miniQUEST

Dairy

Fruit & Vegetable

Fish & Meat

Bread & Pasta

Sweets

Introduction:

Help!! Your principal has asked First Grade to help her plan snacks and lunch for the Kindergarten students on their Step-up day.

Kindergarten has been reading stories and learning about healthy foods just like your Science class.

Your class will help plan the menu for the Kindergarten lunch. The principal will be asking you to explain your food choices for this menu.
 
 

Process (Steps)
Task One: Poster

1. The students will brainstorm and complete a K-W-L chart about the basic needs of people.
2. The students will think, pair, share with a partner and then create a poster about the basic needs of people. Pairs will share their poster with the class.

 

	Identifies and describes orally and with pictures all 4 basic needs
	Identifies and describes orally and with pictures 3 basic needs
	Identifies and describes orally and with pictures 2 or less basic needs

The students will listen to be informed to the story: The Bernstain Bears:  Too Junk Food. The students will discuss making wise decisions about food choices and then recall story details when completing a story map.

1. Students will list either on paper or in Kidspiration 5 foods from the fruit and vegetable groups that they like to eat .
2. The teacher will guide students to visit Dole - What is Five A Day? and What's a Serving? to investigate the fruit and vegetable food groups.
3. They will visit the Select-o-Meter to find the taste and texture descriptions for the foods they listed.

The students will examine the food pyramid chart. They will identify the food groups of the food pyramid. The students will color, cut into a puzzle a food pyramid worksheet. OR The students will draw or stamp the food pyramid using KidPix.

Assessment: The students will write or dictate a sentence about what the food pyramid chart tells us.

Rubric for Food Pyramid Task

	Places 5 or more food graphics correctly on the pyramid. Writes or dictates a sentence informing what the food pyramid tells us.
	Places 3 food graphics correctly on the food pyramid. Writes or dictates a sentence informing what the food pyramid tells us.
	Places fewer than 3 food graphics on the food pyramid. Incomplete dictation or sentence about what the food pyramid tells us.

1. The students will keep a food record for a week.
2. The students will complete journal entries for their nutrition book. (See Journal Prompts below)

Journal Prompts for Food Journal

My Food Journal  by ______________	I know about fruit. The ___________ is ________________.
I know about vegetables. The ____________ is ______________.	My favorite fruit is _______ because _________.
My favorite vegetable is __________  because _________.	I like _________ in the bread group.
I like ________ in the meat group.	I like _____ in the milk group.
I like ________ in the sweets group.	I will eat food from all the food groups because _____.
My results from How did you do Your 5 today? _____             _______ _____             _______ _____            Bonus ____	My friend's results from How did you do Your 5 today? _____             _______ _____             _______ _____            Bonus ____

Rubric for Journal Prompts

2 points	Answers all journal prompts accurately. Illustrates each answer.
1 point	Answers 6 or more prompts accurately. Illustrates 6 or more answers.
0 points	Answers less than 5 prompts accurately. Illustrates less than 5 answers.

After listening to The Very Hungry Caterpillar, the students will create a class book using the drawing software and stamps in KidPix. The student will stamp a picture of something they like to eat, and then use the drawing tools to draw a picture of their face. The students will type their sentence by filling in the name of the food they selected:  "This hungry kid likes to eat _______."

Nutrition Unit Assessment:
The students will select wise food choices to plan snacks and lunch for Kindergarten students on their Step-up day. They will draw or stamp appropriate graphics using KidPix or Kidspiration to create and publish a menu that would be healthy and appropriate. The students will then label their pictures and write/dictate a sentence or two about their choices. The class will then write a letter to inform the principal about the results and the process of how the food selections were made for the Kindergarten lunch.

Conclusion
Complete the "L" portions of the KWL chart.
 

Extension Activities:

• The class can graph their favorite selections and use the results for planning the Kindergarten lunch/snack problem listed at the beginning of the quest.
• Further research about particular food groups.
• Further research the effects of  healthy vs. unhealthy diets.
• Taste testing/cooking activities with new, unusual, or ethnic foods. Follow up with oral and writing activities.
• Use "Graphers" software to graph results of favorite class food choices.
• Collect data about nutrition by completing weekly chart of diet from food groups. Share and chart class results from individual weekly charts.
• Investigate "vegetarian" and "vegan" diets.
• Investigate the question-"Do people need to take vitamins?"
• Make a class book of food riddles.

Additional Resources

• Books on foods:
• Breads, Breads, Breads. by Ann Morris
• Ice Cream by Joy Cowley
• The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
• The Terrible Eater by Mitchel Sharmat
• What's on My Plate? by Ruth Belou
• It Looks Like Spilt Milk by Charles Shaw
• http://www.nutritionexplorations.org/
• http://navigator.tufts.edu/kids.html/ (directory of web internet resources)
• http://www.nal.usda.gov8001 (high readability level- interactive food pyramid)
• Lifter, M., and Adams, M. KidPix for Terrified Teachers. Teacher Created Materials, Inc. (1997) CA.

• What are the basic needs of people?
• What are the basic food groups?
• What kinds of food do we need the most?
• What does the food pyramid tell you?
• Why is it important to make wise decisions about food selections?

Maryland Learning Outcome:

3.3.8 Students will explain that animals need air, water and food and that plants need air, water, nutrients, and light to survive. (MLO 3.4)

• The student will be able to recognize that food is necessary for energy, growth, and health.
• The student will communicate data by describing, drawing pictures or selecting appropriate graphics, and telling.
• The student will explain why it is necessary to make wise food choices when planning a meal.

• 5.1 Efficiently use electronic information resources for collaboration, research, publication, communication, and productivity.

Assessment:

• The student will identify basic needs of people.
• The student will identify the basic food groups.
• The student will select wise food choices to plan a meal.
• The student will complete a food pyramid by placing pictures where they belong on the chart.