Content: Nutrition and Physical Activity

Purpose of Lesson: Students are targeted in advertisements for breakfast foods, particularly cereals. Companies use different tactics—the advertisements often make the foods look “fun” because a character proclaims the food tastes good and is good for you. Children then put pressure on parents, guardians, and caretakers to buy these foods. The goal of this activity is for students to understand the purpose of advertising—to pressure them into a purchase—and that the food advertised may not be a healthy food choice.

Standard: ▪ K.2.1.N Recognize that not all products advertised or sold are good for them (Analyzing Influences).

Lesson Narrative:

The students in Ms. V’s kindergarten class have been learning how to participate in collaborative conversations and to follow the class rules for discussion, such as taking turns and listening to others. The students like to share and are comfortable asking and answering questions. They still occasionally need a reminder about keeping on topic.

Ms. V’s students have been learning about the importance of eating a varied diet, the nutritional needs of their growing bodies, and how to choose healthy foods for breakfast. They have a rudimentary understanding of how nutrients from foods are processed by their bodies. Ms. V thinks her students are ready to begin learning about how outside influences affect their food choices and how to determine if a food may be a nutritious choice. 

Ms. V begins the lesson by asking her students if they know what an advertisement is and if they have ever seen one. While most students have seen advertisements on television or online, they may not have heard the word ‘advertisement.’ Ms. V is prepared to tell about some advertisements from current television programs or online videos that her students may have watched. After students have responded to the question and share information about advertisements they have seen, Ms. V asks students if they know what the purpose of advertisements is. Not many students answer the question, so she asks students to discuss it with a buddy sitting next to them and then share with the group what they think the purpose is. Once she is certain that students understand the purpose of advertisements is to get them to buy something, she knows the students are ready to move to the next part of the lesson. Because the students are having trouble focusing, Ms. V decides that this a good time for the students to sing one of the songs with movement that they have learned. 

As the song ends, Ms. V asks the students to sit in small groups with the three or four people next to them. Ms. V shows the students cut-out front panels from the boxes of several popular cereals, ones that are likely to have been advertised. She gives each group a box panel and asks the students to look closely at the pictures on the box panel. Ms. V then asks each group of students to discuss what they like about the box panel and if they have seen an advertisement about the cereal. After a few minutes, Ms. V asks each group to report out their discussion on the two questions. She prompts the students by restating the questions. After all the groups have reported, Ms. V asks the students to show by raising their hands if they would like to buy the cereal because they liked the pictures on the box panel or the advertisement about the cereal they have seen. Ms. V counts the hands and tells the class how many students want to buy the cereal because they like the advertisement. She makes the point that this is the purpose of advertisements—to make them want to buy something. 

Now, Ms. V asks her students to raise their hands if they think the cereal is a healthy choice. She counts the raised hands and records the responses on a chart for the students to see. Then, she asks the students who do not think the cereal is a healthy choice to raise their hands, and she counts the raised hands. Finally, she asks the students who do not know if the cereal is a healthy choice to raise their hands and counts those hands. She reports to the students how many raised their hand for each question. Some students raise their hands twice and some not at all. 

Because many students were not sure if the cereal is a healthy choice, Ms. V asks the students to tell her how they could find out if the cereal is a healthy choice or not. Students’ responses include asking their parents, guardians, caretakers, other family members, a teacher, a doctor, or a cafeteria worker. Ms. V compliments her students on naming trusted adults to help them decide if food is a healthy choice. Students then practice how to ask a family member, guardian, or caretaker if their cereal is healthy and nutritious. Ms. V concludes the lesson by asking students if they think the advertisement is the best place to find out if a cereal is a healthy choice. Her students respond with an enthusiastic “No.” To reinforce their learning, Ms. V asks her students to identify healthy foods from free advertisement flyers she has brought to class and then draw a picture of a healthy food that will make their friends want to try the food—just like an advertisement. She displays the pictures in the room.

Content Area: Nutrition and Physical Activity

Purpose of Lesson: Physical activity is an important part of being healthy. Children need to learn about a variety of active play options that are good for their health and well-being. This lesson helps students describe ways to participate regularly in active play and enjoyable physical activities.

Standard: K.5.1.N Describe ways to participate regularly in active play and enjoyable physical activities (Decision Making).

Lesson Narrative:

Mr. J knows that many students in his kindergarten class do not participate in enough active play or physical activities to meet the recommended 60 minutes a day. The school has an effective physical education program that the students enjoy, but does not provide all the active play time his students need to be healthy and do well in school. Some of the students in Mr. J’s class do not have access to parks or other recreation areas or costly equipment for playing. As part of health education instruction, Mr. J plans to help his students think of a variety of ways to be physically active that do not require many resources. 

