Smart Snacking

Lesson Plan Template

Lesson Title Smart Snacking

Developed By Jessica Mills

Class Description “To eat or not to eat?”

Participants Middle School Students

Type of Learning Activity

✓ Hands-on activity ✓Discussion ✓Cooking/tasting demo

✓Physical activity Learning stations Role playing (skits)

✓Other “SnackChat”

Tasting demo: Part of the lesson plan will be able to taste some healthy alternatives to snacks with no nutritional value.I.e. Substitutes

SWITCH FORFlaming hot Cheetos Apples with Tajin Clasico seasoning

w/ lime (0% fat)Pop tarts Low fat yogurt with drizzled honey

and fruitPotato Chips Veggie chips/ soy beans

SnackChat: This will be an activity where participants will have one minute to jot down their favorite snack. They will share them with the class and we will discuss the nutritional value of the top five.

Physical Activity: This activity requires all participants to stand up and run in place as hard as they can for one minute. At the end of the minute students will learn that they only would have burned off one Cheeto!

Workshop: Towards the end of the lesson plan, students will all receive a note card. At this time they will jot down only one alternative to their snacking that they will make in the coming week. All of the note cards will have their signature and be collected and glued to a post board. This post board will hang in the classroom until the end of the year to remind them of their vow to try for healthier snack choices.

Notes

Learning Objectives (state what the participant will gain from the session)

Participants will learn the nutritional value of their frequent snacking options as well as how to improve such options. In gaining this knowledge students will learn how to practice healthy choices in daily snacks. This lesson plan will enlighten its participants in the energy gain throughout the day in choosing healthier snacks. Repercussions of such processed foods such as lethargy, poor sleep, poor concentration, asthma, and last but not least obesity will be explained to learners. Students will be learning that these repercussions ultimately can lead them into poor school and athletic performance.

Key Content Points(What key information do the learners need to know to achieve learning objectives? Aim for three)

Participants should be informed on three main components of nutrition to gain a better learning experience for this lesson plan:Fats, sugars, and calories.

These three components will be outlined on the provided handouts for the students.

Fats: Fat comes in many forms! It is great for fueling energy but when you take in too much it can worsen your health. The extra fat is often stored in your tummy, your sides, your thighs, and your arms. Too much fat is often found in snacks such as:

Cheese and cracker snack packs Pop tarts Doritos Skittles Cheez-it baked snacks Twix

…. Sound familiar?

Sugars: You scream, I scream, we all scream…for sugar!!Sugar is not only in ice cream and cupcakes.

Sugar is in fruit drinks, smoothies, breakfast cereals, and even in pizza! Beware of sneaky sugars….

Try to get all your sugars in fruits such as apples, bananas, and blueberries!

Calories: Calories are what we use to measure the energy we burn and the food that we eat. We need to consume an average of 2000 calories per day in order to have enough energy throughout the day…Too many calories can result in poorer health however. It takes approximately 1 minute of running or power walking to burn 10 calories. How much have you ran or played today?

Materials This lesson plan requires the use of paper and pencils for each student, handouts, poster board, glue, markers, and some taste testers. Taste testers

include a variety of healthy alternatives.

Resources Caloriecount.about.com

Danna, Jim M.A. & Jordan, Jo. Processed Foods. Digestive Wellness Centerhttp://www.puristat.com/standardamericandiet/processedfoods.aspx

http://eatthis.menshealth.com/content/20-most-sugar-packed-foods-america

http://fatsecret.com/Diary.aspx?pa=fjrd&rid=306805

Sole-Smith, Virginia. 10 Healthy and 10 not healthy Vending Machine Snacks. Fitnesshttp://www.fitnessmagazine.com/recipes/snacks/healthy/vending-machine-snacks/

Class Flow & Set Up(Consider the flow of the session & room set-up. Make note of any additional preparation that may be needed).