Read the Label

Goal: Raise awareness of nutrition information on food package labels

1. Introduce "serving size "

As children are handing out or eating snack, ask what they think a sensible serving is. Then, point out Serving Size on the Nutrition Facts label.

The package shows that one serving is 3 crackers. Is that reasonable?

 

2. Find the facts

Tell children that Nutrition Facts labels list nutrients in each serving.  Ask for ideas on which nutrients most people need to limit (e.g., fat and sodium), and which most people need everyday (e.g., protein. Vitamin C, and iron).

Explain that children will be debating “for” and “against” eating the food.  Their arguments need to be based on Nutrition Facts.

Children get into pairs. Each pair has 2 minutes to read the label to decide if they will be debating “for” or “against” and to prepare their arguments.

3. Debate the facts

Pairs take turns making their arguments for the group. As children debate the facts, record any questions they have about Nutrition Facts and note any misconceptions you hear.

When every pair has made their case, ask for volunteers to explain whether or not they have changed opinions based on what they heard.

Then, provide answers to the questions you recorded or do some research together.

 

Variations

How Low Can You Go? (Grades 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
Decide on one or more Nutrition Facts for the group to track in snack foods over time. For instance, keep track of sodium content and investigate which of the foods available for snack have the lowest amount.

How Much Do We Eat? (Grades 5, 6, 7)
Children figure out nutritional value of amounts they actually eat. A double serving of chips means twice as much fat, sodium, and calories.

 

Nutrition Card Games (Grades 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
For these variations, cut out 25 to 50 Nutrition Fact labels to make a set of cards. Include the name of the food on the cards.

Fat “Concentration.” Players lay out the cards face down. They take turns trying to turn up pairs of foods with the same number of grams of fat.

Nutrition Line Up. Deal out cards randomly. Children line up from smallest to largest according to one particular Nutrition Fact on their cards, such as amount of calcium. Or, make a wall display of the Nutrition Cards lined up in order.

Sugar “War.” For this two-player game, children divide the cards into two face-down piles. Each player takes a pile. Players turn over the top card at the same time. The player with the food showing lowest sugar takes both cards. When the piles are used up, the player with the most cards wins.

Books and Other Resources

Book ideas to come!

Spotlight

Proportion

Nutrition Facts show grams or milligrams of nutrients and percent of daily recommended amount (RDA) in a serving.

If you eat more (or less) than a given serving, your nutrient intake changes proportionally: with two servings, you get twice as much of the healthy ingredients as well as the unhealthy ones .

One You-Go Yogurt has 5 grams of protein or 11% RDA, and 33 grams of carbohydrate or 11% RDA. For more protein, you could eat two yogurts—but then you would also take in nearly a quarter (22%) of your daily suggested carbohydrates.

Connections

Nutrition information

Dietary restrictions are a fact of life for many people. A good diet can help prevent illness and can control medical conditions such as diabetes and heart disease. Whether or not you understand the details of how a particular food affects your body, you need to correctly read the labels to determine which foods have a lot—or a little—of the nutrients that you need, and which have the nutrients you don’t need.

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©2008 TERC, Cambridge, MA. All rights reserved.