Nutrition Unit Plan for 6th Grade

Standards
Standard 5: Students will demonstrate the ability to use decision-making skills to enhance health.
Standard 6: Students will demonstrate the ability to use goal-setting skills to enhance health.
Standard 7: Students will demonstrate the ability to practice health-enhancing behaviors and
avoid or reduce health risks.
Weekly Outline
The nutrition unit plan is set up to cover five days of class. The overall goal of the unit is
to inform students about healthy eating habits and choices. Nutrition is a vital aspect of
childrens development, and unfortunately, many individuals do not know how to eat healthy.
According to the Center of Disease Control and Prevention (CDCP), 69.2% of adults age 20 and
over are overweight or obese. Also, according to the CDCP, about 17% of adolescents ages two
through 19 are obese. This unit is designed to help students develop healthy eating habits at an
early age that will last them a lifetime so the rate of obese and overweight adults declines.
Luckily, now that healthy eating has become more of a focus in the United States, the number of
obese preschool children from low-income families has decreased for the first time in recent
years, according to the CDCP.
The unit plan addresses general nutrition, meal plans and goals. The unit begins on the
first day by addressing nutrition in a general sense. The myplate.gov website is used as a basis
for instruction on food groups and serving sizes. Food groups help students to see that meals
should consist of a variety of foods. Students also need to be able to recognize serving sizes and
portion sizes that are appropriate for each food group. If students are not adhering to portion
sizes, they still may not be adequately addressing food groups. Students will be asked to recreate
the food pyramid using food coupons from weekly ads.
The second and third day address meal plans. Meal planning and choosing healthy foods
for meals and snacks is important information for students to learn, especially as they get older
and more independent. As stated above, students need to develop healthy habits early on in order
for them to stick, so this plan aims to support students in this development. Students will learn
how to create a healthy meal including the various food groups and will learn which nutrition
aspects to look for when choosing snacks. Students will practice choosing healthy options and
will be exposed to a variety of options to suit their taste buds.
The fourth day addresses the aspect of making a change in ones life through goals. Being
able to create effective goals and using the SMART strategy to create their goals will help
students recognize that making changes in their lives is possible while taking realistic steps. The
SMART goal strategy is a great way for students to create realistic and effective goals. Students
will learn about the SMART strategy and then will create their own goals.
The final day acts as a review and synthesis day. The students have taken in so much
information throughout the unit that it is important to review everything. For a fun review,
students will participate in a This or That? game. Students will choose which option is a
healthier or better option and the teacher can tell which students are understanding the
information. Students will then create a college synthesizing the information theyve learned
throughout the week, according to specific guidelines (identified in a rubric shown below). This
will provide the students will a diverse and creative way to present their information using both
pictures and words.

Sources:
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/overwt.htm
http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/childhood.html
Lesson Plans
Monday
Topic: General Nutrition
Lesson Objectives: After learning nutritional facts, students will be able to place correct food
items in the food guide pyramid and know how much one serving is.
Materials:
Coupon ads/magazines
scissors
paper
markers
glue
measuring cup
tape
Preparation: Draw a blank pyramid on the board.
Procedure:
1. Teacher will ask students to brainstorm what healthy means. After they have come up with a
list of their own they will turn and talk about what healthy means to them.
2. The teacher and students will then create a class list of ways to define healthy.
3. Next, the teacher will label the pyramid on the board for each of the food groups. We will then
go through and label our class list of where each food belongs on the pyramid.
4. Students will then work with their shoulder partner to label their own lists.
5. We will then come back as a group and discuss the amount of servings for each group. The
teacher will put up the choosemyplate.gov plate that has been divided into sections for each food
group. We will discuss what one serving looks like.
7. Then the teacher explains and models the assessment.
8. Students will then cut out food items from magazines and grocery ads
to show their understanding of what food belongs where along with
putting as many servings are needed each day.
Assessment: Students will turn in the pyramid with correct foods and
serving sizes present.
Sources: www.choosemyplate.gov
Tuesday
Topic: Breakfast, Lunch, & Dinner
Lesson Objectives: Students will learn how to incorporate all of the sections in the food group to
make healthy eating choices at each meal.
Materials: Paper plates, markers, pencils-pens.

