Toolkit Introduction » Resources for School Food Programs » Table of Contents
Nutrition in the Classroom: Teacher Resources
- Nutrition Matters!
- Activities for Promoting Healthy Eating at School
- Non-Food Suggestions for Classroom Rewards
- Canada’s Food Guide and Accompanying Documents:
- Nutrition Labelling
- Learning Activity Sheets - Grades 1-3
- Learning Activity Sheets - Grades 4-6
- Learning Activity Sheets - Grades 7-9
- Where to Find More Activities
Nutrition Matters!
Schools are an ideal place for children to learn about and practice good nutrition. The classroom, and the whole school environment itself, provides a wonderful opportunity for you to make an impact on a child’s health.
Why Teach Nutrition to Children?
- Poor eating habits are contributing to the rising rates of childhood overweight and type 2 diabetes. Poor eating habits are also likely to continue into adulthood and increase the risk of developing chronic diseases such as cancer and cardiovascular disease.
- Nutrition concerns and low activity levels put children at risk of health problems. Island studies tell us that:
- Less than 50% of children drink enough milk and milk products.
- Less than 1 in 5 children get enough servings of vegetables and fruit.
- 0% of elementary students do not consume breakfast on a daily basis. As children get older, breakfast skipping increases.
- Rates of childhood overweight and obesity have increased dramatically.
- More than 50% of Canadian children and youth are not active enough to meet their needs for optimal growth and development.
- Teachers are important role models.
- Next to parents, teachers are children’s most important role models. You can be a powerful and positive influence on your students’ eating habits.
- Set an example by eating nutritious foods, and trying new and exciting foods yourself.
- Nutrition and learning go hand in hand.
- Well-nourished children tend to have higher test scores, better school attendance, and fewer behavior problems in the classroom.
- Under-nourished children may have difficulty focusing on task, have lower self-esteem, and are absent more often from school.
Activities for Promoting Healthy Eating at School
Posters and Displays (classroom or school)
- have students develop posters based on the food groups from Canada’s Food Guide to Healthy Eating - either one poster with all food groups or separate posters for each food group. Students can draw or find pictures in fliers, magazines, or online of foods that fit into each food group (mural or collage format)
- have students develop posters that show foods that are considered ‘everyday foods’ and ‘sometimes foods’
- have students develop posters of foods that fit into a healthy breakfast (including nontraditional breakfast foods)
- have students develop posters or displays explaining serving sizes
- have students develop healthy media messages and advertisements
- have students identify healthy foods that start with each letter of the alphabet
- have students develop posters that identify foods from a particular country
- display food guides from different countries < display existing nutrition-related posters (e.g. Nutrition Month Posters, Milk Posters, etc)
Wellness Days/Health Fairs
- displays/booths can be developed by students and/or health professionals
- potential participants may include: government departments (Department of Education, Department of Health and Social Services, Department of Community and Cultural Affairs, Public Health Units), community groups, health alliances (Healthy Eating Alliance, Active Living Alliance, etc) and non-government organizations (Heart and Stroke Foundation, Canadian Cancer Society, etc).
Celebrate ‘Nutrition Month’ , “Health Eating Week” or any other Health Awareness Month
- refer to the “Health Promotion Calendar”
Healthy Eating Announcements
- during morning announcements have a student broadcast a tip about healthy eating.
Brown Bag Olympics
- for a set period of time (1-4 weeks) the class evaluates their lunch to see if it meets Olympic criteria (based on Canada’s Food Guide to Healthy Eating). The class will be awarded a bronze, silver, or gold “medal” depending on the percentage of the class with an Olympic Lunch.
- all students who participate get a small token (such as a pencil or sticker)
Healthy Eating Goals
- class or whole school can set a goal for # of vegetables or fruit eaten
- competitions between classes or between students and teachers can be held to see which group meets the recommendations of Canada’s Food Guide to Healthy Eating
Student Leaders
- one student is assigned for a week to act as a class leader in encouraging and promoting healthy eating among classmates
Peer Educators
- have older students teach younger students about healthy foods < as part of a nutrition lesson have older students prepare nutritious snacks which can either be taken to a younger class or be used for a sampling session within their own class
Taste Testing
- before introducing a new item to the canteen or lunch program have a taste test for students to help them decide what products should be sold
- other taste testing activities can be incorporated into classroom lesson plans such as introducing new foods from various cultures or trying exotic fruits and vegetables.
Mystery Food
- class or school can participate. Each day/week announce a small fact about a mystery food (eg. this food is oval in shape and the skin is covered in a fine fur and is a high source of Vitamin C. Answer: A kiwi).
- students have the opportunity to guess what the mystery food is (a ballot box could be used) and the student(s) who guess(es) correctly wins a small prize (perhaps the mystery food).
