How Do You Grow | You and Food! | Nutrition Expedition Nutrition Expedition Reproducible Page
How Do You Grow?
Nutrition Expedition Reproducible Page
How Do You Grow?
To understand that in order to grow and stay healthy, children need food from a variety of food groups.
The Poster; chalkboard or chart paper; examples of foods from different food groups (actual food or
pictures)—grains, fruits, vegetables, and protein (milk, meat, beans).
- Ask students how they have changed since first grade (e.g., they are taller, stronger, know how to do more
things). Then ask if they know four things they need in order to grow and stay strong and healthy (food,
water, sleep, exercise). Explain that foods contain nutrients, including vitamins and minerals, that help
them grow. A nutrient is a substance obtained from food and used in the body to promote growth,
maintenance, or repair. Vitamins serve as helpers of body processes. Minerals are part of many cells as
well as bone, teeth, and nails. Vitamins and minerals don’t supply energy directly, but they regulate many
processes that produce energy. They help protect against health problems. When people are active they
use more energy and need more food. (The nutrients protein, carbohydrate, and fat provide energy that the
body can use.) Ask: What kind of foods do you think are especially good for you?
- Explain that everyone over two years old needs food from these basic food groups each day: milk, meat,
vegetables, fruits, grains. Ask students to give an example of a food in each group. You may need to
provide students with examples of grains. Make sure they understand that fish, poultry, eggs, and beans are
included in the meat (protein) category.
- Download the Poster and ask students to pick out foods and identify the group each falls in. (Help them categorize apples, oranges, and bananas as fruits; broccoli, tomatoes, and carrots as vegetables; and bread, rolls, and cereal as grains.) Show students the foods you have brought in and have them identify the group to which each belongs.
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You and Food!
To discover how the food pyramid is organized.
USDA Food Guide Pyramid , the Poster, paper, pencils, crayons, yarn.
- Print out the Food Guide Pyramid. Use it with the Poster
(and with the foods you have brought in) to show students where the different foods belong on
the pyramid.
- Point out that the foods we need more of are at the bottom of the pyramid and the foods we need less
of are at the top. Brainstorm about favorite foods and then ask students to list (or draw) their “Top 3 Favorite
Foods.” Encourage them to choose foods from a variety of food groups. Then discuss the foods students
have listed. Ask students to add to their list a food that they would like to try sometime.
- Use students’ drawings and lists to create a bulletin board display based around the Food Guide Pyramid. Post a copy of the Food Guide Pyramid and surround it with students’ papers. Then invite students to use pieces of yarn to connect foods on their lists with the correct section of the Food Guide Pyramid.
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Nutrition Expedition
To identify foods that are sources of specific vitamins and minerals.
copies of Nutrition Expedition Reproducible; the Poster; Nutrition Facts labels from various foods
showing a variety of vitamins and minerals. (Note that fresh fruits and vegetables don’t have labels;
use labels from canned and frozen varieties.)
- Download and display the Poster; copy and distribute the Nutrition Expedition Reproducible Page. Have students work in pairs to identify
the vitamin and mineral information about each food shown on the poster.
- Have students look at the Nutrition Facts labels from various foods. Point out the vitamins and minerals.
Make a list of all the vitamins and minerals on the selected food labels. Don’t worry about defining other
terms on the labels, such as “percent daily values.” The point of using the labels is to reinforce the
connection between vitamins and minerals and foods.
- Discuss what such vitamins and minerals (vitamin A, vitamin C, calcium, and iron) listed on the labels do for the body. Vitamin A helps your eyes see normally in the dark and protects you from infections. Vitamin C helps heal cuts and wounds and keeps your gums healthy. Calcium builds bones and helps your muscles contract and your heart beat. Iron carries oxygen in your blood.
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