Little D's Nutrition Expedition™

Activity 7 - We Need All Five!

Grade Level: 2nd Grade/Primary Elementary
Rating:

Materials and Advance Prep

Preview the Suggested Instructional Strategy
Duplicate Word List worksheet - 1 per student
Duplicate The Day the Milk Group Disappeared worksheet - 1 per student
Duplicate "Others" Come Last handout - 1 per student
Review Get Me to the Banquet on Time!™ Interactive Nutrition Game available on NutritionExploration.org in Kids

Suggested Instructional Strategy
1. Review the Five Food Groups and their health benefits. Ask:

Who can name a food group?
Who can name a food in that food group? Who can name another food in that food group? Who can name two more foods in that food group? Who wants to tell me their favorite food in this food group?
Who can tell me how that food group keeps you healthy?
Why is that important for students your age?

2. Students should understand they need foods from ALL Five Food Groups because each food group helps them stay healthy in a different way. Ask:

Why do you think you need to eat foods from each of the Five Food Groups every day? Accept all reasonable answers.
What do you think would happen if a person only ate from four of the food groups? His or her body would be missing something to stay healthy.
What if a person only ate foods from three food groups or two food groups? His or her body wouldn't be getting everything needed to stay healthy.

3. Ask them to listen carefully and follow your directions:

Look at one of your hands. What do your hand and the Five Food Groups have in common? The hand has five fingers and there are Five Food Groups.

Have students take out a pencil or pen and paper and:

Write your first name on the paper.
Now, pretend you don't have a thumb. Write your last name using just the four other fingers to hold the pencil.
Now, pretend you don't have your pointer. Using your thumb and other three fingers, write your telephone number.
Now, pretend you don't have a middle finger. Using your thumb, your pointer, and your other two fingers, write our room number.
How easy is it to write when you're missing one of your five fingers?
How easy would it be to stay healthy if you didn't eat one of the Five Food Groups?

Reinforce that students need all Five Food Groups every day:

Each food group helps the body stay healthy in a different way. So to grow and stay healthy, you need to eat from every food group every day.

4. Distribute the Word List worksheet. Tell students that they will supply parts of speech and nutrition concepts to "co-write" a story. You'll tell them exactly what kind of word is needed for each number.

5. Provide students with the following directions:

Line 1: Noun (thing)
Line 2: Adjective
Line 3: Action verb
Line 4: Milk Group food
Line 5: Grain Group food
Line 6: A word that rhymes with "far"
Line 7: Noun (place)
Line 8: Noun (another place)
Line 9: Adjective
Line 10: Adjective

6. Distribute The Day the Milk Group Disappeared. Have students fill in the blanks, using the words with corresponding numbers on the Word List worksheet. Demonstrate with one of the worksheets.

7. In small groups, have students read their stories to one another. If time allows, have them read their stories aloud.

Check for Understanding
8. Tell/ask students the following:

Show me with your fingers how many food groups you need each day. Five
Show me what it's like to hold your pencil with only three fingers.
Is it easier to hold your pencil with five fingers or three fingers?
What does holding a pencil with five fingers remind us about nutrition? It's easier to stay healthy if you eat from all Five Food Groups every day.

9. At a convenient time, introduce the class to Get Me to the Banquet on Time!™ available on NutritionExlporations.org in Kids. Arrange for students to play this, as well as the other Little D games to reinforce the Five Food Groups concepts.

All of Little D's games are found on NutritionExplorations.org in Kids.

Going Further
Healthy-Eating Reports
Have students take turns reporting on the Five Food Group foods served for lunch in the cafeteria. Give the "reporter" a lunch menu in the morning. Prior to lunch, announce a "Healthy Food Flash" and have the reporter classify the foods being served into their respective food groups. Use this activity throughout the year to review the Five Food Groups.

Staying Balanced
The ability to balance is a key part of being physically fit. Help students develop their sense of balance. Make a three-foot line with masking tape in your classroom. Let students "walk the line" during free time. Post the following directions:

Walk heel-to-toe and keep your head up. When the students can easily walk forward, have them try walking the line backwards.

Use "balancing" as an exercise break. Have students:

Have the students stand on their right foot for 15 seconds, then their left foot for 15 seconds. When they can balance for 15 seconds, challenge them to stay balanced for longer time increments.
Hold up their right leg with their right hand as they stand on their left leg. Tell them to close their eyes and hold the one-legged stance for 10 seconds. Switch legs and repeat.
Stand on their right foot on tiptoe. Hold for 10 seconds. Switch feet and repeat.
Rock back on their heels with their toes up off the floor. Time how long the students can stay balanced on their heels.

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