~ Joyce Wei
English Teacher
~ Joyce Wei
English Teacher
Embedded Files
English Teacher
When you have a wide choice of food to eat, what would you choose for dinner? Should you choose a healthy delicacy, or something with more extreme or alluring taste? Most people don’t put much thought into their choices other than to satisfy their appetite, but they sometimes forget about the essential nutrients a healthy diet should have.
The purpose of our grade 2 Achieve Writing, Healthy Eating, was to teach students how important it is to eat healthily. The earlier they learn how to make their bodies stronger by eating a healthy diet, the more likely they are to make good choices when it comes to eating.
Why do we need to eat healthily?
After reading A Rainbow of Foods, kids learned about the nutrients from various fruits and vegetables. To expand their knowledge, we also guided students to read more about this topic in the library. At first, these books didn’t really pique their interests until we discussed what might happen to us if we don’t eat healthily. For example, if we don’t have enough vitamin C, we might get sick. We might not sleep well if we don’t have enough calcium. This idea gained students’ interest quickly. At that moment, I grinned after seeing the little worried faces. They were on the hook!
How can we make others eat healthily?
We had a survey in class to see how many students didn’t like certain healthy foods. Upon learning that many of their friends didn’t like foods like carrots, kids considered the importance of persuading their friends to have a healthy diet.
To find out more, students tried to find out why their friends don’t like the foods. In order to persuade them to eat more healthily, they told them the benefits and ways to make these foods tasty. This would help erase the negative impressions of the foods. To take our research beyond reading books, we asked kids to interview their parents to see if there was more helpful information or tips of making foods tasty. Last, we teachers helped them organize their data and put the information into words.
Would they be persuaded after my presentation?
It was time to tell others about eating healthy. Each group of students first asked how many of their friends in class disliked a particular food and wrote that number on the board. After giving their presentation about that food, they asked how many of their friends who disliked the food would give that food another chance. When they found out some or even many of their friends would try it next time, I could tell they were proud of themselves from their smiles. They even shouted, “Yes! Many people changed their minds!”
Not only the presenters gained more confidence by persuading others, but also the listeners learned to consider their health as they changed their minds. Kids were really listening and reflecting to their own needs during the presentations. When the presenters asked the kids who disliked the food what made them changed their minds, the audience answered, “I want to improve my immune system, then I won’t be sick.” “I always feel cold in winter. I will try to eat ginger.” “I like scrambled eggs, so I can try to eat onions with scrambled eggs.” I could tell that the idea of having a healthy diet has deeply rooted in their minds.
Will you join us?
Do your kids think about eating healthy or unhealthy food when you are ordering in restaurants? Do they explain to you how healthy bitter squash is, or why we need to eat eggplant. Let them tell you about nutrients and vitamins, and let’s eat healthily together!
Eggplants
★ Melody Ting 丁于雁 202
Eggplants are healthy food, and everyone should eat them. Some people don’t like them because they don’t taste good, and they are gross. Some people like them because eggplants can help your heart pump blood. Eggplants are good for your body. They can help with weight loss and that can help you look beautiful. Eggplant is also anti-inflammatory and a decent supply of potassium. You can eat eggplant with sauce, and it tastes good. Eggplant is healthy and you should try it.
Carrots
★ Cargonia Shen 沈雪靈 203
Some people don’t like carrots. They think carrots are too crunchy. Another reason is carrots are not so sweet. However, I think carrots are yummy and healthy. I know a fact about carrots: carrots fight cancer.
If you think carrots are too crunchy, you can add them to your soup. If you think carrots are not so sweet, you can add a little bit of brown sugar to make glazed carrots. Carrots go well with oranges or salad dressing. You can even make carrot cakes. Carrots have lots of fiber, and they help your eyes. I think you should try carrots, and I bet you would like them!
Lemons
★ Jocelyn Huang 黃婕菱 207
People don’t like lemons because lemons are sour. After you eat them, your hands will be wet and sticky. It is hard to take out the seeds.
Actually, lemons are healthful, and you need to try them. Lemons are healthful because they are rich in vitamin C. Vitamin C can help you kill cold. Lemons can help you relax and sleep. Lemons can help your teeth get strong, too. If you eat lemons, your skin will be clear. You can put lemons on chicken or fish, and you don’t need to take out the seeds. You can also make lemonade, and add some sugar if it is too sour. Do you want to eat lemons now? Next time, remember to go to a supermarket and buy some lemons!
Yogurt
★ Fifi Chou 周一心 207
People don’t like plain yogurt because it is too slimy and soft. It has a bad smell, and it has no taste. They think it is disgusting. You can try adding nuts, jam, sprinkles, or even melted chocolate if you don’t like the taste. If you have cancer, you can eat yogurt. It can kill cancer because it has probiotics, and it has almost every nutrient we need for our body. Yogurt can also improve your health because it is high in protein and has calcium.
Are you ready to try yogurt? Next time you go to a supermarket, remember to buy some yogurt and try it!
Papaya
★ Connie Lai 賴康允 208
Some people don’t like papaya, because it is too smelly. In my opinion, I think it is very yummy. If you think papaya is too smelly you can mix it with yogurt. Also, you can make it into papaya popsicles. I think the best way to eat it is to make it into papaya milk. Some people think it has too many seeds. You can take the seeds out before you eat it. Papaya can care for your skin, heart and eyes. It has vitamin A and C.
Peppers
★ Rebecca Yang 楊允熙 208
Peppers are a healthy food, and peppers have many vitamins, so everyone should try them. Some people don’t like pepper because they don’t taste good. Some people like them because they taste a little bit sweet.
Peppers are good for your body. They are rich vitamin in C that makes your body healthy. Peppers also keep your heart good. You can try peppers on pizza. It tastes very good. Peppers are healthful, and you should try them!
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