Because playing can mean many things to his students, including sedentary activities such as playing video games or board games, Mr. J first focuses on helping his students identify active play. Before taking the students to an outdoor play space near the kindergarten classroom, Mr. J reviews the expectations for behavior during physical activity including reminding the students to respect other people’s space and to spread out so they are not touching anyone.

He directs the students to demonstrate each activity as he calls it out. After the students demonstrate the activity, he asks them to give him a thumbs up if the activity is active play or a thumbs down if it is not. By using the thumbs up/ thumbs down method, Mr. J knows immediately if his students can recognize active play and can help them correct any misunderstanding.

Mr. J calls out the following activities for the students to demonstrate and asks for a thumbs up/thumbs down after each one:

▪ Walk fast (thumbs up)

▪ Run in a circle (thumbs up)

▪ Play video games (thumbs down)

▪ Skip to the other side of the play space (thumbs up)

▪ Play cards (thumbs down)

▪ Dance (thumbs up)

▪ Play hopscotch (thumbs up)

▪ Practice yoga (thumbs up)

▪ Ride a bike (thumbs up)

▪ Watch television (thumbs down)

▪ Do karate, tae kwon do, tai chi, or other martial arts (thumbs up)

▪ Pretend to be an airplane flying high in the sky (thumbs up)

▪ Walk like an elephant (thumbs up)

▪ Roll in a wheelchair like a racecar (thumbs up)

▪ Play seated volleyball or catch/throw (thumbs up)

Mr. J’s students enjoy all the movement. Mr. J asks students to give examples of how they make decisions to go out and play. As Mr. J ends the activity by thanking his students for moving around the play space without bumping into each other, he tells them that for the next lesson each student will suggest an activity for the class to do and decide if it is active play.

At the end of the day as his students leave the classroom, he reminds them of all the fun they had doing active play that day and suggests they do some sort of active play after school because it is so much fun and a healthy choice.

Content Area: Nutrition and Physical Activity

Standard: K.1.1.N Name a variety of healthy foods and explain why they are necessary for good health.

Students name a variety of healthy foods by sorting healthy food examples (photo cards of food, plastic toy foods, or felt cutouts of various foods) and by placing them in the correct area of a giant plate marked as a divided circle on the classroom floor or carpet. Students can also color and cut sample healthy food items and glue them on a paper plate. Students can also prepare snacks including all of the food groups, such as whole grain tortilla wraps with bean dip and diced vegetables inside. Consult the school’s policy on preparing and serving food in the classroom and check for nut and other food allergies. Students are encouraged to share and identify the healthy foods they ate this week. Teachers are encouraged to recognize that legumes and vegetables are high in lean protein when referencing the protein group. See the USDA MyPlate website for free resources.

Content Area: Nutrition and Physical Activity

Standard: K.1.2.N Identify a variety of healthy snacks.

During snack time, students identify and discuss a variety healthy snacks they like such as carrots and bananas. Pictures of healthy snacks can be shared with students. Students are asked to point to their teeth, eyes, and skin as they learn that calcium-rich foods for bone growth such as milk, cheese, almonds, tofu, and collard greens are important for strong bones and teeth and that vegetables give us good eyesight, help us see in the dark like superheroes, and help heal cuts and scratches. Lean proteins such as fish, chicken, beans, peas, soy products, nuts, seeds, and peanut butter help us to be strong by building muscles. Students enjoy flexing their biceps to show off their muscles.

Content Area: Nutrition and Physical Activity

Standard: K.1.2.N Identify a variety of healthy snacks.

Students identify and select a variety of health snacks by using the colors of the rainbow as a guide. Students sort a variety of food pictures including pictures of candies or brightly colored cereals and healthy snacks such as fruits and veggies that match the colors of the rainbow into colors. They then select healthy choices from each group. Students then select a healthy snack they would like to eat. In a school garden, student can plant a rainbow of fruits and vegetables, such as a bed with red tomatoes, orange carrots, yellow bell peppers, green spinach, and blue borage flowers. They can harvest rainbow snacks from their garden and read aloud Rainbow Stew by Cathryn Falwell (2014).

Content Area: Nutrition and Physical Activity

Standard: K.7.2.N Plan a nutritious breakfast.

Students plan a nutritious breakfast. Various healthy breakfast food samples and pictures are displayed in class each month. Creative healthy foods such as smoothies, breakfast burritos, quesadillas, nut or seed butter, vegetable soup with rice noodles, low-fat cheese sandwiches, or trail mix can be considered. Students select a breakfast item and explain their choice. The breakfast plan can be copied for students to take home and share with others. Check with parents, guardians, or caretakers regarding any food allergies. Consult your school’s policy on preparing and serving food in the classroom and for nut and other food allergies. For additional food allergy resources, consult your school or district credentialed school nurses, county wellness coordinator, and California Department of Education’s Policy on the CDE School Nutrition web page.

Content Area: Nutrition and Physical Activity

Standards: K.1.4.N Recognize the importance of a healthy breakfast; K.7.2.N Plan a nutritious breakfast.

