LESSON PLAN 1Unit: NUTRITION

Suggested Themes: MyPyramid Food Guidance System, Fruits and Vegetables, Milk and Milk Products, Strong Bones and Teeth, How Food Helps Us Grow, Where Do Foods Come From, and Breads and Grains

Age-Appropriate: Preschoolers and school-age children will be able to iden-tify these foods.

Theme: Grains

Objectives: Children will understand how breads and grains fi t into the MyPyramid Food Guidance System and how they help them grow and have energy. They will be able to identify foods that fi t into this category.

Materials: Examples of fresh bread, bagels, rice, cereals, pasta, and other grains or a poster of the MyPyramid; magazine pictures of grains including numerous breads and grains; an empty poster board, and glue or paste

Lesson: Read the book Bread, Bread, Bread. Have children name all the dif-ferent kinds of breads they can think of. Talk about how bread helps children grow and have energy. Show children examples of other foods that fi t into the breads and grains categories. Have them select and cut out pictures of this category from magazine pictures of foods. Have all children use glue sticks to glue their pictures of these foods on a large poster board, creating a collage of breads and grains.

Follow-Up: Snack and lunch items will feature bread and cereal group foods such as cereal, spaghetti, tortillas, pancakes, and rice cakes. Read the book On Top of Spaghetti, Pancakes for Breakfast, or Strega Nona. If children bring their lunches, have all children participate in identifying the bread or grain food group items.

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LESSON PLAN 2Unit: NUTRITION

Suggested Themes: Junk Foods, Television Ads Infl uence Food Choices. Learn-ing to Feed Ourselves (for toddlers), and Exercise Our Bodies

Theme: Exercise Our Bodies

Age-Appropriate: Preschoolers will enjoy using their energy for this lesson.

Objectives: Children will understand how exercise makes their bodies strong and healthy.

Materials: A fl annelboard and fl annel cutouts; an exercise video; balls, trikes, and a whistle

Lesson: Explain the importance of exercise to children. Have them give exam-ples of what they think is exercise, clarifying as you go. Tell a fl annelboard story about a little boy who didn’t exercise and how it made him unhealthy and how he felt better after he started exercising. Put on an exercise video and have everyone participate. Take a walk, and walk at different speeds from slow to fast. Read the book Willie Takes a Hike.

Follow-Up: Plan some organized exercises for the rest of the week. Include foot races and trike races. Play Red Light, Green Light and Simon Says. Use exercise video for kids again. Read books like Too Much Junk Food, Too Much T.V., and I Went Walking, and discuss how these might affect children and their exercise effort and time.

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LESSON PLAN 3Unit: NUTRITION

Suggested Themes: Breakfast Starts My Day, Lunch Helps Me Grow, Snacks are Important, and Good Fast Food Selections

Theme: Lunch Helps Me Grow

Age-Appropriate: Preschoolers and school-age children are most likely to be receptive to this information.

Objectives: Children will learn how to make good selections for lunch box meals.

Materials: Labels from typical convenience foods such as Lunchables and snack items often packed in lunches; lunch snacks, breads, condiments, meats, cheese, peanut butter and jelly, chips, veggies, juices, sodas, junk food selections; magazine pictures of foods; paper, scissors, and glue or paste

Lesson: Show children labels from typical lunch and snack foods. Help them learn how to look at the labels to see what is healthy and what is not. Talk about good selections for a lunch box. Read Lunch Boxes. Have children discuss how many different items from different cultures are healthy lunch selections. Have children practice good selections by choosing lunch items from magazine pictures and pasting them on paper. Have children select their own lunch items and make their own lunches. Talk about their selec-tions, and help them make better choices, if necessary.

Follow-Up: Send home a handout of good lunch box selections and those foods you do not want to see in the early childhood education environment (such as candy and soda). Read What’s on My Plate?, Lunch, and Gregory, the Terrible Eater. During lunch time for the rest of the week, read labels from children’s lunch box selections. Have children discuss their food choices.

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LESSON PLAN 4Unit: NUTRITION

Suggested Themes: Healthy Foods, Food Groups, Cooking Healthy Food, Mak-ing Good Choices with Food

Theme: Food Groups from MyPyramid

Appropriate: Preschool and kindergarten children will be able to group the foods.

Objectives: Children will learn about each food group and good healthy choices with each food group.

