Balanced Meal
Subject: Science
Grades: 1-5 (Ages 6-11)
Standards - Science/Health
- Classifies foods into the appropriate food groups
- Understands the nutritional value of various foods
Standards - Thinking Skills
- Supports and logically defends decisions
Teacher Instructions
Students need to understand the different food groups and the need to eat foods from each group to maintain a healthy diet and lifestyle. This lesson uses a Kidspiration® graphic organizer to help students select healthy food choices to build a meal.
- Open Balanced Meal.kia from Kidspiration Starter>Activities>Science and discuss the different food groups and specific foods that fit into each food group.
- Read the directions in the activity aloud to the students. Acquaint them with the Symbol libraries. Show the students how to drag symbols into each SuperGrouper™ shape and onto the SuperGrouper™ tray to build a balanced meal.
- Discuss each food group and examples of foods that belong to each food group. See the Kidspiration Balanced Meal-exemplar.kid activity for an example.
- After guided practice, have students complete the activity independently using the Symbol libraries.
Assessment
- Check to make sure students have selected foods that fit into each food group and created a healthy, balanced meal on the food tray.
Lesson Adaptations
- Symbols may be imported by accessing File> Import a graphic. Hyperlinks may also be added.
- Depending on skill level and knowledge about food and nutrition, students may complete the entire activity alone, in pairs or together in small groups.
- For older or more advanced students, this lesson can include switching to Writing View to write complete sentences describing students’ choices.
