda.gov/fnic/etext/000023.html

Rubric: