Students' knowledge of nutrition is often limited to the food guide pyramid. They tend to lack the ability to make healthy food choices or talk about how nutrition can affect their health, according to a 2003 Canadian study conducted by Teach Nutrition. Nutrition plays a large role in the life of students. It affects their ability to focus, maintain a healthy weight and ward off disease. Teaching nutrition in the classroom helps give students the skills they need to apply that information to their own lives.
Step 1
Determine the age group you will be teaching. This will help set the stage for how and what you teach. Focus on broader topics of nutrition with younger learners and progressively get more in-depth as the students age.
Step 2
Provide hands-on ways to learn about nutrition, such as providing healthy foods, visiting a local farm or going on a trip to the grocery store. This helps give the students a better understanding of where food comes from.
Step 3
Give specific examples of how the students can make healthier food choices. Talk about healthy food options available at the restaurants they frequent. Let the students know about specific foods they should avoid, such as trans fats and calorie-rich beverages.
Step 4
Discuss the benefits of healthy foods, such as fruits, vegetables and whole grains. Provide examples of the specific nutrients found in particular fruits and vegetables and what those nutrients do, such as the B vitamins found in broccoli, which help keep the oxygen in your red blood cells. Have your students research the new benefits of whole grains.
Step 5
Relate nutrition to things in the lives of the students such as academic performance and sports. Talk about how the nutrients found in a well-balanced diet can help them perform better in school and sports.
Step 6
Create activities, such as games, contests and singing performances, that allow students to share their knowledge about nutrition. Try letting small groups within the classroom write songs about nutrition, let kids bring in healthy foods to share with the class once a month or play a nutrition version of the TV game show, "Jeopardy."
Step 7
Refer back to topics of nutrition throughout the school year. Talk about how nutrition affects other areas of the students' health and well-being, such as how healthy food choices can decrease their risk of heart attacks, type 2 diabetes and even cavities. Remind the students repeatedly about what they have learned.
