Food is Elementary

The objective of the first 14 lessons is to acquaint the children with the categories of different foods in the USDA Food Pyramid, safety and hygiene issues, the fundamentals of preparing food, and the taste, aesthetics, and nutritive value of fresh fruits, vegetables and whole grains from around the world.

Each week, children acquire new vocabulary, learn about health and nutrition, and begin the process of understanding nutritional measurements and computation. They make observations, absorb geographic data, study food history, and create and view works of art. The lesson plans are presented with suggestions for age appropriate activities for students in grades K through 6. 

The curriculum is intended to be adapted by individual teachers for different student populations. Food is Elementary © can be successfully adapted for all age groups including adults. Suggestions for teachers for integrating health, language arts, mathematics, science, social studies, music, and art into the units are also included.

Parents are invited and encouraged to help with any aspect of the curriculum. Parents receive a weekly “Healthy Living” newsletter, highlighting their child’s experience with Local Matters. The newsletter also includes each lesson’s recipes, healthy living tips, resources for local healthy foods and the learning objectives. In addition, Local Matters maintains an educational blog for parents, teachers and the community to learn more about nutrition and ecology.

 
1. Introducing the Food Pyramid, Hygiene, & Safety
 The children learn about the food pyramid and why whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and legumes form the foundation of a healthy diet. They practice placing different foods on a large, blank food pyramid in order to reinforce concepts about food categories. The children learn a song about why hands must be washed before preparing and eating food, practice washing their hands, learn how to properly use a knife, and learn about food
safety issues.  

2. Dietary Fat
The children learn the concept of dietary fat and why too much fat can lead to chronic disease. They learn that fat sticks to the inside of your blood vessels and why that can be a problem. They then touch 3 different milk products ranging from skim milk which contains just 4% calories from fat, up to heavy cream which contains 97% calories as fat. The children try to identify the fat "feel" by dipping their fingers in the milks. By observing which milk sticks to their finger, the children are able to determine which milk has the highest fat content.

3. Food Comparisons (fat and sugar), Labels, and Shopping
The children learn that foods vary widely in terms of their fat and sugar content. Comparisons of various foods with their fat and sugar grams are made. This will serve as a reference.

Older children learn about being a smart shopper and getting the best nutrition for your money. For example, comparisons are made between the costs of home-made bean soup versus prepared soups. The cost of prepared foods versus whole foods is discussed. Older children also learn to read labels and interpret ads.

4. Exercise
During this lesson, the children can dance and move to multicultural music. They learn something about the music of different cultures, and that exercise can be a lot of fun!

As a whole group, children dance and demonstrate favorite exercise moves, from jumping jacks to sit-ups. Students discuss the benefits of regular exercise in helping to prevent the build-up of fat in their arteries and to build strong bones. They also talk about the way exercise makes them feel good as a result of increasing the flow of oxygen throughout the body.    

5. Vitamins
The children learn the names of the basic vitamins, the parts of the body which benefit from each vitamin, and foods which are sources of each vitamin.

Students discuss the color of the foods which are rich sources of each basic vitamin, and drawings are made of foods of those colors.

 6. Whole Grains
The children learn that whole grains are a very important category of food found in the food pyramid. The difference between whole grains and refined grains is discussed. Students discover many whole grains which are not commonly eaten in the United States. Learning about the variety of whole grains makes eating 6 - 11 servings of grains each day (as recommended in the USDA food pyramid) more appealing to the children. The children learn a simple dance to help them remember the names general appearances of different whole grains, and are also able to touch and smell a variety of whole grain kernels.

7. Whole Grain Breads
The children slice and sample a variety of whole grain breads. They identify the tastes of the different breads, and they evaluate which whole grain breads they like the most.

8. Tabouli and Egyptian grain dish
The children prepare two different whole grain dishes in the classroom which don't require cooking. They learn about the countries where these foods are made and sample the recipes they have created. Knife safety and basic cooking skills are emphasized.

9. Fruits
The children define and identify a variety of fruits. They create a healthy and delicious raw fruit tart which they top with a variety of exotic and everyday fruits. The children are encouraged to determine their favorites. Discussion about the characteristics of fruits is intertwined with comparison of sweet, tart, and sour flavors.

The children may rank the fruits according to taste, preference, or other characteristics. The defining characteristic of fruits is that all fruits have seeds. The children learn that many foods we classify as vegetables are actually fruits.
  

10. Fruit Variety in Individual Regions (such as Apples in Ohio)
The children learn that there is variety not only in categories of foods such as fruit, but within the genus as well. For example, since apples are grown in Ohio, children sample a variety of apples and evaluate their tastes.
 

11. Veggies
The children define and identify a variety of vegetables including those derived from the edible root, bulb, stem, and leaves of plants. Students talk about the differences between vegetables and fruits. They smell, touch, observe, and taste many different kinds of fresh vegetables. Vocabulary building is stressed particularly in the comparison of the different vegetables. A simple dance is taught in order to reinforce the vocabulary learned in the lesson. Vitamin and mineral content of vegetables is emphasized throughout the lesson.

 
12. Greens
The children identify various greens and talk about the fact that greens are the leaves of plants. Through discussion, students learn about the high vitamin and mineral content of greens. They also compare the color, shape, and size of greens noting that the darker greens contain the most vitamins and minerals. The children sample the greens and talk about their preferences.

13. Legumes
The children learn about legumes from around the world noting the definition (seeds in a pod), history of use in several cultures, and the nutritional value of legumes. They prepare two bean dips, hummus and black bean, and a simple salsa. Students sample the dips with multi-grain chips.

14. Food as Art
In this final unit, the children discuss the aesthetic aspects of food and the value of preparing a beautiful as well as nutritious meal. Students create beautiful designs on a plate using a variety of colorful foods which they have studied. The foods are selected for vibrant color and texture from the groups of fresh foods used in prior units. The children show their designs to their peers and are able to eat their creations.
 

Food is Elementary : Second Semester, Legumes from Around the World