Materials: Flannelboard with pictures of each of the food groups found on MyPyramid Food Guidance System and plastic food from each food group for the children to sort; magazines and scissors to make a collage of each food group; sliced apples and crackers and milk for a healthy snack

Lesson: Flannelboard will display the fi ve food groups to be used as a discus-sion topic. Each food group and what foods are healthy will be talked about, and the children will give examples as to what they think is healthy. Children can cut pictures of foods from different magazines to make a collage, sorting by groups. At snack time, the children can have the healthy snack listed in the materials above. During the snack, the teacher can talk about the snack and the MyPyramid Food Guidance System.

Follow-Up: Provide books and magazines that talk about the different food groups such as Good Enough to Eat: A Kids Guide to Food and Nutrition, Eat Healthy, Feel Great, Alphabite! A Funny Feast from A to Z, and The Very Hungry Caterpillar. A letter will be sent to the parents explaining the theme and asking them to donate magazines or books about nutrition. If there is a computer in the environment, fi nd the MyPyramid site and show children the interactive site by groups. This is more likely to be a one-on-one or one-on-two activity. Parents will be sent home handouts and a newsletter with good nutrition information including the URL for the MyPyramid website.

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LESSON PLAN 5Unit: NUTRITION

Suggested Themes: Taking Care of Our Teeth, What Food Labels Mean, How Our Bodies Grow, Why We Drink Water, What Vegetables Do

Age-Appropriate: Preschool children will be able to brush their teeth.

Theme: Taking Care of Our Teeth

Objectives: Children will understand what teeth are important for, how to take care of them, what happens at the dentist’s offi ce.

Materials: Toothbrushes (one for each child); the song “Brush Your Teeth” by Raffi , to play and sing along with; small mirrors; magazine pictures of foods that are good and bad for teeth; scissors, glue sticks, and paper; a small chicken bone; a clear cup large enough to completely hold the bone and a can of a cola soft drink.

Lesson: Talk about teeth and how important it is to keep them healthy. Place the chicken bone in the cup, and cover it completely with the soft drink. Allow to sit for a few days. Observe changes and discuss the changes to the bone due to the sugars in the soda and the discoloration and how this would be similar for teeth. Explain proper ways and how often to brush teeth. Do activ-ity with children sitting in a circle, brushing teeth with water. Pass mirrors around the circle so the children can look inside their mouth while brushing. Sing song, and read one of the books. Have a discussion about foods that are good for your teeth and the ones that are not. For art, let children cut out magazine pictures of good foods for teeth, and paste them on paper.

Follow-Up: During the rest of the week, have children brush teeth after lunch. Make “Fruit Faces” by having the children spread cream cheese or peanut butter on toast or a rice cake, then add precut fruit shapes to make faces; pineapple, orange, strawberry, grapes. You could also use vegetables such as carrots and celery. Talk about how fruits and vegetables help our teeth stay strong. Talk about how sugars don’t help our teeth, and look at the discol-oration on the bone and discuss it. Send home an information sheet about teeth and what was discussed in class. Sing the song several times during the week, and read Going to the Dentist, The Crocodile and the Dentist, Your Teeth, Critter Goes to the Dentist, and How Many Teeth? Have some dentist props such as a white coat, small mirror, masks for mouth, and napkins for patient’s chest. Put them in the dramatic play area, and let the children be creative. Place dolls and tooth brushes in dramatic play area, also to rein-force lesson.

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LESSON PLAN 6Unit: NUTRITION

Suggested Themes: Strong Bones and Teeth, Dairy Products, Where Do Foods Come From, Vitamins and Minerals

Theme: Dairy Products

Age-Appropriate: Children ages 3 to 5 years and older can identify dairy foods, and older children can understand the process more.

Objectives: The objective for this is for children to learn what dairy products are and what they do for their bodies. They will be able to identify those prod-ucts that fi t into this category.

Materials: Books that have to do with dairy products and where they come from; “pretend” plastic foods that represent dairy products, placed in the house area so children can interact with and familiarize themselves with them; pictures of cows, dairies, and foods that come from them; paper, scissors, and glue

Lesson: Take a fi eld trip to a dairy or a supermarket. Watching a video about cows and dairies might supplement or substitute for this if fi eld trips are unlikely. Read Milk: From Cow to Carton. The process of getting milk from a cow should be discussed so children have an understanding of how it occurs. The snack would come from the dairy group. Children could draw pictures of their favorite dairy food or cut out a picture of a cow and surround it with products that come from it.

