Nutrition Lesson Plan

Here is an idea of my freshman science lesson plan on nutrition to give you an idea of how basic things are and how slow we have to move. This lesson plan took seven periods to cover or 280 minutes. Some of this information presented may not be accurate, but this is what they are tested on so this is what I am teaching. I especially like this lesson plan because as sad as this sounds, basically all food (healthy and unhealthy) can be placed in your balanced diet. My lesson plan could not be typed without commentary! Smile.

Animal Nutrition (also called animal feeding, really?)

There are three (that’s it?) classes of food

1. Carbohydrates:
1. Importance: good source of energy, one gram of carbohydrates releases 17 kj of energy in the body
2. Sources: Jam (ha), cookies (ha, ha), cakes (ha, ha, ha), potatoes, maize bread, rice, cereal (I presented them in that order. I know cookies and cakes are carbs, however, are they good sources of carbs? Are there cookies and cakes in this country? If yes, where?)
3. Elements: Carbon, Hydrogen, Oxygen

i. Element: is a substance which is only made up of one type of atom

2. Proteins
1. Importance: they make new cells and repair damaged cells, body building foods, make antibodies and enzymes
2. Sources: meat, fish, eggs, milk, cheese, beans, wheat(?), maize
3. Elements: Carbon, Hydrogen, Oxygen, Nitrogen
3. Fats
1. Importance: good source of (good? I think more along the lines of quick or temporary) energy, keeps heat inside the body, insulates against the cold
2. Sources: meat, milk, cheese, butter, egg, yolk, plant fat (sunflower oil) (note: jams, cookies, and cakes are not considered fat)
3. Elements: Carbon, Oxygen, Hydrogen

In addition to the three classes of food, diet must also include minerals, vitamins, water, and fibre (Welcome to British English land)

Vitamins: protective food, they help our bodies fight disease	Food Sources	Function
A (Retinol)	Liver, eggs, oranges, green vegetables, carrots	Necessary for good eye sight, especially at night
C (Ascorbic Acid)	Fresh fruits and vegetables, particularly citrus fruits	Prevents scurvy, bleeding gums, and helps wounds heal fast
D (Calciferol)	Liver, egg yolk, butter (maybe if you can find it fortified?)	Helps body absorb calcium for strong bones and teeth

Minerals: keep body healthy, come from the soil, green plants are sources	Food Source Animal Plant		Functions
Calcium	Milk & other dairy products	Green leafy vegetables	Prevents rickets in children & osteomalaria (not even sure what this is or if it is spelled right) in adults by helping building strong bones and teeth
Iron	Meat, liver, egg yolk	Peas, beans, peanuts	Help blood to carry oxygen, prevents anemia

• Water: the body is made up of 70% water
• Importance: transports substances in blood, sweat, urine; water is lost from the body by breathing, sweating, urinating
• Sweating: cools the body when it overheats in sweat salts
• Urine: water helps remove waste from the body (urea)
• Blood: helps transports materials around the body (food)
• Sources: water (imagine that), juice, food
• Elements: Hydrogen, Oxygen
• Fibre (roughage): not digested but is important in keeping food moving in the gut (digestive system) this prevents constipation (difficulty passing feces)
• Sources: fruits, vegetables, beans, samp, bran
• Balanced Diet: diet that contains all nutrients in correct proportions and the right quality. Needs to contain carbs, proteins, fats, vitamins, minerals
• Water and Fibre are not nutrients, still essential part of diet
• Malnutrition: poor eating, diseases caused by poor nutrition, can result from under feeding or overfeeding
• Overfeeding

1. Obesity: a condition where the body stores excess food it does not need & becomes too big (too much fat leads to obesity)

• Underfeeding

1. Marasums: caused by lack of food in general (little carbs, protein, fats)

2. Kwashiokori: caused by lack of protein in the body

For those of you who did not get too bored and made it to the end, I am really not a horrible volunteer. We scheme (do not get me started), lesson plan, and write the test together as freshman science teachers. I make sure to cover the general lesson plan because the test are “standardized” to the entire freshman class. Normally, I try to jazz it up a little. In the case of this lesson plan, I did not know I was teaching freshman science until the Monday I started. I am more than thankful I was even given a lesson plan.