Objectives:
The student will

• demonstrate an understanding of the four basic food groups.
• construct a balanced menu.
• use food advertisements to determine the best buys for their menu
• selection.
• present their menu orally to the class and be able to defend their    selection.
• construct a graph to illustrate the total cost differences in their menus.

Activities:
1.  Have students save food ads from the local papers for a month prior to this assignment.

2.  Read the book Gregory, The Terrible Eater, and then discuss with the class if Gregory had gotten some good advice for his eating habits?  Ask the students if their parents have ever tried this approach to entice them to eat foods that they dislike?

3.  Review the four food groups and sources of proteins, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins and minerals.

4.  Divide the class into groups of three or four students each.

5.  Assign the groups the projects of planning a three meal a day menu for 5 days.

6.  Use newspaper ads and the Internet to figure out the cost of the menus.

7.  Each group presents their menu to the class, and must be able to defend their selections.

8.  Record the total cost of each menu, and have each group construct a bar or line graph to show the differences in the menu cost using ClarisWorks.

Home Learning:
Give a predetermined budget to students and have them create three balanced meals (Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner).

Assessment: Evaluate students' graphs.

Internet Links:
Check out the following links for great follow up activities or home learning assignments related to the health and nutrition:

Teacher Source
BrainPop Nutrition
Dole 5 a Day
Body Wise Girl Power
Fantastic Food
Nutrition Explorations

Book References:

The Edible Pyramid : Good Eating Every Day  Holiday House, Inc. / August 1997
by Loreen Leedy

Five Kids & A Monkey Solve the Great Cupcake Caper : A Learning Adventure About Nutrition and Exercise (Five Kids & A Monkey, Series One) Creative Attic, Incorporated, The / June 1997 by Nina M. Riccio, Beth Blair (Illustrator)

The Food Pyramid (True Books, Food & Nutrition) Grolier Publishing / August 1998 by Joan Kalbacken, Sarah De Capua (Editor)

Oliver's Vegetables Orchard Books / August 1998(Venture - Health & the Human Body) by Vivian French, Alison Bartlett (Illustrator)