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The purpose of this lesson is for students to learn ways to properly fuel their bodies with nutritious food to have energy.
Our bodies need food and water for energy every day. That energy helps us grow and helps sustain the energy needed to do what we need to do every day, like play, think, feel good, etc.
If we don’t have the fuel we need from food, our bodies have a hard time having enough energy to move, and our brains will have a hard time thinking. Eating a rainbow provides our bodies with the most nutrition. Eating healthy foods makes our bodies happy and strong, but eating too much unhealthy food makes our bodies hurt, weak, and sick. It’s important to eat a variety of foods and try new things.
Activity 1: (15 minutes) PYRAMID OF HAPPINESS REVIEW
Introduce the lesson with the slideshow and student check-in questions.
Review the Pyramid of Happiness anchor chart from the slides. Review the lowest level of the pyramid and perform that action (rubbing tummy and pretending to drink). Remind students about the actions learned associated with each level of the pyramid. Have a discussion:
Activity 2: (10 minutes) BOOK READ ALOUD AND DISCUSSION
What happens to a car when it runs out of gas? It stops running. The same thing happens to our bodies when we don’t feed them healthy and nutritious food. Eating good food helps every part of our bodies grow. As a class, discuss what foods help properly fuel our bodies and what types of food we should eat each day. We need good food to be our best selves.
Read the book I Can Eat a Rainbow by Olena Rose or watch the read-aloud video “I Can Eat a Rainbow”. Have a class discussion:
Give each student a set of Anytime & Sometimes Food cards. Have each child display their card and have the class discuss whether the food depicted on the card is a food that is good to eat anytime or is a food that is best to only eat sometimes as a treat. Discuss whether the food will fuel their body and brain for a short (sugar) or long (protein, fiber, etc.) time.
Activity 3: (20 minutes) I CAN EAT A RAINBOW
Watch the video, “Eating Colorful Fruits & Vegetables,” by Sesame Street Workshop. Have a discussion:
Give each student a blank My Plate template and plenty of grocery newspapers. Students will cut and paste foods of all colors from the newspapers onto their plate template. Encourage them to find foods of every color of the rainbow.
Activity 4: (10 minutes) RAINBOW COUNTING SALAD
Stack the numbered cards, number side down, on a table. Separate the cut-up rainbow fruit by colors, and have each child build their own fruit salad. Begin by giving the student an empty bowl and a fork or spoon, and have them draw a card from the stack. The child uses their spoon or fork to add the first color of fruit to their bowl, counting until they reach the number indicated on the card they drew. Every child will draw a new number card for each color of the rainbow to build their own, unique, rainbow-colored salad. Enjoy your counting salad for a snack.
Students may balk at eating specific foods. Encourage them to take a “no thank you” bite—they try a bite, and if they don’t like it, they don’t have to take another. It’s okay to try new foods, and it’s okay to not like new foods. It’s also important to not take and waste food that we won’t eat.
Kids will often choose to eat foods they have grown. Plant a classroom garden to grow some healthy vegetables. Radishes, lettuce, green beans, and carrots all grow within a few weeks. See the growing vegetables resource below for details.
This is a great week to have a grocery store, vegetable farm, or restaurant (or food trucks) as dramatic play centers.
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