Farm-to-School Projects
- schools buy fresh, seasonal produce from local farmers that use environmentally sustainable farming methods
- foods are then sold at the school
- field trips, school gardening, composting, taste testing, assemblies, and guest speakers are all example of activities that can be used as part of a Farm-to-School Project
Parent Education Seminars
- one time only or a series of seminars can be provided to parents on a variety of relevant topics (e.g. basics of healthy eating, lunch packing tips, etc)
- survey parents to find out what topics they are interested in and to find the most appropriate time/place to hold such events
Healthy Eating Tips in School Newsletters
- insert monthly healthy eating tips from the Healthy Eating Alliance in school newsletters
View the - Health Promotion Calendar September 2004 - August 2005
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Non-Food Suggestions for Classroom Rewards
Offering food as a reward can set up habits and attitudes towards foods that may be unhealthy in the long run. For example: Kids may be encouraged to overeat if they are rewarded with food for doing well on a test, or by offering a sweet treat as a reward for eating vegetables makes one food seem better than another food, etc.
If you reward your students for good behaviour, use non-food rewards instead.
Some non-food rewards include:
- Free Time
- Extra Gym Time
- Extra Computer Time
- Homework Pass
- Teacher’s Helper For The Day
- Eat Lunch With The Teacher
- Stickers
- Stamp Hand or Piece of Paper
- Erasers
- Pencils/Pens
- Magnets
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Canada’s Food Guide and Accompanying Documents:
Eating Well with Canada's Food Guide can be found online at:
http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hpfb-dgpsa/onpp-bppn/food_guide_rainbow_e.html
Using the Food Guide can be found online at:
http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/food-guide-aliment/using-utiliser/index_e.html
Focus on Children Six to Twelve Years can be found online at:
http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hpfb-dgpsa/onpp-bppn/focus_child_e.pdf
Food Guide Facts Background for Educators and Communicators can be found online at:
http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hpfb-dgpsa/onpp-bppn/food_guide_background_intro_e.html
Nutrition Labelling
Nutrition labelling is a key factor in helping consumers make informed food choices. In January 2003, Health Canada announced new and improved mandatory nutrition information on food labels. Some manufacturers chose to start placing the nutrition information (or the Nutrition Facts table) on the label immediately, but companies have up to 3 years to comply with the regulations (Small businesses have until December 2007).
The improved labelling system reinforces healthy eating practices and enhances the nutritional health and well-being of Canadians.
Check out the following resources from Healthy Eating is in Store For You to help you (and your students) interpret and apply the nutrition information on packaged food labels. The resources should be appropriate for grades 4 and up.
To learn more about nutrition labelling visit the following websites:
- Health Canada - http://www.healthcanada.ca/nutritionlabelling/
- Healthy Eating is in Store For You - http://www.healthyeatingisinstore.ca/ (An instructors guide is available)
Print the Following PDF about Nutrition Labelling
Top of PageLearning Activity Sheets - Grades 1-3:
Colouring Characters Print PDF - Hockey Broccoli | Wheelchair Basketball Pear
Mission Nutrition - Student Missions for Grades K-1 - Mission 3 "Take off with Breakfast"
Bingo
Materials:
- Food pictures (collect your own, or use the pictures provided in the Food Classification Games activity)
- Class set of Bingo Cards (template on next page)
- BINGO chips (you can use beans or pennies instead of chips)
Procedures:
i. Collect a set of food pictures. Your set should include several foods from each food group and some from the Other Foods category. ii. Have students develop their BINGO card by drawing or writing in the name of foods for each square. Students must select from among the set of food pictures
iii. Play Bingo
- Assign one student to be the caller.
- Place the food pictures in a box.
- The caller selects a food picture and calls it out to the class.
- Students with a matching picture on their BINGO card mark off the matching square.
- The first student with a complete row either across or diagonally wins a Balanced Meal BINGO. A student who completes a Food Group column can also be a BINGO winner.
- Have the class verify that all the foods in a row or column are correctly classified.
Learning Activity Sheets - Grades 4-6
Fill in the Blanks - Canada's Guidlines for Healthy Eating
Using Canada’s Food Guide to Healthy Eating, determine the food group or Other Foods category to which each food belongs. Then determine the amount of one serving for each of the foods. Answer Sheet
Problems
Objective: The students will solve addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division problems that focus on serving size and counting "5 to 10 a day".
Description:
Materials:
- Fruits and Vegetables Problem Sheet
- Nutrition Information - "Produce Information" at www.freggietales.com
Introduction:
- Students may need to review addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division skills, especially when regrouping or renaming is involved.
- Students may also need to review basic problem solving skills such as identifying the needed operation, excluding extraneous information, and determining if the actual question has been answered.
