Nutrition in the Gymnasium

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.