Follow-Up: Play a reminder game about dairy products with plastic foods from dramatic play area and ask, “What is your favorite dairy product?” Read Milk to Ice Cream, A Big Cheese for the White House: The True Tale of Tremendous Cheddar, Milk Makers, and Two Cool Cows. Feature dairy prod-ucts in meals and snacks and discuss them each time they appear. One day, make pudding from scratch and have them watch milk turn into pudding. Making butter or ice cream would work too. Talk about how dairy products help build strong bones and teeth. Put down a piece of butcher paper, have child lie down, and draw an outline of the child. Have the child draw the bones where he thinks they go.

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Topic Map for Food Groups from MyPyramid

CherriesWheat

Rolls

WhiteHot

ColdApricots Plums

Bananas

Apples

Blue

Strawberry

Raspberry

Pizza

Grits

Polenta

Dark lettuces

Cereal

Rice

Other Grains

Head lettuce

Other

Potato

Starchy

Squash

Orange

Butter

Olive oil

Vegetable oil

Mayonnaise

Yogurt

Ice Cream

CreamCottage

Cheese

Sour Cream

Cheese

Milk

Margarine

Dry Beans

and Peas

Dark green

leafy

Bread

Pasta

Pork

Poultry

Beef

Nuts

Dried peas

Peanuts Lentils

Dried beans

Fish

Lamb

Meats

and Beans

FruitsGrains

Vegetables

Oils

Milk

Tree fruits

Berries

Grapes

Dairy

Products

What can

you buy?

Milk 1/2 and1/2

Ice cream

cone

Milkshakes

Macaroni

and cheese

Casseroles

Ice cream

sundaePudding

Other ways you

can think ofSupermarketDelivery Truck

Bottling plant

not on farm

Convenience

storeOther stores

Dairy

Farmer

Milking

MachinesFarm

Food for cow

Sour Cream Ice cream

Yogart

Dairy Barn

How can

you eat it?

Dairy Farmer

Drivers

Bottling

at dairyTruck

How does it

get to you?

CowCheese Cottage

cheese

Pudding

Flavors Brands

Buttermilk Cream

Sandwiches

Topic Map for Dairy Products

Corn meal

mush

Home made

ice cream

Ama’s salad

dressing

Chicken

casserole

Lemon pie

Pickles

Mocha cake

BBQ Steak

Stew

Garden

casserole

Chicken &

dumplings

Tamale

Pie

Yams

Appetizers

CookiesHam

Sandwiches

Bad Beef

Stew

Pizza

Food

Memories

ArtichokesPizza Pasta

BrowniesTomatoes

Steak

Lemon

Meringue Pie

Burritos

Neighbors

Gramma’s

Other Family

Friends

Mom’s

Aunts and

Uncles

Dad’s

Hamburger

Preschool

family style

Pumpkin

Pie

Pecan Pie

Dressing

Ice Cream

BBQ

Candy

Chocolate

Cake

Turkey

Cafeteria

Thanksgiving

Halloween

Spring

Valentines

Day

Memorial

Day

4th of July

Brown sack

lunches

Favorite

Foods

School

Holidays

–Cooks–

Family & Friends

Christmas

Topic Map for Food Memories

Children’s Books on Nutrition SubjectsAlexander, C. (2006). Grains. Danbury, CT: Children’s Press.April, E. & Ryan, R. (2007). We like to move: Exercise is fun. Prescott, AZ: Hohm Press.Barrett, Judi (2008). Never take a shark to the dentist. Boston, MA: Athenaeum Books.Barrett, J., & Nelson, M. (2000). Food (Elmo’s world). New York, NY: Random House

(Merchandising). Elmo learns that food helps him to grow big and strong. Berenstain, S., & Berenstain, J. (1985). Too much junk food. New York, NY: Random House.Berenstain, S., & Berenstain, J. (1984). Too much T.V. New York, NY: Random House. Brown, M. (1986). Stone Soup. New York, NY: Macmillan. Canizares, S., & Chanko, P. (1998). Water. New York, NY: Scholastic. Describes liquid,

solid, and frozen forms of water. Canizares, S., & Chessen, B. (1999). In the kitchen. New York, NY: Scholastic. Exploring

what happens in the kitchen.Carle, E. (1987). The very hungry caterpillar. New York, NY: Philomel Books. Chanko, P., & Berger, S. (1999). Markets. New York, NY: Scholastic. Exploring things

