My Pyramid Counts!

A Math and Nutrition Curriculum for 4^th and 5^th Grades

The rapid increase in the prevalence of overweight among American children, ages 6-11, over the past 20 years challenges experts in the nutrition community to develop programs teaching parents and children how to adopt healthier lifestyles.  In fact, growing obesity concerns in both children and adults were a major consideration in the government’s 2005 update of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans and the publication of MyPyramid, a revised version of the Food Guide Pyramid.

To positively impact the obesity issue, proactive interventions are needed.  Recent legislation, the Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004, requires schools to become involved by developing and implementing school wellness policies by the beginning of the 2006-2007 school year.  A component of this legislation is nutrition education. 

On behalf of Pfizer Inc., and the beef checkoff, the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association is introducing Choose Well, a math curriculum addressing two nutrition issues identified by both health experts and teachers as essential in helping youth understand the benefits of healthy eating.  Research shows that children do not naturally compensate for gradual increases in portion size.  Teaching appropriate portion sizes will increase their understanding of what their bodies need for good health.  Additionally, teaching children how to choose nutrient-rich or “power” foods first, and still allow for treats of less nutrient-rich, energy-dense foods, will help them take control of their own food choices.  Since children’s physical activity levels have steadily diminished over recent years, the importance of physical activity is also addressed.

Choose Well has been favorably reviewed by the American Dietetic Association Foundation as part of the Healthy Families, Healthy Kids initiative.  An additional objective of the kit is to provide a tool that facilitates a partnership between teachers and registered dietitians to bring nutrition education into the classroom.  A listing of all state dietetic association phone numbers is included in the kit and teachers are urged to invite local dietitians to visit their classrooms.

The 15-minute video, Food!, included in the kit, is a winner of the coveted Telly Awards, in the category of education.  In addition, Zip4Tweens.com, the checkoff-funded Web site for 8- to 12-year olds, is a Parents’ Choice 2006 Approved Award Winner.  The computer game, Appetite Attack, is the latest release on the Web site and will be packaged as a component in the Choose Well kit.

The complete package includes: 

• Eight classroom activities covering the five food groups, nutrition facts labels and how to understand appropriate portion sizes
• A teacher backgrounder
• A large poster identifying the five food groups, the nutrients found in each and the appropriate portions from each
• A MyPyramid for Kids poster
• A video, Food!, with a music component teaching how to “choose well”
• An action computer game, teaching how to balance calories with the appropriate number of servings from each food group
• Two handouts for parents with messages from the teacher explaining what children are learning in the Choose Well curriculum and fun, family recipes
• A postage-paid evaluation form to assess the effectiveness of the various components.  As an incentive to complete and return the evaluation, teachers are promised a free MyPyramid for Kids 100-sheet Tear Pad.

If you are a classroom teacher of grades 4-5, you are eligible for a free kit.
TeachFree.org - Choose Well Math - Nutrition Kit

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MS Word Document