Lesson 3.3: Tips and Tools for Eating Well
Overview
This lesson focuses on understanding the components of a healthy diet and on the development of skills related to accessing valid and reliable nutrition information from food labels and dietitians.
Learning Targets
- Explain the four keys to a healthy diet.
- Explain what biased information is.
- Demonstrate the ability to read a food label.
- Describe four different problems the immune system could have.
- Explain how to use MyPlate to plan a healthy diet.
- Demonstrate how to access valid and reliable nutrition information.
Preparation
For the Warm-Up Activity: Write the journal question on the board, or identify (and copy as needed) the worksheets you plan to use:
For the Content Focus: Open the Lesson 3.3 PowerPoint slides, or make copies of the Lesson 3.3 Note-Taking Guide.
For the Lesson Focus: Copy the Lesson 3.3 Skill-Building Challenge Worksheet: Accessing Reliable Information.
Warm-Up Activity
Select a warm-up activity to help get your class focused and on task.
- Journal Question: How often do you read a food label when you are choosing what to eat? Have you ever asked to see the nutrition information when eating at a restaurant? Why do you think you do or do not use these tools to help you make decisions?
- Option: Write or project the question, and have students respond in their journals as they enter class.
- Option: Have students discuss the question with a partner or in a small group.
- Vocabulary Review: Have students work individually, in partners, or in small groups to complete the Lesson 3.3 Vocabulary Review Worksheet.
- Quiz: Have students complete the Lesson 3.3 Quiz to assess their prior knowledge.
- Option: Collect the quizzes, and use them alongside posttests to demonstrate student learning.
- Option: Have students share their answers with a partner and then go over the answers together as a class.
Lesson Content
Review the content from the textbook lesson.
Option: Use the Lesson 3.3 PowerPoint slides to review the chapter content.
Option: Have students use the Lesson 3.3 Note-Taking Guide to review chapter content. Ask students to work alone, in pairs, or in small groups. Review the questions as a class if time permits.
Lesson Focus: Accessing Valid Nutrition Information
- Decide whether you want students to work individually, with a partner, or in a small group when doing their research, and instruct them accordingly.
- Provide each student with a copy of the Lesson 3.3 Accessing Valid Nutrition Information Skill-Building Challenge Worksheet.
- Students will follow the instructions on the worksheet when conducting their research and create a nutrition information sheet.
- Have students share highlights of their work with the class or with another student or group.
- Option: Provide students with a copy of the Accessing Valid and Reliable Information Holistic Rubric, and have them evaluate each other’s work.
Challenge Activity
Have students who need an additional challenge work on the following critical-thinking task.
You and your classmates have been asked to visit a class at the local elementary school to explain what MyPlate is and to help kids younger than you understand how to use it to help them eat a healthier diet. Outline the key points you would make to the class, and then write three questions you could ask the young students to see whether they understood your message.
Reflection and Summary
Review the critical content from today’s lesson. Review the learning targets, and ask students to answer each question posed.
Can you…
- Explain the four keys to a healthy diet?
Balanced: A diet has balance if it has enough carbohydrate, fat, and protein to meet your body’s needs. Varied: A diet has variety if it includes lots of different foods. Moderate: Not eating too much of any one thing means your diet is moderate. Adequate: Your diet is adequate if you get enough calories and nutrients to stay healthy.
- Explain what biased information is?
Biased information is any type of information that is based on feelings and opinions more than on facts. Sometimes, biased information uses only part of a fact and does not tell you the full story.
- Demonstrate the ability to read a food label?
Starting at the top of the food label, check the serving size, servings per container, calories, percent daily value, added sugars, and ingredients list.
- Explain how to use MyPlate to plan a healthy diet?
MyPlate is a graphic tool that helps you make healthy food choices by demonstrating how a well-balanced plate of food looks. You should try to make your plate look similar to the MyPlate model to make your meals balanced. MyPlate also helps you understand how much of each food group to eat.
- Demonstrate how to access valid and reliable nutrition information?
A registered dietitian is the best source for nutrition information. Organizations focused on helping people with a disease or disorder often provide nutrition advice that has been reviewed by dietitians before being shared.
Assessment
Complete one or more of the following assessment tasks for this lesson.
- Quiz: Have students take the Lesson 3.3 Quiz.
- Vocabulary Review: Collect the Lesson 3.3 Vocabulary Review Worksheets, and evaluate them for accuracy.
- Note-Taking Guide: Collect the completed Lesson 3.3 Note-Taking Guides, and spot check one or more items for completion and accuracy.
- Skill-Building Worksheet: Have students submit the Lesson 3.3 Accessing Valid Nutrition Information Skill-Building Challenge Worksheets, and use the Accessing Valid and Reliable Information Holistic Rubric to evaluate their skill development.
- Journal Question: Ask students to respond to the journal question again, adding information they learned from today’s class. Require a one-paragraph response that uses proper grammar.
Take It Home
Look at the foods in your kitchen or pantry at home. Pick out three boxed, canned, or packaged foods, and use the nutrition facts label to compare the calories, fat, sodium, and added sugars in each item. Decide which of the foods is the healthiest. Explain your findings to your parent or guardian.