Group/Individual Activity:
- Have students solve the word problems on the 'Problem Solving' sheets.
- If problem solving sheets are used in a group setting, students may be asked to solve all or a designated number of problems, asking for assistance from group members as needed. After the set number of problems have been solved, group members should compare answers and try to reach a consensus as to the correct answers. The teacher may intervene when a consensus cannot be reached.
Related Activities:
Have students create their own fruit and vegetable word problems. Problems may be shared on the board or overhead, or the teacher can make a booklet of the class' problems.
Fruits and Vegetables Problem Sheet | Answer Sheet
Edible Plants
Grade Level: 3-4 Skill: Science
Objective:
Edible Plant Parts -- What part of the plants are we eating, anyway?
for the plant to reach maturity.
Description:
Materials:
- Ask the children to share one fruit or vegetable from their lunch or bring a fruit or vegetable from home.
- "What Part of the Plant Are We Eating, Anyway?" sheets.
- Bean seeds
- Potting soil and two 6" pots with bases
Introduction:
- Begin a discussion by asking students about the part of the plant they eat when they eat a carrot, a potato, broccoli.
- Plant 3 bean seeds per pot and water thoroughly, place the pots in bright sunlight.
- Take names of student volunteers for watering the plants. · Prior to planting the bean seeds explain that we eat the seeds of the bean plant. As the plants begin to grow and reach a height of 15-20 cm pull one from the pot to show the students the roots that the plant uses to absorb water and nutrients from the soil. Also explain the different parts of the plant to the students starting with the roots and moving up to the stem and then the leaves.
- Students have a chance to demonstrate what they already know about this topic by filling in their guesses on the 'What Part of a Plant Do We Eat' sheet. This should be done before any answers are looked up.
Group/Individual Activity:
- Make a collage of fruit and vegetable pictures that are seeds, leaves, stems, roots, and flowers.
- Ask the children to make a list of root crops that we eat, seeds that we eat, leafy crops that we eat, pods that we eat, stems that we eat and flowers that we eat.
Edible Plants Activity Sheet | Answer Sheet
Top of PageLearning Activity Sheets - Grades 7-9
Spencer Sweet Potato's Jazzy Crossword Puzzle | Answer Sheet
Kurt and Casey Collard Greens' Leafy Greens Word Search | Answer Sheet
Healthy Lifestyle Fill in the Blanks | Answer Sheet
Canada's Food Guide to Healthy Eating Check List
Cheddarville Chokes on Food Quiz | Answers
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Where to Find More Activities
Useful Nutrition Websites for Educators
Health Canada:
Includes Eating Well with Canada's Food Guide and other resources.
http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hpfb-dgpsa/onpp-bppn/healthy_eating_e.html#general
Dietitians of Canada:
Great nutrition information and games everyone.
http://www.dietitians.ca
Mission Nutrition:
Excellent site for educators. Activities and lessons are tailored for the K- grade 8 audiences. http://www.missionnutrition.ca
Discovery Healthy Eating:
Excellent site for educators. Activities and lessons are tailored for the grades 1-8 audiences. http://www.city.toronto.on.ca/health/dhe_index.htm
The Dairy Farmers of Canada - Maritimes:
Recipes and activities.
http://www.justaddmilk.ca
Breakfast For Learning:
Great resource! Research about the benefits of consuming breakfast and connection between breakfast and learning in children.
http://www.breakfastforlearning.ca
Fight Bac!:
Fun and educational information about food safety for students, parents and teachers. http://www.canfightbac.org
Food and Nutrition Information Center:
Food and nutrition topics from A-Z. Useful and comprehensive.
http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/etext/fnic.html
Health Finder:
Nutrition games and activities online for students.
http://www.healthfinder.gov/scripts/kids_games.asp
Produce for Better Health Foundation:
Focus on fruits and vegetables. Activities and lessons are tailored for the K - grade 6 audiences. http://www.5aday.org
Kid Health:
Nutrition games and health information online for students.
http://www.kidshealth.org/kid/closet/
Dole 5 A Day:
Very kid friendly site with resources for educators.
http://www.dole5aday.com/Teachers/T_Index.jsp
Freggie Tails: Very kid friendly site with resources for educators. http://www.freggietales.com
A to Z Teacher Stuff:
Designed to help teachers find online resources more quickly and easily. Offer lesson plans, thematic units, teacher tips, teacher discussion forums, and downloadable teaching materials. http://atozteacherstuff.com/Themes/Food___Nutrition/index.shtml
Teach-Nology:
Searchable directory of free online lessons plans and resources for all grades/ subjects.
http://www.teach-nology.com/teachers/lesson_plans/health/nutrition/
Lesson Planz:
Searchable directory of free online lessons plans and resources for all grades/ subjects. http://www.lessonplanz.com
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