that can be found in markets.Coplans, P. (1993). Spaghetti for Suzy. New York, NY: Houghton Miffl in. Dalgleish, S. (2007). Fast food (healthy choices). Mankato, MN: Smart Apple Media.Dahl, M., Farm, S., Kesselring, S., & Ouren, T. (2004). From the garden: A counting book

about growing food (know your numbers). Minneapolis, MN: Picture Window Books. dePaola, T. (1989). Tony’s bread. New York, NY: Putnam. dePaola, T. (1988). Strega Nona. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster. dePaola, T. (1978). Pancakes for breakfast. San Diego: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. Derkazarian, S. (2006). Dairy. Danbury, CT: Children’s Press.Derkazarian, S. (2006). Fruits and vegetables. Danbury, CT: Children’s Press.Eagan, R. (1997). From wheat to pasta. New York, NY: Children’s Press. Ehlert, L. (1989). Eating the alphabet from A to Z. San Diego: Harcourt Brace Jova-

novich. Fruits and vegetables from A to Z. Ehlert, L. (1987). Growing vegetable soup. San Diego, CA: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. Erlich, F. (1991). Lunch boxes. New York, NY: Puffi n Books.Feldman, H. (2000). My breakfast: A book about a great morning meal. New York, NY:

PowerKids Press. Fleming, D. (1992). Lunch. New York, NY: Holt. Fontes, J. (2006). Proteins. Danbury, CT: Children’s Press.Fowler, A. (1995). Corn on and off the cob. Chicago, IL: Children’s Press. French, V. (1995). Oliver’s vegetables. New York, NY: Orchard Books. A boy learns

about fresh vegetables in the garden.Gibbons, G. (2008). The vegetables we eat. New York, NY: Holiday House.Glazer, T. (1995). On top of spaghetti. Chicago, IL: Good Year Books. Golden, B. (2001). A mountain of blintzes. San Diego: Gulliver Books. Gomi, T. (1991). Who ate it? Brookfi eld, CT: Millbrook Press.Gordon, S. (2003). Exercise. Danbury, CT: Children’s Press. Gordon, S. (2002). Food Safety. Danbury, CT: Children’s Press. Gordon, S. (2003). You are what you eat. Danbury, CT: Children’s Press.Green, E. (2006). Fruits. (Blastoff! Readers) (The New Food Guide Pyramid). Edina,

MN: Bellwether Media.Green, E. (2006). Grains. (Blastoff! Readers) (The New Food Guide Pyramid). Edina,

MN: Bellwether Media.Green, E. (2006). Meat and beans. (Blastoff! Readers) (The New Food Guide Pyramid).

Edina, MN: Bellwether Media.Green, E. (2006). Vegetables. (Blastoff! Readers) (The New Food Guide Pyramid). Edina,

MN: Bellwether Media.Green, E. (2006). Oils. (Blastoff! Readers) (The New Food Guide Pyramid). Edina, MN:

Bellwether Media.Gross, R. (1990). What’s on my plate? New York, NY: Macmillan. Haduch, B. (2001). Food rules! New York, NY: Puffi n Books. Heinemann Library (2008). Fruits. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.Heinemann Library (2008). Grains. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.Heinemann Library (2008). Meat and proteins. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Heinemann Library (2008). Milk. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.Heinemann Library (2008).Vegetables. Portsmouth, N.H.: Heinemann.Hoban, R. (1964). Bread and jam for Frances. New York, NY: Harper and Row. Johansen, H. (2008). My food (getting to know my world). New York, NY: PowerKids Press.Julius, J. (2001). I like berries. New York, NY: Children’s Press. Julius, J. (2001). I like cereal. New York, NY: Children’s Press. Julius, J. (2001). I like juice. New York, NY: Children’s Press. Julius, J. (2001). I like potatoes. New York, NY: Children’s Press. Kleinberg, N., Leigh, T. & Yee, J. (2008). Grover’s guide to good eating. New York, NY:

Random House.Kottke, J. (2000). From seed to pumpkin (welcome books). Connecticut: Children’s Press. Krauss, R. (1944). The carrot seed. New York, NY: Harper and Row. Kubler, A., & Formby, C. (1995). Come eat with us. Swindon, England: Child’s Play.

