Nutrition to Grow On is a garden-enhanced nutrition education curriculum consisting of 9 lessons for upper elementary school children (grades 4-6). It includes classroom and garden activities that support the California Content Standards. Handout masters are included. This is a California Department of Education publication developed by UC Department of Nutrition.
Goals:
• To gain the knowledge and skills needed to make healthy food choices.
• To gain a greater appreciation of the land that provides the food.
Designed to be:
• Enjoyable-in this curriculum the student is continually stimulated in an interactive environment.
• Simple-the curriculum minimizes preparation time. Few materials have to be gathered or prepared prior to each activity,and detailed background information is provided.
• Interactive-each lesson is integrated with the published state content standards.
• Adaptive-teachers are encouraged to adapt the curriculum to their own classroom setting.
Lessons:
• Introduction to Nutrition and Gardening-covers the origin of food, the requirements of living things, and plant parts.
• Nutrients We Need-covers the definition and classes of nutrients, and why the human body needs them.
• The Food Guide Pyramid-presents the food groups and the nutrients they contribute to the human body.
• Serving Sizes-identifies the serving sizes recommended by the Food Guide Pyramidand the visual cues students can use to estimate food portions.
• Food Labels-Explains the various items on the Nutrition Facts Label so that students can analyze and compare the nutritional value of foods.
• Get Physically Active-covers the importance of physical activity to the heart and the relationship between the food children eat and their health and well-being.
• Goal Setting-shows children how to incorporate some dietary guidelines into daily activities and how to set goals for healthy dietary habits.
• Consumerism-identifies the techniques used by companies to sell food products, helpingchildren become aware of how advertisements influence food choices.
• Making Healthy Snacks-shows children how to make low-fat healthy snacks.
The appendices provide written quizzes, web sites, and a list of companies and organizations that promote nutrition education.