July Tip of the Month
Discover Smart Servings!

Sometimes it is not WHAT you eat, but HOW MUCH. Choose smart servings. Added fat and sugar content are a clue to serving size.
Activity Idea: Play “Higher or Lower!”

  
Source: Healthy Kids Challenge, A La Cart Snack Fun booklet
Description: Measures, math and physical movement connection
Grades: 4-5

Supplies:

 
• Potato chips
• Cheese curls
• Cereal
• Pretzels
• Snack crackers or similar snack foods
• Paper plates or bowls
•

Measuring cups (for volume)
• Small scale (for weighing)
• Optional activity: Margarine pats

At University Park Community Center, Portland, OR, summer day camp kids hear about MyPyramid grain group servings.

Directions:
1. Choose a number of food items (those suggested above) to use for guessing portion size in this activity.
2.  Have kids volunteer to measure (onto a paper plate or into a bowl) what they THINK is a serving size for each of the food items. No peeking at the label in advance!
3.  Ask the rest of the group if they think the serving size should be “higher or lower”. To add physical movement, have kids stand-up to answer, rather than just raise their hands. If after voting, more than 50% of the class agrees that a portion should be “higher or lower”, make the change.
4. Have kids weigh or measure the portion that was “guessed” and compare it with what the label identifies as a serving.
5. Optional Activity: (Materials—potato chips and pats of margarine)
 
a. Have kids guess how many total servings are in the package of the food being portioned.
b. Check the fat content on the label of the chips. One margarine pat ( 1 tsp.) = 4 grams. Use the pats of margarine to demonstrate the amount of fat in a serving of chips. Math Fact: Divide the number of grams of fat in a serving of chips by 4 to determine the number of pats of margarine.
6. Math Facts: For each of the foods used to play “higher or lower”, determine the % of the group that indicated: Higher---Lower---No change.
Language Skills: Generate ideas and questions by posing problems. Have the group break into teams to discuss the significance of the results and write a brief report that could be used in a school (or other) newsletter.
 


This activity is found on page 45 of A La Cart Snack Fun. For more activity ideas like the one above, check out HKC resource materials. See the order page for descriptors and to view the Table of Content and booklet sample pages.