Multicultural foods and eating methods. Lacy, L. (2006). Junk food June. Detroit, MI: G Publishing.Landau, E. (1999). A true book of apples. New York, NY: Children’s Press. Landau, E. (2000). A true book of tomatoes. New York, NY: Children’s Press. Levenson, G., & Thaler, S. (2002). Pumpkin circle: The story of a garden. Berkeley,

CA: Tricycle Press. Lord, J. (1987). The giant jam sandwich. Boston: Houghton Miffl in.Lottridge, C. (1986). One watermelon seed. London: Oxford University Press. McCloskey, R. (1976). Blueberries for Sal. New York, NY: Penguin. Miller, E. (2008). The monster health book: A guide to eating healthy, being active,

and feeling great. New York, NY: Holiday House.Morris, A. (1989). Bread, bread, bread. New York, NY: William Morrow. Morris, J. (1999). More cheese, please: A book about trying new foods. Pleasantville,

NY: Reader’s Digest Association. Napoli, D., & Tchen, R. (2001). How hungry are you? New York, NY: Simon & Schuster.

Two friends try to plan a picnic.Nechaev, M. (1998). Apron Annie’s pies. Cypress, CA: Creative Teaching Press. Numeroff, L. (1985). If you give a mouse a cookie. New York, NY: HarperCollins. Oda, M. (1984). Happy veggies. Boston, MA: Houghton Miffl in. Passen, L. (1991). Fat, fat Rose Marie. New York, NY: Holt.Preiss, L. (1990). The pig’s alphabet. Boston, MA: David R. Goding. Pruemin, M. (1994). How to make an apple pie and see the world. New York, NY:

Alfred Knopf. Rand, G. (1996). Willie takes a hike. San Diego: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. Rockwell, L. (1999). Good enough to eat: A kid’s guide to food and nutrition. New

York, NY: HarperCollins.Rockwell, L. (2004). The busy body book: A kid’s guide to fi tness. New York, NY:

Crown Books for Young Readers.Rotner, S. and Goss, G. (2006). Where does food come from? Minneapolis, MN: Millbrook

Press.Schechter, L. (2007). Jenna’s big FAT secret: A story about food and feelings. Lincoln,

NE: iUniverse, Inc.Schwartz, D. (1998). Plant fruits and seeds. Cypress, CA: Creative Teaching Press. Sears, W., Sears, M. & Kelly, C. (2002). Eat healthy, feel great. New York, NY: Little,

Brown and CompanySeuss, Dr. (1960). Green eggs and ham. New York, NY: Random House.Sharmat, M. (1987). Gregory, the terrible eater. New York, NY: Macmillan. Sinykin, S. C. (1990). Come out, come out, wherever you are. Hazeldon, MN: Hazeldon

Educational Materials. Story about an overweight girl and her changing perception of herself.

Smalley, C. (2006). Fats, oils, and sweets. Danbury, CT: Children’s Press.Smalls-Hector, I. (1992). Apple picking time. New York, NY: Crown Publishing.

American tradition of picking apples.Smith, N. (2002). Allie the allergic elephant: A children’s story of peanut allergies.

San Francisco, CA: Jungle Communications Inc. Snyder, I. (2003). Beans to chocolate (Welcome Books: How things are made).

Danbury, CT: Children’s Press.

Snyder, I. (2003). Milk to ice cream (Welcome Books: How things are made). Danbury, CT: Children’s Press.

Snyder, I. (2003). Tomatoes to ketchup (Welcome Books: How Things Are Made). Danbury, CT: Children’s Press.

Stevens, J. (1995). Tops and bottoms. San Diego, CA: Harcourt Brace and Co. Bear and Hare learn about plants that grow on top of the ground and under the ground.

Storper, B. (2008). Janie Junkfood’s fresh adventure. Hatfi eld, MA: FoodPlay ProductionsWaters, F. (2004). Food (what about health). London: Hodder Wayland.Willems, M. (2004). The pigeon fi nds a hot dog! New York, NY: Hyperion. Williams, B. (1978). Jeremy isn’t hungry. New York, NY: Penguin Books. Older brother

tries to feed Jeremy, but he wants to feed himself.Williams, R. (1996). Oranges for orange juice. Cypress, CA: Creative Teaching Press. Womble, L. (2005). Elmo’s breakfast bingo. New York, NY: Random House.Womble, L. (2005). Get moving with Grover. New York, NY: Random House.Williams, S. (1989). I went walking. San Diego, CA: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. Wood, D., & Wood, A. (1984). The little mouse, the red ripe strawberry, and the big

hungry bear. Swindon, England: Child’s Play.