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Name of Activity:

Know Your Food!

Academic content:

Nutrition

Purpose of Activity:

The students will learn that there are foods that we should consume daily and that there are also foods that should only be consumed in moderation. We call those foods "sometimes foods."

Prerequisites:

Basic understanding of nutrition, including: What makes a food healthy? What makes a food unhealthy?

Suggested Grade Level:

K-2

Materials Needed:

Cones (one for every two students), laminated food cards, upbeat music

Physical activity:

Various locomotor movements

Description of Idea

Place one cone for every two students on the baseline. Scatter the laminated food cards face down on the opposite side of half court. When the music begins, one student from each team (teams of two) performs the specified locomotor movement until s/he gets to a food card. S/he picks up one card and performs the specified locomotor movement back to her/his cone. The partner then performs the specified locomotor movement to pick up another food card. The partners take turns picking up food cards until no cards are left to be picked up.

Each team makes two piles: "everyday" foods and "sometimes" foods

After all foods are picked up, have one student from each team bring the healthy foods to the instructor. Check for accuracy and then have the students scatter the foods back on the court. Repeat for the sometimes foods.

Variations:

Change the locomotor movements.

Add balls, with dribbling, to make it more challenging.

Assessment Ideas:

After each round specify which pile (everyday foods or sometimes foods) to assess. One person from each team brings their pile to the teacher before scattering.

At the end of the lesson, have the teams place their foods in the specified pile. Sort through and discuss if any foods are not in the correct pile.

Teaching Suggestions:

A few days before the lesson, have each student bring in six pictures: three pictures of "everyday foods" and three pictures of "sometimes foods." Mount the pictures on construction paper, laminate and use these laminated pictures for the food cards.

Submitted by Elizabeth Thomas who teaches at Eastern Elementary in Glasgow, KY. Thanks for contributing to PE Central! Posted on PEC: 3/20/2013.
Viewed 126971 times since 10/29/2009.

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Know Your Food!

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Previous Comments:

Karen G.

Very simple, but effective. My students loved it.

Amber Vanness

What a great idea! Simple set-up and easy for 1st grade to understand. They loved it! Thanks for sharing.



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