Pyramid Explorations™

Winning Combinations

Winning Combinations
Students learn what a Combination Food is and practice identifying food groups represented in several examples. They practice creating large body-building meals using Combination Foods.

• Explain what a Combination Food is and name at least three examples
• Recognize the foods and food groups in a Combination Food

• The Pyramid Explorations™ Theater Act V PDF (1 per student)
  
• Review Act V and decide the number of students for small reading groups.
  Options for small groups include:
  • 7 students in a group - 1 character per student
  • 6 students in a group - 1 reads both Johnny and E-TEC Elroid
• List 5 of the following Combination Foods on the chalkboard: cheeseburger, taco, burrito, macaroni and cheese, spaghetti and meatballs, peanut butter and jelly sandwich, pizza or stir fry chicken with rice
• Cheese Pizza PDF worksheet (1 per student)
• Taco PDF worksheet (1 per student)
• How to Build a Body-Building Meal from a Combination Food PDF Worksheet (1 per student)

• Introduce Combination Foods by pointing to the list on the board. (Don't call them Combination Foods yet.) If you saved the Nutritious Food Brainstorm list from the first activity, point out any Combination foods on this list too.
• Have students turn to a partner and decide which food group each food belongs to. Ask several pairs to share and explain one of their answers. Ask if the rest of the class agrees. Why or why not? Discuss examples until students realize they don't fit into a single food group. Explain:
  • Each food contains foods from two or more groups.
  • These are called "Combination Foods."
• Ask for other examples and have students name the foods in each example. Add to the list.
• Distribute Cheese Pizza and Taco worksheets. Ask students what foods are in cheese pizza and what food group each belongs to? (Crust-Grain Group; Cheese-Milk Group; Tomato Sauce-Vegetable Group). What nutrients do we get from cheese pizza? (Calcium, vitamin A, carbohydrate and fiber)
• Point out the bar graph for cheese pizza. Ask if it's a nutritious food and how they can tell? (Yes. The protein, vitamin A and calcium bars are higher than the calorie bar.)

  Have students write foods that make up pizza on the lines and color in three sections of the Pyramid. Individually or in pairs, have students do this for the other three foods on the worksheets.

• Distribute Act V, "Winning Combinations." Assign roles and have students read the act in small groups. Position the groups so they can read with minimal disruption to one another. Discuss the key ideas:
  • What were some of Johnny Player's problems? (No energy; couldn't remember lines; sick all the time; muscles sagging.)
  • What did the kids think the cause was? (He wasn't eating foods from all Five Food Groups.)
  • Is salad a nutritious food? (Yes.)
  • Is eating only salad a healthy diet? (No.)
  • The kids suggested making a garden salad into a Chef's salad? What other Combinations foods using lettuce could they have suggested? (Cheeseburger, taco, ham and cheese sandwich.)
• Distribute and have students complete How to Build a Large Body-Building Meal from a Combination Food. Remind students that a large body-building meal contains at least one food from each of the Five Food Groups. (See the Body Building Meals and Snacks activity.) Share examples of their meals.
• Ask students what a Combination Food is and one Combination Food they like. (A food that contains ingredients from two or more food groups.) Ask why they're nutritious. (Because they contain the same nutrients as the Five Food Group foods in them.)
• Optional: Have students complete the Marlah's Nutrition Math worksheet and discuss their answers.

Going Further
Combi-Nations
Write Italy, Mexico and China, on the chalkboard. Explain that these three countries have given us our most popular Combination Foods. In small groups, have students list at least three Combination Foods from each country. Ask several to share their responses and have the class determine if the foods mentioned are Combination Foods.

Circle the Combinations
Distribute copies of the school menu. Ask students to circle all of the Combination Foods on the menu. Survey students to find out their favorite Combination Food on the menu. Create a bar graph summarizing their results.

Note: PDF documents require the Adobe Acrobat Reader. If you don't have Acrobat Reader, click here to download a free copy.

Note: This activity is from the Pyramid Explorations™ student workbook. Pyramid Explorations™ is available from your local dairy council. Click here for contact information.

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