Body Building Train
Part 7: "Sometimes" or Extra FoodsTo Know and Learn
Children will discover that some foods are not included in the body building food groups. These foods should be eaten only in small amounts and not every day. They will also practice sorting. grouping and discrimination skills.
Materials Needed
Body Building Tram song on page 7-5
"Sometimes" or Extra Foods train car (small car)
Bread and Cereal Foods train car
Meat, Poultry, Fish, Eggs, Dried Peas and Beans
train car
Fruit 'and Vegetable train car
Milk and Dairy Foods train car
Body Building Train car
food pictures (pictures from other lessons or magazines, newspapers, seed catalogs and grocery store advertisements can be used)Directions
Most Americans eat far more high fat foods (i.e. butter, salad dressing, cream, bacon, fatty meat, fried foods, pastries and luncheon 'meat) and high sugar foods (soft drinks, candy and desserts) than is recommended. Nutritionists recommend that we eat less fat and sugar.
Review why we need to eat a variety of body building foods' (to grow and develop optimally). Have the children name a variety of body building foods. Also have them name foods from the milk and dairy group; fruits and vegetables group; meat, poultry, fish, eggs, dried peas and beans group and the bread and cereal foods group.
Show the children the "Sometimes" or Extra Foods train car. Describe this car as being smaller than the other train cars because we should eat only small amounts of these foods. Talk about the foods that are included in this food group and describe the foods using the senses and food origins. Discuss foods such as candies, cakes, pies, chips, soft drinks and french fries.
Ask the children to describe why we use a smaller car to represent this food group. Describe these foods as providing us with energy but that they do not help us to grow strong and be healthy because they have very few nutrients. This is why we should eat these foods in small quantities and not every day.
Have the children select pictures of foods in this group from an array of food pictures and ask them to place the food pictures in the appropriate train car.
Review the Body Building Train song on page 7-5 and practice singing the seventh verse. Have the children sing the song as they move around the room like a train.
This activity can be followed by the Good Eating (page 7-27), Basic Eating Mural (page 7-30), and Tossing for Good Health (page 7-29) lessons to reinforce the concept of grouping foods.
The following filmstrips can be used to further explore the concepts taught in this lesson:
Professor Whacko's Modern Food Fable (Consumer Intelligence Agency, 1271 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York 10020, 1976).
Snacking Mouse And Snacking Mouse Goes To School (The Polished Apple, 3742 Seahorn Drive, Malibu, california 90265, 1977).
Food For Thought
Ask the children to name examples of foods that we should eat only in small quantities. Also ask them to describe why we should eat these foods in only small quantities (the foods do not help us grow stronger and be healthy).
Watch Me Grow To Know and Learn
Children will become aware of their own growth by keeping records of their height and weight.
Materials Needed
a large sheet of paper or newsprint (about 20 feet long and 3 feet wide;
several large sheets of paper can be taped together)
measuring tape
bathroom scale
glue or tape
crayons or felt tip markers
scissors
wall or door
food pictures (optional, pictures from other lessons can be used)Directions
Discuss how our bodies grow. Talk about the way we grow from very small infants into preschool children into teenagers and then into adults. Review the fact that food helps us to grow bigger and stronger. Point out that we need to eat many different foods to grow bigger and stronger and to be healthy.
Describe growth to the children in terms of height and weight. Ask them to describe:
The height (or length) of infants.
The height (or length) of children 3-4 years old.
The height (or length) of adults.
The weight of infants.
The weight of children 3-4 years old.
The weight of adults.Tape large sheets of paper to the wall. The top of the paper should be at least 24 inches from the floor. Mark the 'paper in one-half inch intervals and write the childrens' names across the top of the paper.
Have each child stand under his or her name. Using a crayon or felt tip marker, draw a line level with the top of each child's head to show his or her height.
Measure each child's height every two or three weeks. Each time a child is measured use a different color crayon or felt tip marker. This activity will help children see that they are growing taller. If children worry that they are not growing as fast as others, explain that everyone is unique. The rate and amount that we grow depends on many things, such as the height of our parents.
Weight can also be recorded on the chart. Weigh the children using a bathroom scale. Write each child's weight under his or her height on the paper using the same color crayon or felt tip marker. The child's weight can be taken each time the height is recorded.
To decorate and personalize the charts, the children can draw or cut out their favorite body building foods and attach them to their area of the chart. Or they can bring in a baby picture and a current picture of themselves.
The following books can be used to reinforce the concepts that are taught in this lesson:
Happy Healthy Pooh Book (W. Disney, Golden Press, New York, 1977).
Big Ones, Little Ones (T. Hoban, Greenwillow Books, New York).
The Growing Story (R. Kraus, Scholastic Book Service, New York, 1947).
Health (K. Jacob'son, Children's Press, Chicago, 1981).
My Body And How It Works (J. Watson, Golden Press and Western Publishing, New York, 1972).
Food For Thought
Children can show that they know food helps them to grow by pointing to their growth charts and naming body building foods.
Food Makes Me Me To Know and Learn
Children will recognize that foods help them to grow bigger and stronger by tracing themselves on paper and filling in the outline with food drawings and pictures of body building foods.
