Nutrition in the
Gymnasium
written by John
Strong, Niagara County Community College
Recently
my wife, Kelly Strong, lost an elementary level health educator
in her district. Losing this important resource made the district
examine what it could do within the physical education curriculum
to meet this need. The elementary physical educators created
a committee to develop nutrition lessons they could integrate
into PE classes. They met and looked at the current elementary
health education lessons and modified them to be applicable
to physical education settings. As you know, eating right
contributes significantly to our health. What follows are
some examples of the lessons the teachers developed to teach
nutrition. They illustrate some of the many ways physical
and health educators could collaborate to integrate curriculum
in a more meaningful way for their students.
Lesson 1: Fruits and Veggies (k-2)
Student Learning Outcomes – At the
end of this lesson the students will be able to: 1) identify
fruits and vegetables, 2) connect fruits and vegetables to
their appropriate sections on "MyPlate,"
and 3) understand how many servings are suggested per day.
Introduction - Have the kids brainstorm
a list of fruits and veggies on chart paper, "Which ones
grow on trees/vines?" "Which ones grow in the ground?"
(some kids actually think fruit snacks are a fruit!). Show
the MyPlate website (or applicable hard copy materials) and
explain that fruits will be red and veggies will be green
during today's lesson.
Fruit and veggie tag
- The students are asked to line up across from a partner
on the midline of your gymnasium, one team is designated
fruits and the other veggies.
- If the teacher calls out the name
of a fruit "the fruits" are the taggers and chase "the veggies"
toward a designated line in the gym a safe distance from
the wall (and vice versa).
- If the student is tagged before
he/she reaches the line he becomes whatever the tagger was
and joins their team for the next round. Students who make
it safely across the line remain on their own team for the
next round.
- The students return to their appropriate
side of the midline and the game begins again.
- When one team has caught all of
the members of the opposite team the game is completed (or
at a time that is more applicable to the class).
Assessment - For this assessment you will
need at least twenty-five laminated food cards. The students
begin by performing a designated locomotor skill while music
is playing. When the music stops students should pick up a
food card and go to the correct cone (fruit to the red cone
and veggie to the green). Students then hold up their cards
so the teacher can do a quick check for understanding (teachers
can use this as a summative or formative assessment and record
the student’s accuracy at this point).
Closure – Strive for 5! Remind students
that they should all strive to eat at least five fruits and
vegetables a day between home and school.
Lesson 2: Protein – Muscle Builders (k-2)
Student Learning Outcomes - At the end
of this lesson the students will be able to: (1) identify
a protein; (2) understand that protein is important in building
muscle; and (3) classify proteins in MyPlate.
Introduction - Begin by dividing the class
in half. Explain that one group will jog around the gym while
the other group performs "muscle builders" in the
center of the gym (demonstrate – lateral or T raises,
shoulder press, and bicep curls all using 1lbs weights or
even cans of fruits and vegetables to revisit the previous
lesson). Switch after two laps.
Brainstorm a list of proteins. Explain proteins include beans,
meats, fish, etc. Show MyPlate materials that depict protein
(purple) choices.
Protein Tag
- Taggers have purple noodles or jerseys to show they are
the proteins.
- When tagged by a protein, students
perform a muscle builder for 15 repetitions in the center
circle before returning to the game.
- Switch taggers, boundaries, muscle
builders, and locomotor motions to best suit your class.
Assessment - Similar assessment as Lesson
1 using fruit and veggie cards; now add protein cards as well
and a third colored cone (purple). To make it harder you could
also add some additional cards that are neither fruits, vegetables,
nor proteins such as oils and fats. Tell students if they
don’t think the card they picked up is a protein they
should go to a fourth colored cone.
Closure - Proteins are only a quarter! Remind
students that proteins are important to building the muscles
they used today, but they should only take up a quarter of
the plate at any meal.
Lessons 3 & 4: Grains & Dairy (k-2)
Repeat lessons one and two but add grains and then dairy
products.
Lesson 5: Grocery Shopping (k-2)
Student Learning Outcomes - At the end of
this lesson the students will be able to: 1) recall examples
of all important food groups; 2) demonstrate their understanding
of a balanced diet; and 3) describe the importance of the
inclusion of different foods to achieve a balanced diet.
Introduction - Review all sections of MyPlate.
Introduce the students to the three grocery stores (eg. Wegman's,
Tops, and Dash's) in your gymnasium (designated with mats).
Food cards are placed upside down on each "grocery store"
mat. Food group cones and hoops are placed around the gym
equidistance apart.
Shopping Spree
- The first partner sits on a scooter with legs crossed
while the other student pushes them. (Safety cues: no running,
don't let go of your partner's shoulders, stay in control,
no collisions, hands away from scooter wheels, etc.).
- The first partner is pushed to
a store and picks up a card.
- The partners decide which food
group the card belongs in, travel to that hoop and place
it inside.
- The partners switch positions
and repeat the process until they have placed an appropriate
card representing each of the food groups at their respective
hoops.
Closure/Assessment - MyPlate Rocks! Ask
students to say "yes" or "no" when you
pull a food card out of the hoops. Ask students to name the
foods they used to satisfy their individual MyPlate. Reinforce
the importance of a consistently balanced diet in school and
at home.
These lessons observe Standard
7 of the National Health Education Standards as well as
New York State Standard
1. Remember that advocacy is a great preventative action
in deterring district teacher cuts like the one that took
place in Kelly’s district. But when faced with a situation
that requires the inclusion of these materials get together
with the other professionals in your district to come up with
solutions like the ones these PE teachers created.
Biography: John Strong is an Assistant Professor at Niagara
County Community College in Sanborn, NY (8 years). His responsibilities
include Physical Education Teacher Education, coordinating
the Personal Training Certificate Program, and various posts
in collegiate clubs and committees. John is a member of AAHPERD
at the national, state, and zone levels and has presented
at conferences for all three. He has coached at the middle
and high school levels and is currently involved in youth
sport both as a coach and trainer for Youth Sports New York.
John's related areas of interest include: Youth Sport, Sport
Philosophy, and Sport Psychology.
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