Healthy food and nutrition lesson plans for kindergarten students

Healthy Food for Healthy Living Lesson Plans

The theme I have selected for this lesson or class is healthy food for healthy living, which is an important topic given the increased in lifestyle diseases that are mainly brought by eating unhealthy foods. Generally, there are many things to learn from this theme, which culminates in promoting learning and development towards healthy eating. Through this lesson, children will learn which foods are healthy and which ones should be consumed in small quantities. Children will learn the food pyramid and obtain awareness regarding the need for every individual to consume nutritious food for healthy living (Krak & Schexnaildre, n.d.). This theme will be taught through creating lesson plans that include learning activities that are aligned with the curriculum and ensure all learning domains are taught.

My first activity for this theme is food group game. In addition to helping children learn about healthy food for healthy living, this activity will enable them to socialize and learn how to work together in groups. The food group game is based on the food guidelines provided by the United States Department of Agriculture. When working in groups, the children will learn how to classify foods by food group through names and color and learn the quantities they need from each food group ("Healthy Eating Activities," n.d.). Through social interactions, children will develop personal and interpersonal skills and obtain general reasoning skills by sharing with the rest of the class.

The second activity is creating a plate of healthy foods in order to help children learn making healthy eating choices ("Empowering Kids," 2011). This activity will be based on MyPlate lesson plan through which children will develop their cognitive abilities by learning to make suitable choices regarding healthy eating. Cognitive abilities will be utilized and tested through teaching strategies that encourage sensory involvement and task analysis. The teacher will examine a child's cognitive abilities by assessing his/her ability to choose suitable vegetables and fruits when designing a personal plate of choice based on healthy foods and healthy eating requirements.

Cognitive Development Language/Social Concepts Aesthetic/Affective .

How does this lesson address the Aesthetic / Affective domain?

The children will need to be aware of the different types of food groups such as vegetables, fruits, grains, and meat.

How does this lesson address Language / Social Concepts?

The children will be divided into teams of three to work together in sorting out the pile of food model cards and dividing them into food groups.

Children will work in different teams.

Children will create a healthy food group by sorting out a pile of food model cards and dividing them into food groups.

Children will mark each pile with a food group label.

Activity:

Food Group Game

Student

Kindergarten Class

Teacher

Tina Reid

How does this lesson address Fine / Gross Motor Skills?

The children will examine each food model card before sorting them out. This will display their general reasoning skills.

How does this lesson address Language / Social Concepts?

This activity enables children to talk about the different food groups and what quantities should be eaten in every meal. Cognitive Development Language/Social Concepts Aesthetic/Affective .

Activity

Creating My Plate

Student

Kindergarten Class

Teacher

Tina Reid

How does this lesson address Fine / Gross Motor Skills?

The children will be using different crayons, markers, and colored pencils to label each section in the plate.

How does this lesson address Math, Science Concepts?

The children will learn different colors for each food segment since they will use different color pencils, crayons, and markers. Fine/Gross Motor Skills Math, Science, Sensory Math/Science/Sensory

To learn how to categorize different food items and their importance in healthy eating

To have fun learning

Introduce MyPlate and show students a sample of it. Explain every section in the plate. Instruct the children to color every segment and list foods that fit in every segment while labeling categories. Upon finishing, they should discuss the foods they listed with the entire class.

United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) -- MyPlate

National Health Education Content Standards.

http://www.choosemyplate.gov Procedure/Modifications Goals/Evaluation Professional Standards

Specials Individual Ski Things to Remember