Lesson 1 FIND THE FIVE

LESSON OBJECTIVES

Students will be able to:

  1. name the five major food groups of the Food Guide Pyramid.

  2. classify foods into their correct food groups.

  3. name the basic essential nutrients.

  4. identify the importance of variety in food choices.

CONTENT SKILLS

  1. health: identifying and classifying

  2. science: observing, recording and comparing

  3. language arts: vocabulary and spelling

MATERIALS NEEDED

  1. Food Guide Pyramid (activity sheet 1)

  2. Find the Five (activity sheet 2)

  3. Nutrition Bee crossword (activity sheet 3)

LESSON BACKGROUND INFORMATION

The Basic Nutrients

Protein is needed for growth, maintenance and replacement of body cells and to form hormones and enzymes which regulate body processes. Extra protein supplies energy.

Carbohydrates supply energy and fiber, which provides bulk and encourages waste elimination.

Fats provide energy, carry the fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K and add flavor to foods.

Vitamins help release energy from carbohydrates, fats and proteins and help with other body chemical reactions.

Minerals build strong bones and teeth, make hemoglobin in red bloods cells, maintain body fluids and help other body chemical reactions.

Water helps transport other nutrients, removes waste and regulates body temperature.

     All these nutrients play important roles in satisfying our bodies’ needs. Because no one food supplies all the nutrients we need, variety in food choices is very important. USDA’s Food Guide Pyramid includes groups of foods that provide needed nutrients from a variety of choices. See the Food Guide Pyramid (activity sheet 1) for the five major food groups and recommended daily servings for a balanced pre-teen diet.

Eggscellent Nutrition

     As the Food Guide Pyramid suggests, it’s important to eat a variety of foods for a healthful diet and eggs can play a role in providing balanced nutrition.  Eggs contain some of the highest quality protein available from food and, as egg carton labels show, from small to significant amounts of all needed vitamins, except vitamin C, and numerous minerals. Eggs contain neither carbohydrates nor fiber, a fact easily remedied by eating them with plenty of grain foods, vegetables and fruits.

     Egg yolks provide about 22% less cholesterol than previously thought (213 mg per Large egg yolk). In addition, health professionals point to the far greater importance of limiting dietary fat, especially saturated fat, rather than dietary cholesterol, to control high blood-cholesterol levels. Considered a medium-fat food, a Large egg yolk contains 5 grams of fat, most of which is unsaturated – the kind of fat that may lower blood cholesterol levels when not eaten in excess. Egg whites contain neither fat nor cholesterol.

     Because they are a protein food, eggs are included with meats, poultry, fish, dry beans and nuts in the Food Guide Pyramid.  Proteins are made of building blocks called amino acids. The body can make some amino acids, but can’t make others. Essential amino acids are those that the body can’t make and must get from the diet.

     Eggs, other animal foods and soy foods are called complete proteins because they provide these essential amino acids. Plant protein sources such as peanut butter and dry beans and peas are incomplete protein sources and need to be carefully combined with other plant protein foods or animal protein foods to provide all the essential amino acids. Because the amino acids in eggs are very close to what the human body needs, eggs are used as a standard to measure the quality of other protein foods.

LESSON PROCEDURE

  1. Using lesson background information and the Food Guide Pyramid activity sheet, explain the roles of nutrients and the Food Guide Pyramid food groups to students. At the completion of the lesson, have students take the activity sheet home to post on the refrigerator for family reference.

  2. At the top of the Find the Five activity sheet, have students sort the foods in the menu into the Pyramid’s food groups, just below. Discuss in class.

  3. At the bottom of the Find the Five activity sheet, have students record what they eat for 3 days. In pairs, have students go over each others’ 3-day records and determine which of the five major food groups were lacking the recommended number of servings and/or which food groups were eaten in excess.  Discuss in class, having students recommend changes which would better balance their diets.

  4. Assign the Nutrition Bee crossword-puzzle activity sheet as homework or lesson review.

EGGSTENSION ACTIVITIES

  1. Have students design a complete 1-day meal plan which meets the recommended number of servings from each of the five major food groups of the Food Guide Pyramid.

  2. Have students make collages or mobiles of a balanced meal using magazine pictures or other materials.

  3. As a class, discuss the day’s school lunch menu and determine in which food groups of the Food Guide Pyramid each of the foods served falls. Have students suggest other foods to round out a day’s servings of the five major food groups.