Seton Hall University Lesson Plan-Effective Spring 2017 1

Lesson Nutrition Grade: 3

Title: Date:
Classroom/Lesson Context (please check the following that apply):

_X__Whole Group _X__ Small Group ___ One-on-One ___ Students with IEPs/504s ___ ELL Students

____Struggling Learners ___ Other (Please Specify): _____________________________________________

Please specify the number of students: Lesson Number ______ of _______ lessons

___ Girls ___ Boys

Focus Criteria Points for Consideration, Inclusion, and Reflection

Essential Question/Central Focus ● Importance of Nutrition: Healthy vs. less healthy
(Big IDEAS!) ● Difference between “everyday” and “sometimes” foods
Content Standards ● 2.1.4.B.CS1 ( Grades: 3-4 ): Choosing a balanced variety of nutritious foods contributes to wellness.
● 5.3.4.A.a ( Grades: 3-4 ): Living organisms: Interact with and cause changes in their environment.
Exchange materials (such as gases, nutrients, water, and waste) with the environment. Reproduce.
Grow and develop in a predictable manner.
● This lesson will go over healthy food choices and less healthy choices and explain the importance of
nutrition. Students will discuss healthy eating and the role of fruits and vegetables, some of which
can be found in the Newark SAS gardens. Eating provides the body with the nutrients it needs to
survive. People interact with their environment when they make daily eating decisions and these
decisions determine how they grow. Proper nutrition is especially critical during childhood- a period
of growth and development.
Lesson Objective(s) ● SWBAT create a small poster of “everyday” foods and “sometimes” foods.
● SWBAT explain why it is important to choose nutritious foods as a part of healthy eating.

Materials ● Paper plates (enough for each 3-4 group)

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● sheets of note pad paper

● Sheets of construction paper (enough for all students)
● Markers or other coloring utensils
● Real food, toy food, or pictures of food. Should include:
o Fruits and Vegetables
o Healthy dinner components (Ex: rice, grilled chicken, fish)
o Less healthy dinner components (Ex: chicken nuggets, french-fries, mozzarella sticks)
o Healthy snacks (Ex: yogurt, dried fruits, water)
o Less healthy snacks (Ex: ice-cream, cookies, cake, soda)
o 1 or 2 foods from the Newark SAS garden to be cut up and shared to the class to try.
 2 plates (created prior to instruction) one with a healthy dinner and the other with a less healthy dinner
 2 buffet stations: snack and meal

Technology  Technology is integrated through the use of videos. A SMARTBoard or projector should have the
following videos available to play; “healthy eating habits” and “healthy snacks” located on PBS
Learning Media

Prior Knowledge ● Prior knowledge students should have is basic. They should know the types of food they do and don’t
eat and things they like. They probably also have a basic sense of what is not health and what is in
terms of fruits and vegetables vs. cookies and cake.

Learner Supports ● How will you differentiate learning to increase student engagement and learning across the class
(struggling and excelling students, and ELL learners)?
● What accommodations and modifications will you provide for students with IEP’s and/or 504 Plans?

Lesson Beginning (Introduction)
● Introduce the lesson by explaining that students will be learning about nutrition and the difference
between foods that are healthy and foods that are less healthy. Show students 2 plates of food. One
composed of a balance/healthy dinner that should include for example, multicolored vegetables, rice,
and grilled chicken and the other plate composed of less healthy foods such as Fried chicken, French
fries, and mozzarella sticks.
 Discuss with the class the types of foods on the plates
o What foods do they see?
o What colors are the foods?

