Creative Foods For Kids

Introduction | Task | Resources | Process | Evaluation | Conclusion

 Introduction:

You are a member of a group of menu makers.  You and your partners are going to create a menu that will be used by a healthy foods restaurant that will be opening soon.  Your menu will include breakfast, lunch, and dinner for a day that includes the correct number of servings of each group.  Your group will have to present your menu in a creative way for the other students in your class as if they were the owners of the new restaurant.
 

The Task:

Your group will prepare a menu and create a display for the owners of the restaurant.  You will create your menu using Microsoft Word.  Each member of the group will choose a food group to be an expert on.  Everyone in your group will need to be an expert in an area, and only one person can be an expert in each area.  The food groups that you and your partners will choose from include fruits, vegetables, breads, meats, and milk.  Each member of your group will be required to submit enough foods from their food group for the daily menu.  Each member of the group will also be required to submit a think sheet completely filled out for their food group.
 

Resources:
You and your partners will use a variety of sources to complete this assignment.  You can use any books in our class library.  You can also use the following sites on the internet.  The names of the sites are linked to the internet.

The Food Guide Pyramid     http://www.nal.usda.gov:8001/py/pmap.html
This site allows you to click on a food group to see the amount of servings needed daily.  You can also use this site to see what a serving equals.

The Food Pyramid    http://tqjunior.advanced.org/3641/Pyramid.html
This site allows you to click on your food group to see what nutrients are provided by the foods in the group.

Foods You Should Eat    http://tqjunior.advanced.org/3641/Should.html
This site tells some good foods to eat from each food group and what nutrients are provided by these foods.

Dole 5 A Day    http://www.dole5aday.com/menu/kids/blank.htm
This site has a fruit and vegetable encyclopedia.  The encyclopedia allows you to pick a fruit or vegetable from the list and then it tells you about the foods.

Kids Cyber Club  http://www.kidsfood.org/kf_cyber.html
This site allows you to click on different areas.  You can choose different foods from all of the food groups to learn about.  This site also allows you to see the food pyramid with the number of servings needed from each group daily.
 

    The Process:

1. First, you will be put into groups of five.
2. You and your group members will have to choose a food group to be an expert on.  Each member of your group will need to pick a different food group.  The food groups to choose from are fruits, vegetables, meats, dairy, and breads.
3. Now that you have chosen a food group to be an expert on, you may begin your research.
4. You may use the internet addresses listed above. 
5. As you look for the items on your think sheet [print it out after Microsoft Word is activated on your computer].  Be sure to fill it out completely.
6. You need to keep in mind that you will have to pick foods from your food group for the menu.   Choose foods that are really healthy and that you would enjoy eating.
7. After you have completely filled out your think sheet, and chosen the foods for the menu, go to the image depot to find some images to add to your group's menu.  Save these images to your computer.  See the teacher if you need help doing this.
8. Now you are ready to report with your group.  Your group will need to creatively display a menu for a day using Microsoft Word .  Remember that you are trying to persuade the owners of the restaurant to use your menu, so make it neat and colorful.  You may use hand drawn illustrations or you may use images from the image depot.
9. The last part of your assignment involves making a presentation of your menu to your classmates as if they were the owners of the new restaurant.  You will need to state the foods on your menu for breakfast, lunch, and dinner and justify why you chose these foods.  What makes these foods good for you?

Evaluation:
You will be given an individual grade on the completeness of your think sheet.  Your group will also be given a grade on the creativity you used to create your menu.  We will also take into account how well your group can justify your food choices on the menu.

 
Conclusion:

Many students do not eat a well-balanced diet.  Hopefully, after doing this assignment, you can make some changes to yours.  It is very easy to add fruits and vegetables to your diet by eating a piece of fruit or a  raw vegetable, like carrots or celery for snack.  You can also increase your servings of dairy products by drink   a cup of milk or eating a piece of cheese.  Coming up with healthy snacks can be fun and delicious.  Visit this website and try some of the healthy recipes that it mentions.  

 Fun Recipes for Kids     http://www.dole5aday.com/menu/kids/menu.htm
 

A special thank you to Food For Kids!