The importance of a healthy breakfast is reinforced by reading the book Breakfast Around the World by Ye-shil Kim (2016) or discussing pictures of breakfast items from various cultural groups in the United States. Students give examples of items they eat for breakfast when asked, “What are some breakfast foods we eat in our families? Have you had any foods we discussed in our book (or pictures)?” Suggestions for a healthy breakfast are provided along with information on how breakfast makes us feel good and have energy to do well in school and other activities. Families may want to participate and share foods from their home or heritage countries for class to share or for family/parent meetings.

Content Area: Nutrition and Physical Activity

Standard: K.4.1.N Explain how to ask family members for healthy food options.

Students explain how to ask family members for health food options after enjoying the book Bread and Jam for Frances by Russell Hoban (2008) or Pinkalicious by Victoria Kann and Elizabeth Kann (2006). Students discover what happens when Frances’ mom serves bread and jam for every meal or Pinkalicious eats so many pink cupcakes that her hair and skin turn pink! Exploratory questions are asked, such as: Was Frances or Pinkalicious eating healthy foods from all five food groups? Students learn that bread, flour, and whole grain flour are in the grains food group but jam and frosting are not in a food group. How would you feel if you ate the same food at every meal? At the end of the books, Frances and Pinkalicious are both eating a variety of healthy foods and vegetables. Students share with a partner how Frances or Pinkalicious should ask her mom for healthier foods and snacks. Students identify ways they can choose healthier and a wider variety of foods and snacks. Students then draw a picture of Frances or Pinkalicious eating healthy food.

Content Area: Nutrition and Physical Activity

Standards: K.1.2.N Identify a variety of healthy snacks; K.7.1.N Select nutritious snacks.

Students identify a variety of healthy foods and select a nutritious snack by enjoying a healthy pita snack, a Friendship Pocket. They choose their own ingredients from each of the five food groups to place in the pita pocket. Students discuss what other foods may go in the friendship pocket or what fruits may be nice to include with the pocket. Students growing fruits or vegetables in a school garden harvest and include items from the garden. Place the recipe idea in the student’s take-home folder to share with their parents, guardians, or caregivers. Recipe ideas are available on the USDA MyPlate website. Teachers work with their cafeteria manager for food storage, preparation, and donation of food items.

Content Area: Nutrition and Physical Activity

Standard: K.1.1.N Name a variety of healthy foods and explain why they are necessary for good health.

Students name a variety of healthy foods as they draw pictures of as many healthy foods as they can identify that correspond to each letter of the alphabet. Students enjoy dry low-sugar or unsweetened alphabet cereal and recognize letters as they think of associated foods. Students can also use rulers and shape stencils to draw pictures of various healthy food and snack items in the corresponding shapes. For example, students draw an orange or a tomato as a circle, a triangle for cheese or square for sandwich. Stencils can be alphabetized and made into a book shared by the class.

Content Area: Nutrition and Physical Activity

Standard: K.1.1.N Name a variety of healthy foods and explain why they are necessary for good health.

Fresh fruits and vegetables are donated by a parent volunteer or local farmers’ market or obtained from the school garden or cafeteria. Students enjoy eating foods that they help prepare. Using a spoon/fork and paper plates, students wash, prepare, and taste fruits such as apples, pears, strawberries, oranges, kiwis, melons and bananas; and vegetables such as cucumbers, broccoli, avocados, or tomatoes. As a group, students then name the fruits and vegetables and discuss: What colors were today’s fruits and vegetables? What are some different ways to prepare fruits and vegetables? Today we mashed avocado and banana, were there any new foods you tried today? Do you know that eating fruits and vegetables everyday can strengthen your immunity and is good for your health?

Content Area: Nutrition and Physical Activity

Standard: K.7.3.N Choose healthy foods in a variety of settings.

Students practice choosing healthy foods in a variety of settings as they engage in dramatic play by pretending to work at a grocery store or being their parent, guardian, or caregiver buying healthy foods at the grocery store or preparing healthy foods at home.

Content Area: Nutrition and Physical Activity

Standard: K.7.3.N Choose healthy foods in a variety of settings.

By planting a garden or garden boxes in the classroom to enjoy seeing items grow, learning where vegetables come from, and tasting the healthy vegetables, students choose healthy foods they may not have tasted before. Students discuss what plants need to thrive and then tend to the growing vegetables over time by adding compost to the soil, placing their plants in the sunlight, weeding, watering, and caring for their plants. They listen to stories about the journey of food from seed to table, such as What’s This? by Caroline Mockford (2000), Tops and Bottoms by Janet Stevens (1995), or Ten Seeds by Ruth Brown (2010). They count, measure, observe, and diagram how their plants change over time. Finally, they harvest, wash, prepare and taste the produce they grew. Consult the school’s policy on preparing and serving food in the classroom and any potential food allergies.