Michelle Christopher

Kayla Skiffington

Computers In Education

Professor Raker

Title: Having Fun with Food Pyramids!

Unit Topic/Theme: Health/Food Groups.

Grade Level: Second graders should successfully be able to complete this assignment.

Lesson Topic: This lesson assesses second grade students on their ability to identify where certain foods belong in the food pyramid, as well as using the information that know about food groups to use the interactive, education website “Do You Know The Five Food Groups?” To be most effective, this lesson should be used after students are given an introduction to the purpose of the food group and why certain foods belong in certain categories and completed in a two day period. We believe that this lesson focuses on both the process and product.

Lesson Objectives:

By the end of this lesson students will successfully be able to:

• Understand and explain why certain foods are placed in specific groups of the food pyramid
• Understand the purpose of the food pyramid.
• Understand and explain how the size of each group in the food pyramid relates to how much of the food in that group you should eat each day.

Bloom’s Taxonomy

• This lesson requires students to remember (knowledge) and recall what they learned previously in their introductory lesson to the food pyramid to use it to successfully complete this lesson.

• In order to successfully complete this assignment, students need to understand (comprehend) the purpose of the food pyramid and how it is used in everyday life. They also need to have an understanding of the basics of the food pyramid in order to take it to the next level and complete a food pyramid using the information they previously learned.

• This lesson requires students to analyze (break-up) the material they have learned and know in order to see how they relate. For example, they learn where each food group belongs in the pyramid followed by learning the reasoning for those groups being placed where they are, why they are the size that they are, and why certain foods are in the groups that they are.

Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks:

PreK–12 Standard 3  NUTRITION

Students will gain the knowledge and skills to select a diet that supports

health and reduces the risk of illness and future chronic diseases.

Instructional Techniques:

• A brief review of what the students had learned about food pyramids previously.

• The teacher explains how the new version of the food pyramid is designed from left to right showing each groups equal importance, but have different sized groups depending on how much of the foods in that group you should eat each day.
• Asking the students questions such as, “Why did you two decide to place the picture of bread in the group farthest to the left in the pyramid?” and, “Why do you two think that each group of the pyramid is a different size?”

Instructional Material:

- The Kompozer program.

- Tape.

- A series of pictures displaying a variety of different foods.

- Access to computers or laptops.

- Directions (provided).

Theoretical Perspective:

            The information contained in this lesson is important for students to learn for a number of reasons. One of these reasons is the importance of first giving students the opportunity to practice their familiarity with the five food groups. This is done by taping a food pyramid on the ground and giving them a series of pictures that they then can place in the appropriate sections of the food pyramid. This gives students the opportunity to practice their familiarity with the five food groups in a creative, fun way. As a follow up, students are also given an opportunity to use an interactive website called, “Do You Know The Five Food Groups?” This activity is beneficial for the students because it allows them to have fun while learning, most likely resulting in an increase of their enjoyment for learning and willingness to learn in the future. This activity is also beneficial for teacher, because it allows them to see their student’s understanding of the five food groups visually and during the process.

Procedure:

• On the first day before the students arrive to school, the teacher should be prepared with materials such as a variety of pictures of different foods, a picture of a food pyramid displaying the proper placement of the foods in the pyramid (used as a type of answer sheet), and tape (to tape food pyramids on the floor around the classroom).

• When the day begins, the teacher should do a brief review of what the students had learned about food pyramids previously. Asking them questions such as, “Do you remember why we use the food pyramid?” and, “Can anyone give me an example of a food and where and why it would be placed in the food pyramid?”

• Following this, the teacher should explain to their students that they are going to get into groups of two and practice placing foods in the correct food groups in the pyramid. The new version of the food pyramid is designed from left to right showing each groups equal importance, but have different sized groups depending on how much of the foods in that group you should eat each day. Explain to them that each group in the pyramid should be set up to have a specific number of foods (for example, five) but every group will have different foods (This helps decrease cheating and gives the teacher a better idea if the students understand the lesson). It is important to have them do this lesson in small groups or independently, to effectively observe and assess their performance to the best of your ability without any distractions or having to rush because of crunched time. Also, during this time it is important to walk around the room to monitor the student’s performance to assess how well they understand the five food groups. It is also effective to have an additional teacher, special education teacher, or para professional in the room to help you observe and assure that every student’s questions are answered, that they are understand what it being asked of them, and that their performance is properly assessed.