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o Which plate would they rather have for dinner and why?
o Which plate do they think would make the healthier dinner and why?
o How could they make the less healthy meal to make it healthier?
 List of all plants available in Newark SAS gardens
 The questions will help check for understanding of students current knowledge.
Lesson Body (Development) ● Part I: The importance of fruits and Vegetables
● Have students discuss in a think-pair-share what foods they think are the most nutritious. Then have
them share out.
● Explain that different foods supply different types of nutrients and show foods provide more than
others. Food contains nutrients such as vitamins, minerals, protein, carbohydrates, and fats) which are
necessary for growth and care of the cells that make up the body. Fruits and vegetables contain lots of
the vitamins and minerals that are good for health. Meat and fish contain vitamins and minerals as well
as protein. Some of the nutrients that we need are only found in plants. Fruits and vegetables are grown
and start from little seeds – they are the plants that provide those nutrients. You can find a large variety
in the Newark SAS gardens. You can find strawberries, raspberries, broccoli, tomatoes, spinach, peas,
lettuce, and garlic, and much more!
● Watch the “Healthy Eating Habits” video
● Have students identify various fruits and vegetables seen in the video creating a list – are there more
not seen in the video?
● For each example have students describe it
o Color?
o Taste?
o A way to eat it
o EX: Celery is light green, crunchy, and is good with peanut butter
● Do all same colored fruits and vegetables taste the same? Why or why not?
● Where do fruits and vegetables come from?  Garden should be an answer and you can explain how
we have a garden nearby where some of these fruits and vegetables can be found.
● Give students the list of plants available in Newark SAS gardens and ask students the following:
o Which of these foods have you tried?
o Which would you be interested in trying?
o Take this list home to your parents to show them the fresh foods available to them through
Newark SAS

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● (Optional): Discuss the foods of various students in the class. Some students may eat different foods
than discusses because of their culture. Have students discuss what a healthy plate of
Indian/Mexican/Chinese food would look like – based on the cultures in your classroom.
Part II: Everyday vs Sometimes Foods
● Have students discuss the difference between snacks and meals. Remind students that snacks are also
an important part of a healthy diet.
● Explain that some foods do not have many nutrients. Ask students how they think their bodies would
be affected if they only ate foods that are low in nutrients. Explain that eating foods that contain a lot
of sugar and fat does not provide the body with the nutrients it needs to stay healthy; too much sugar
and fat can make a person sick. Show students examples of not-so-healthy snacks, such as ice cream,
cookies, and potato chips.
● Watch the “Healthy Snacks” video.
● After the video discuss the difference between “everyday” and “sometimes” foods.
● Discuss the following questions:
o Think-Pair-Share: Coyote says he thinks people should eat anything they want when they get
hungry. What did Mr. Eagle have to say about this idea? Do you agree with Coyote or with Mr.
Eagle? Why?
o Group discussion: What foods are good to eat every day?
o Group Discussion: Why is soda considered a "sometimes" food?
o Group Discussion: Name some "sometimes" snacks not mentioned in the video. Name some
"everyday" snacks not mentioned in the video.
o Think-Pair-Share: Why do you think soda, cookies, and chips are "sometimes" foods instead of
"never" foods?
o Think-Pair-Share: What should someone do if they really like "sometimes" foods? When could
they eat those foods? How much should they eat?
● After discussion break students into groups of 3-4 and give each group a plate. Have them go to the
buffet stations and prepare a balanced snack and meal. Tell students to imagine that they are preparing
the plate for a friend. They should choose foods that they think their friend will enjoy but that will also
keep their friend healthy. They can use both "everyday" and "sometimes" foods, but should remember
to use only small amounts of the less healthy foods. Have each group present their snack and meal and
explain why they chose the options on their plate. Have them tell which foods are “sometimes” foods
and which are “everyday” foods.

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Lesson End/Closure ● Have students discuss the various places where the foods they chose could be bought. Can they be
found at a fast food restaurant? A farmer's market? The corner store? The supermarket? Does their
family have a garden or farm, or are there community gardens nearby? Mention Newark SAS again as
the community garden. Explain that "sometimes" foods can be easy to find, but that does not mean they
should be eaten every day.
● Have a reflection: each student should share one thing that they learned during the lesson with the
class.
● Reiterate the importance of fruits and vegetables and the difference between “everyday” and
“sometimes” foods.
Assessment/Evaluation ● Students will each create their own mini-poster of “everyday” foods vs. “sometimes foods”. They will
(Independent Practice) list them and draw a picture.
● They will answer the following questions on a separate sheet of paper to attach to their poster.
● 1. What is the difference between “sometimes” food and “everyday foods”?
● 2. Why is it important to choose nutritious foods as a part of healthy eating every day?
● 3. List some foods that you could eat for a healthy dinner.
● 4. List some foods that you could eat for a healthy snack.
● This mini-poster will be graded out of 13 points. Each question is worth 2 points and the poster is
worth 5.
● Encourage students to go home and discuss this information with their parents and to show them their
mini-poster. Also to hang up their posters in the kitchen to remind everyone in their family about the
difference between "everyday" and "sometimes" foods.

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