The students had blast learning about nutrition with the new My
Plate model. This model replaced the old Food Pyramid. The idea is to get
students thinking about what each meal should look like. There is a big
emphasis on having half the plate comprised of fruits and vegetables.
Visit www.choosemyplate.gov to print out your
own My Plate diagram to keep in your kitchen or classroom. Encourage your children to
help with meal planning and checking to make sure all food groups are
represented in appropriate amounts on your plate.
The students also incorporated fitness
into this activity my jogging along the nutrition speedway to collect a food
card. While the other students waited, each student had a chance to lead
their group in an exercise of their choice.
Teacher Tip: I bought these great My Plate banners with
pockets from School Specialty but you can visit the website and ask for free
colored posters. The cards are also awesome which are part of the Focused
Fitness curriculum. This curriculum is new to our school this year and I LOVE it! You cold
make your own if you are a real go getter!
The students raced to see which group
could collect at least one card for each category. We also talked about things
that are not found on the plate such as empty calories. In my class we call these
sometimes foods. They are foods that add calories to your intake but offer no nutritional value. After cards were collected we created our own breakfast, lunch
(that could be packed), and dinner as a class.
Here is an example of a packed lunch one class created.
Questions:
1. Does your plate typically match these recommendations?
2. Do you like the new model better than the old?
3. Do you see yourself incorporating this in your household or classroom?
