Each year when we study Community Helpers, we always invite a local nutritionist into our school to help students learn about making healthy food choices. in addition, we use several fun activities in the classroom to assess how well our students understand the food groups and how they can put that knowledge into use as they make their own healthy eating choices.
Before our visiting nutritionist comes to see us, we use the MyPlate Sorting Boxes to help our students begin to understand that different foods fall into different food groups based on their properties. We complete this activity several times as a whole group and then we compete against each other to test our knowledge. We divide up into teams and the food cards and sorting boxes are on a table across the room. Each team has a person pick a food card and then they sort it into the correct sorting box. We love this activity because it also promotes movement! We also place the MyPlate Sorting Boxes in a station for students to use to further their knowledge. Each food card is sturdy and color coded, providing instant feedback for students who are sorting. The colors of the sorting boxes and cards also correlate to the colors found on the Choose MyPlate Sticker Scenes activity. We use the MyPlate Sorting Magnets in the same type of way, except the food magnets are not color coded. Students have to think about what they have learned from our nutritionist to help them decide which group their food magnet falls into. Many of the foods pictured are easy for students to sort, but there are also a few that challenge students and create good discussions about which group that food actually belongs in.
Finally, after we learn about healthy eating choices from our nutritionist friend, students use the Choose MyPlate Sticker Scenes to create their own meals. A wide variety of kid-friendly stickers are included, so my students had no trouble creating a healthy meal of their choosing. They tested out what they had learned and checked the MyPlate Sorting Boxes and Magnets to confirm their choices. After my students created their meal, we used all the stickers on the included sticker sheet and placed each one into the group it belonged to. Each of these activities helped my students learn a little more about making healthy eating choices and to check their own meals to make sure they were eating a wide variety of foods!