• In addition to rating their performance while filling in the food pyramid, it is important that the teacher also ask each group why they decided to place the foods in the groups of the pyramid that they did. For example, it is effective to ask them questions such as, “Why did you two decide to place the picture of bread in the group farthest to the left in the pyramid?” and, “Why do you two think that each group of the pyramid is a different size?” Asking an equal amount of questions (Such as two, or four) is effective because it gives each person in the group an opportunity to answer, and allows the teacher to assess each student properly and fairly. For those students that placed food(s) in the wrong group in the pyramid, it is important that the teacher first ask them why they decided to place that particular food in that group, followed by asking them to pick another group where they think the food belongs.

• On the second day, the teacher should explain that they are going to be independently working on an interactive website about the food pyramid called, “Do You Know The Five Food Groups?”

Closure:

   Once each group has filled in their food pyramid, ask if there are any groups that would like to volunteer to stand up and explain to the class why they decided to place certain foods in the food groups that they did. This is beneficial because it gives the students a sense of pride and accomplishment, as well as gives them the opportunity to see the differences between their food pyramid and those of their peers.

Adaptations:

            Both of these lessons can be adapted in ways that are effective for students with physical impairments. An adaptation that is effective for students with physical impairments working on the activity requiring them to fill in a tape food pyramid with the appropriate pictures is to encourage them to contribute to the group verbally due to the fact that they cannot physically place any of the pictures in their appropriate categories. An adaptation that is effective for students with physical impairments working on the interactive website, is to pair them up with a partner and to have them verbally contribute to the assignment. This is because despite the fact that individuals with physical impairments are not able to assist physically by working on the computer, they can still contribute by giving ideas. These individuals can also contribute by assisting their partner in successfully using the program by verbally directing them. For example, if their partner does not know where to find the background options to include in their animation, the student with physical impairments could be of great help them verbally instructing them where to find the background options.

Evaluation:

1.      Understand and explain why certain foods are placed in specific groups of the food pyramid.

You can determine if the students have shown that they can correctly understand and explain why certain foods are placed in specific groups of the food pyramid by asking each group why they decided to place the foods in the groups of the pyramid that they did. For example, it is effective to ask them questions such as, “Why did you two decide to place the picture of bread in the group farthest to the left in the pyramid?” and, “Why do you two think that each group of the pyramid is a different size?”

2.      Understand the purpose of the food pyramid.

You can determine if the students understand the purpose of the food pyramid first by monitoring if they can effectively place the pictures in their correct section of the food pyramid. You can also determine if the students understand the purpose of the food pyramid by asking them questions, as mentioned before (“Why did you two decide to place the picture of bread in the group farthest to the left in the pyramid?” and, “Why do you two think that each group of the pyramid is a different size?”)

3.   Understand and explain how the size of each group in the food pyramid relates to how much of the food in that group you should eat each day.

            You can determine if the students understand and explain how the size of each group in the food pyramid relates to how much of the food in that group you should eat each day asking them a series of questions regarding information such as this, as well as monitoring how correctly they answered the questions on the interactive website related to this topic.

Fun With Food Pyramids!

Today, we are going to get into groups of two and practice placing different foods in the correct food groups in the food pyramids that I have taped on the ground in various areas of the classroom!

You and your partner should begin by looking at the pictures I will pass out of a variety of different foods… you will only need to put 5 in each food group!

Once you and your partner have completed your food pyramid,

wait patiently and raise you’re hands

“If at first you do not succeed.. try, try again!

If I check your food pyramid and you and your partner placed a picture of a food in the wrong food group.. re-think your decision and try again!