Nutrition Lesson Plans

1. Amazing Pumpkins- At the end of the lesson, children will identify pumpkins as a good source of vitamin A.
2. Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner with Gregory- Students will recognize the importance of nutritious meals through reinforcement class activities.
3. Comparison Food Shopping- Have students discover that nutritious food can be bought and prepared more cheaply than "fast food".
4. Constant Craving- In this lesson, students investigate the ways that various addictive drugs interact with the human nervous system.
5. Cooking a Few of my Favorite Things - In this activity, students learn about the nutritional value of foods, calculate the measurements, and prepare a healthy recipe for the class. Then students publish a class cookbook with their recipes.
6. Digestion Experiment- Follow the path of digestion in this lab.
7. Dole 5 a Day- A collection of lesson plans and resources.

1. Dying to be Thin- In this lesson, students role-play scenarios in which they encounter a friend or acquaintance who may have an eating disorder.
2. Eat Right!- Nutrition/Art activity.
3. Enjoying Carrots- "At the end of the lesson, students will be able to recognize how a food helps to make a part of the body healthy."
4. Fast Food Junkie - Students analyze the nutritional value of their favorite fast food meals and describe alternative choices for these unhealthy foods.
5. Fat Counting Unit- Learn about the food pyramid. Learn about how much fat is in our regular diets.
6. Food Pesticides and Their Risks to Children- Discusses the study of pesticides in the classroom.
7. Food Pyramid - Students understand the food pyramid, nutrients provided by each food group,and determine whether they are healthy eaters.
8. Food Pyramid Fun!- A great activity for this theme.
9. Food Pyramid Picnic - Teacher and students discuss the food pyramid and appropriate choices for each food group. Students then plan a nutritional meal for a picnic lunch and make a class book. As a culminating event, the class plans and enjoys a picnic.
10. From Seeds to Salad Bars- At the end of the lesson, students will identify how seeds and plants are healthy food sources.
11. Going Bananas!- At the end of the lesson, students will be able to discuss the importance of eating 5 servings of fruits and vegetables for a healthy lifestyle.
12. Good Snack,Smart Snack - After completing a unit of study on nutrition, students work as company managers to design and advertise healthy snacks to sell. A list of ingredients will be listed for each snack and an advertisement will be designed to promote their product.
13. "Got Milk?" or "Not Milk!"?: That is the Question- In this lesson, students critically analyze Web sites that present different sides of the controversial milk debate (good for you/not good for you).
14. Investigating the Food Pyramid - Students learn that the food pyramid is an important nutritional tool. They classify foods and compare the number of servings per group that are necessary for maintaining good health by placing empty food containers in grocery bags.
15. Let’s Do Pizza!- At the end of the lesson, students will understand the importance of washing hands before food preparation and eating
16. Let's Go Shopping!- At the end of the lesson, students will be able to identify healthy food choices.
17. Mr.Potato- At the end of the lesson, students will be able to identify the nutrients found in potatoes.
18. Nutrition Lesson Plan- Students must know that food choices affect how they feel and how their bodies develop.
19. Nutrition with a Smile - This lesson is for Day 4 of the Beacon unit, Wellness Wonders. Students will listen to a literature selection and then play a game about personal health behaviors related to nutrition.
20. Nutritionist for Hire - Students devise a healthy dietary plan.
21. Nutritious And Delicious- This lesson will allow students to study the five food groups and to learn about delicious, healthy foods.
22. Planning a Healthy Menu Using the Food Pyramid- This lesson requires students to use their knowledge of the food groups to plan a healthy meal. The meal needs to include an entree, at least one side dish, and beverage. This lesson is an excellent culminating activity for a nutrition unit.
23. Pyramid Relay- This lesson familiarizes students with the food pyramid. It will get the students involved with deciding which food group a particular food item falls into and why.
24. Rate Your Plate - This activity is a fun way to teach students to analyze what they eat for one day. The student analyzes the nutrients, calories, and food groups using the USDA CNPP website Interactive Healthy Eating Index.
25. Recipe Planning, Meal Preparation and Service- Plan and serve a well balanced meal for the family.
26. Salad Factory - Salad Factory allows students the ability to make their own salad and have the salad computer analyze it for the nutritional content.
27. Salad Party- This is a great activity to help students realize how important plants are in our diets and in our world.
28. Snacks 'R Us - Students identify foods that make nutritious snacks. They will analyze snack foods to determine their fat content by completing an experiment.
29. Sunflowers!- At the end of the lesson, students will know how a seed becomes a sunflower.
30. The ABCs of Healthy Foods - Students make an alphabet book of nutritional foods using the information they learned about nutrition and the value of different foods. Students also taste the foods represented by the letters they wrote about in their alphabet books.
31. The Food Groups: Food Pyramid- In this activity, students learn about the five food groups and how to use the food pyramid as their guide.
32. The Food Guide Pyramid - This lesson introduces the Food Guide Pyramid and Daily Guidelines for Americans and allows students to evaluate their current nutritional habits and to create a plan for developing healthy habits to last a lifetime.
33. Tortillas, A Wrap!- At the end of the lesson, students will be able to identify tortillas as part of the bread group in the USDA Food Guide Pyramid.
34. Vegetable Party!- At the end of the lesson, students will be able to identify the recommended number of fruits and vegetables servings each day.
35. What's My Nutrition Value? - Students learn the nutritional value of food and how to read labels on food packages.
36. Where's the Beef?- In this lesson, students create and conduct a community survey to evaluate the demographics of vegetarians in their community. Students compile data, create graphs, calculate percentages, and draw conclusions about their survey data.
37. You Are What You Eat (Middle School) - Students research and prepare 20 cards regarding nutritional needs, obesity, and health issues. Students determine their ideal weights and how many calories should be consumed daily to obtain the ideal weight and/or maintain it.