Healthy Eating Message

Healthy messages are strengthened when a classroom activity can be linked with homework and family involvement. The following activity provides an option for homework!

Objectives:

1. Learn about foods high in fat and sugar
2. Enhance writing skills and deductive reasoning with “ investigative reporting”
3. Provide an opportunity for family involvement

You will need a variety of empty food containers to read labels; and then compare and discuss which foods contain more fat and sugar.

• Let students know that following label reading and discussion they will be writing about the character “Captain Nutrific.” The mission is to find the characters Fats, Oils, and Sweets--where they hangout and where they hide and to write a report to Chief Healthy Eating!

• Look at food labels and compare foods for fat and sugar content. If you wish, have students “weigh out” the amount of fat or sugar with a gram scale using margarine and sugar.

• Discuss what happens if fat and sugar are out of balance with eating choices and activity (bodies and teeth that aren’t as healthy as they can be).

• Have students write a story about Captain Nutrific and the characters Fats, Oils, and Sweets for a report to Chief Healthy Eating! Have them design a cover for the report with a picture of Captain Nutrific!

• Ask students to look at food labels with their families at home; then bring in the labels to share with the class.