Food for Thought... and Energy Too!

1. Ask students why they are often told to eat their vegetables. What is the benefit of consuming fruits and vegetables? Encourage a discussion focused on the importance of consuming these foods. Have students list benefits on a classroom white board using Crayola® Dry Erase Markers.
2. Organize students in small groups. Challenge them to research what other foods the human body needs to stay healthy. Students explore grains, dairy, proteins, fruits, vegetables, and oil. Students should explore how each of the food groups contribute to the nutrition of a healthy body. How much of each group should be consumed each day to get all the vitamins and minerals the human body requires? Student groups organize their research into an electronic format for presentation to classmates.
3. Once all presentation have been reviewed by classmates, students will prepare for a fictitious trip to the grocery store. In order to gather purchases, they will need a bag to carry items home. Invite students to create a vibrant design on a reusable shopping bag using Crayola Bright Fabric Markers. Students sketch foods they love from each of the food groups on their shopping bag.
4. For the best results, use a shopping bag that is 100% cotton fabric. Place a piece of paper underneath the drawing area to prevent bleed through. Draw your design, making sure you saturated the cloth. When finished, iron the design. Set iron on cotton setting and iron on the reverse side using a back and forth motion for 4 minutes. Or place garment in the dryer for 30 minutes on the hottest setting. This will fix the color to the fabric.
5. Stain Advisement: Fabric markers are permanent on clothing and contain colorants that may stain household surfaces. Wear a smock to protect clothing and cover your work surface. Recap markers as soon as possible and store in a horizontal position. Do not shake markers.
6. Be creative! Add a fun border or decorative details to the shopping bag. Share the design with the class when completed. Tell the class why you chose the foods on the bag and how those foods keep you healthy!

LA: Read with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support comprehension.

LA: Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas, concepts, and information through the selection, organization, and analysis of relevant content.

LA: Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.

LA: Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions with diverse partners on grade level topics and texts, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly.

LA: Report on a topic or text, tell a story, or recount an experience in an organized manner, using appropriate facts and relevant, descriptive details to support main ideas or themes; speak clearly at an understandable pace.

SCI: Use models to describe that energy in animals’ food (used for body repair, growth, motion, and to maintain body warmth) was once energy from the sun.

SCI: Offer causal explanations appropriate to level of scientific knowledge.

SS: Explore and describe similarities and differences in the ways groups, societies, and cultures address similar human needs and concerns.

SS: Explore and describe similarities and differences in the ways groups, societies, and cultures address similar human needs and concerns.

SS: Describe ways in which language, stories, folktales, music, and artistic creations serve as expressions of culture and influence behavior of people living in a particular culture.

VA: Intentionally take advantage of the qualities and characteristics of art media, techniques, and processes to enhance communication of experiences and ideas.

VA: Select and use the qualities of structures and functions of art to improve communication of ideas.

Invite a local physician or nutrition specialist to visit the class and present the benefits of a healthy lifestyle as well as the consequences of unhealthy choices. Prior to the visit, students compose questions for the visitor. After the meeting, students post learning to a class blog.

Working in teams of two, students write a children's book which focuses on healthy food choices. The books referenced above can be used as examples of approaches for the teams. Students write an original story which includes references to their nutrition research. Stories are illustrated using various Crayola products. These stories can be hand written, word processed, or prepared to be presented electronically.

Organize a time when older students can visit primary grade classrooms and share their original stories. After the reading experience, younger students pose questions to the older readers and discuss what they have learned from the stories.