Materials Needed
large sheets of paper (newsprint wrapping, freezer, or butcher paper)
crayons or felt tip markers
scissors glue or tape
food pictures (optional, pictures from other lessons can be used)Directions
Describe why the body needs body building foods. Talk about how our bodies use food to help us grow bigger and stronger and be healthy.
Have the children lie down on a sheet of paper and trace around their bodies. Write each child's name on the paper beside his or her tracing.
Ask the children to cut out or draw food pictures and glue or tape them inside the body outline.
After the children are finished, ask them to show the class their poster and name the foods they placed inside the body outline. Point out that these are the foods that helped the children grow to be the size they are now and that these foods will also help them to grow even bigger and stronger.
Display the posters on a wall.
Children could bring in baby pictures. This would be an ideal way to show that eating body building foods has helped the children grow larger since infancy.
The following film, filmstrips, game and photo graphs can be used to further explore the concepts taught in this lesson:
Stanley Takes A Trip (Film Library, Arizona State Department of Health).
Nutrition For Little Children filmstrip (Educational Activities, Box 392, Freeport, New York 11520, 1973).
Nutrition Education: Filmstrips For The Primary Grades (Nutrition Express, George Gorge and Nicky Persnicky, The Polished Apple, 3742 Seahorn Drive, Malibu, California 90205. 1976).
Go And Grow Game (Hubbard, P.O. Box 185, Northbrook, Illinois 60662, 1975).
What We Do Day By Day photographs (National Dairy Council,. 6300 North River Road, Rosemont, Illinois 60018, 1974).
Food For Thought
Ask the children to name a variety of body building foods and describe how their bodies use them (to grow bigger and stronger).
Fishing For Dairy Foods To Know and Learn
Children will practice identifying and sorting milk and dairy products by fishing them from a box.
Materials Needed
food picture cards on pages 7-41--7-42 or pictures from other lessons can be used) magnet
paperclips
wooden stick (for example: chopstick, wooden spoon, dowel or tongue depressor) glue or tape string or ribbon
box (for example: shoe or oatmeal box, shopping bag, or the milk and dairy train car used in the Body Building Train lesson)
crayons or felt tip markers
scissorsDirections
A. To Make the Food Picture CardsColor and cut out the food picture cards from other lessons. Include milk and dairy foods as well as foods from other food groups for this activity.
Put a paper clip on each food picture card.
B. To Make the Fishing Pole
Make the fishing pole by tying a piece of string or ribbon to one end of a short stick. Attach a magnet
C. To Use the Food Picture Cards and Fishing Pole
Begin the lesson by reviewing the source of milk (cows). Discuss the variety of milk and dairy foods that are made from milk, such as ice cream, ice milk, yogurt, cheese, and butter. Ask the children to describe why it is important that we eat these foods (for strong bones and teeth).
Place the food picture cards in a box or container.
Have each child use the fishing pole to "fish" for one food.
Have him or her show the other children the food, name the food and then tell whether the food is a milk or dairy food and if it helps build strong bones and teeth.
Paper' clips can be placed only on the cards picturing milk and dairy foods until the children are able to distinguish the milk and dairy foods from foods in the other food groups.
Food For Thought
Ask the children to name milk and dairy foods and describe why we should eat them everyday (to build strong bones and teeth).
Dem Bones To Know and Learn
Children will discover that milk helps build strong bones and teeth by singing Dem Bones, Dem Teeth. Children will also practice fine motor skills by making fluid milk from nonfat dried milk and water for a snack.
Materials Needed
Dem Bones, Dem Teeth song on page 7-16
nonfat dried milk
cold water
canned fruit
spoons
paper cups
cow picture (optional, see page 6-48)
Directions
Sing the lines of Dem Bones, Dem Teeth on page 7-16 to the children until they know it well. Ask the following questions:
What part of our body helps us to walk?
What foods give us strong bones?
Where does milk come from?Sing the song. Have the children clap at the accents (*) and point to a picture of a cow '(see page 6-48). It may be helpful to also display a paper skeleton from Halloween and assorted soup bones so that children can see what bones are like.
After the children have practiced singing the song let them prepare fluid milk from nonfat dried milk and cold water. Make sure the water is very cold. Canned fruit that has been pureed can be added to make the milk a fruity milk drink.
Ask the children to identify where the milk came from and why it is important to drink milk.
Sing Dem Bones, Dem Teeth again, allowing the children to sip the milk at the appropriate time.
Food For Thought
Children will show that they know milk helps' build strong bones and teeth by naming foods that help build strong bones and teeth.
DEM BONES, DEM TEETH (can be sung to the tune of Dem Bones Gonna Rise Again) Dem bones, dem bones cannot walk around. Dem bones, dem bones cannot walk around. Dem bones, dem bones cannot walk around, Without the milk of the cow. I drink milk for my bones. I drink milk for my bones. I drink milk for my bones. drink milk from a cow. Dem teeth. dem teeth cannot chew so well. Dem teeth, dem teeth cannot chew so well. Dem teeth, dem teeth cannot chew so well, Without the milk of the cow. I drink milk for my teeth. I drink milk for my teeth. I drink milk for my teeth. I drink milk from a cow.