Preparation: Other than providing the materials no preparation before the lesson is necessary.
Procedure:
1. Teacher and students will discuss meals that they eat during the day usually.
2. Teacher will review choosemyplate.gov guidelines from Mondays lesson.
3. Teacher will explain that all of the food groups should be included throughout the day, but
remind students that its okay if some meals do not include each food group (e.g. Its tough to eat
vegetables in the morning for breakfast, but they can be included later on).
4. Teacher will also ask students why it is important to eat healthy throughout the day and will
guide a discussion about the importance of healthy eating throughout the day.
5. Teacher will provide examples of some healthy meals and explain the assessment.
Assessment:
Students will create a plate with the correct portion size drawn and correct foods in each spot on
the plate. After their plate has been created they will then write a brief justification of why and
what they decided for their meal.
Sources:
www.choosemyplate.gov
Wednesday
Topic: Snacks
Lesson Objectives: After learning about nutrition students will be able to independently pick out
and prepare healthy snack options (As long as they have access to the materials)
Materials: Sticky Notes, pens or pencils.
Preparation: There is no preparation needed for this. Learning activity involving healthy snacks
and post it notes can be posted on chalk board/white board or open space on wall.
Procedure:
1. To start the lesson the teacher will ask all students to write on a sticky note one snack that
they eat most often and post it on the white board/chalk board.
2. Once the students have all posted a snack on the board the teacher will discuss the
importance and benefits of eating healthy snacks like fruit and nuts, versus unhealthy
snacks like chips and cookies.
3. Teacher will begin by discussing what should be on the nutrition facts panel to qualify as
a healthy snack option. Example it should be a good source of fiber, protein or whole
grain, and shouldnt contain too much fat, sugar or salt.
4. Teacher will then discuss that most snacks should be between 100-200 calories.
5. Next the teacher will discuss when you should eat a healthy snack. Example before and
after working out, after three or four hours of no food, traveling in a car for long periods
of time, etc.
6. After teaching the students information over healthy snacks the teacher will write on the
board two columns Healthy Snacks and Unhealthy Snacks. One at a time students
will come up to the board and pick a random sticky note off of the board (the ones all
students posted on the board containing their favorite snacks) the student will read the
snack out loud and then decide if it should go in the Healthy Snacks column or the

Unhealthy Snacks column. If they are unsure they can ask classmates and do a group
discussion. Once all of the sticky notes are in columns students will see if there are any
sticky notes in the Unhealthy Snacks column. If there are sticky notes in the unhealthy
column the class will come up with healthy snacks as a group to replace the unhealthy
snack options.
7. After the learning activity the teacher will explain the students assessment over healthy
snacks.
Assessment:
Students will make a list of healthy snack options. Also on that paper students will be asked to
identify two of the following: How many calories should be in a snack? What should be high and
low on the nutrition facts panel to qualify as good snack? When should you eat snacks?
Sources:
http://www.uhc.com/source4women/health_wellness_tools_resources/nutrition/healthy_snacks.h
tm
Thursday
Topic: Making Goals for Healthy Eating
Lesson Objectives: After learning about nutrition and SMART goals, students will be able to
create a SMART goal for eating healthy.
Materials: SMART Goals guidelines printed on a handout
Preparation: No preparation is really needed for this lesson aside from learning about nutrition on
the first three days of the unit. Students need to be thinking about healthy eating habits and
nutrition because their goal should be nutrition-based.
Procedure
1. Teacher will begin by discussing a personal health goal he/she created at some point in his/her
life. Teacher will explain how they chose the goal and how they met or did not meet it. Teacher
will discuss any struggles or successes they had in the process.
2. Teacher will ask students to think about a goal they made at some point in their lives and to
think about challenges and successes. Some students will share with the class and teacher will
ask students questions about their goals so they can think critically about what worked and what
did not work.
3. Teacher will explain that it is difficult to write an effective goal. If the goal does not follow
specific guidelines, it makes it very difficult to reach.
4. Teacher will present the SMART guidelines for goal making. Teacher will explain what each
letter stands for (S=Specific, M=Measurable, A=Attainable, R=Realistic, T=Timely) and will
post the guidelines on the board. The teacher will ask students what they think each guideline
actually means (i.e. what does it mean to be specific? What does it mean to be realistic?) so
students have a chance to participate and think about what theyre lerning. Teacher will further
explain or clear up what each guideline means if students struggle to identify what the guidelines
mean.
Specific: Goal should address six parts in order to be specific: Who is involved in this
goal? What am I trying to accomplish? Where will I accomplish my goal? When will I

accomplish my goal? Which requirements do I need to meet and which restraints should
I be aware of? Why am I setting this goal?
Measurable: There need to be specific requirements or other criteria to determine if the
goal has been met.
Attainable: The goal should not be impossible to reach. There should be clear steps to
take to reach the goal.
Realistic: The goal should be high enough out of reach that it creates a high level of
motivation. Motivation and the willingness to work for a goal are both necessary to reach
a goal because goals require work and energy.
Timely: The goal should have an identified ending point. There should be a timeline for
the goal so it can be measured and tracked.
5. Teacher will explain that it is important to make goals using this strategy because it creates
effective goals. After learning about nutrition and healthy meal plans earlier in the week, the
teacher will encourage students to reflect on an area of their eating habits that could be
improved. The teacher will give students some time to think before going on to explain the
assessment activity.
Assessment: Students will create goals using the SMART guidelines. Students will receive a
handout with the SMART guidelines listed briefly. Students will turn in their goals and the
teacher will provide constructive feedback for how to improve their goals if necessary.
Sources
http://topachievement.com/smart.html
Friday
Topic: Synthesis and Assessment of Week
Lesson Objectives: Students will be able to demonstrate understanding of the weeks content and
explain why eating healthy is important.
Materials: Magazines, newspapers, construction paper, scissors, glue sticks, pencils, markers,
crayons
Preparation: The teacher would need to collect magazines and newspapers prior to the lesson to
provide for students collages. The desks should also be arranged in groups so students can share
supplies.
Procedure:
1. Teacher will introduce the day as a review and assessment day. The information from the week
will first be reviewed and then students will have a chance to show what they have learned.
2. Teacher will introduce This or That game as a review. The teacher will read a question and
will assign each option to one side of the room. Whichever option students believe is correct is
the side of the room they will go to. For example, the teacher will read, Which is a healthier
breakfast food? Bacon or a cinnamon bagel with cream cheese? If you think bacon is healthier,
go to the right wall. If you think a cinnamon bagel is healthier, go to the left wall. Teacher will
then tell students the correct answer and ask a student who got it correct to explain their
reasoning. Below are the questions the Teacher will ask.

The percent of adults 20 and older who are overweight: 69% or 59?

Which is healthier: a piece of bacon? or a bagel with cream cheese?

What do you want to be high on the nutritional label for a snack: Sugar? Protein?
StarBucks Sausage Egg and cheddar breakfast? 460 cal, 25 grams of fat or McDonalds
Egg McMuffin (300 cal 12 grams of fat) or
Subway 6 inch Turkey sandwich (330 cals) 8 grams of fat or Panera Sierra Turkey
840 cal, 40 grams of fat
Percent of adolescents who are obese: 28% or 17%
Mission Flour tortillas (2) 220 cal 5 grams of fat, 620 mg of sodium (corn tortillas
actually count as a whole grain option since they are made with corn kernels, water, and
little else) or Mission White Corn tortillas 90 cal (2) 1 gram of fat 10 grams of
sodium
Tropicana with some pulp 8oz (50 cal, 10 g sugar) or Sunny D original 8 oz (60 cal, 14
grams of sugar)
Ronzoni Elbows 2 oz (210 cal 2 fiber) or Ronzoni Smart Taste Elbows 2 oz (170 cal, 5
fibers)
Should you: grill your meat or fry it.
Which goal is a smart goal: For the next month I will eat 3 servings of vegetables five
days a week or I will eat more vegetables every day

Sources:
Assessment: Students will create a collage synthesizing what they learned throughout the unit.
Students will have magazines, newspapers, construction paper, drawing utensils, scissors, and
glue for materials. Using pictures and words, students need to include specific content that was
covered each day of the unit as outlined in the rubric below.

Excellent

Adequate

Needs Work

Three aspects of
general nutrition

Students collage
addresses three or more
nutrition aspects in
detail

Students collage
addresses three or
fewer nutrition aspects
very lightly and in little
detail

Students collage
addresses one or no
nutrition aspects

A full day of
healthy eating
(breakfast, lunch,
dinner, and
snacks)

Students collage
displays what a healthy
day of eating would
look like using all of
the meals plus snacks

Students collage
includes all or only
some of the meals but
in little detail

Students collage
barely addresses the
meals

Thursdays
SMART goal

Students collage
includes a full SMART
goal

Students collage
includes a goal (but not
necessarily a SMART
goal)

Students collage does

not include a goal

Why is healthy
eating important?

Students collage
thoughtfully and
thoroughly addresses
the importance of
healthy eating

Cohesive and
Student clearly spent
well-done collage time creating a welldone collage

Students collage
addresses the
importance of healthy
eating somewhat

Students collage does

not address the
importance of healthy
eating or only
addresses it very
briefly

Collage is decently
created with some
thoughtfulness

Collage appears to be
thrown together very
quickly

Resources: Lesson collaboratively created for a group project for PE/Wellness by myself, Krystal
Cudworth and Jackie Schneider.