Chapter 19 Nutrition Education Concepts and Activities Learning

Chapter 19 Nutrition Education Concepts and Activities

Learning Objectives After studying this chapter, you should be able to: • Explain why it is important to educate young children about nutrition and the role schools and families play I this process. • Summarize the basic nutrition concepts and safety considerations that must be addressed in planning learning experiences for children. • Discuss the principles of effective curriculum and lesson development. • Identify several additional sources that influence children’s ideas about food and nutrition.

Fundamental Concepts of Nutrition Education • Children’s growth and health are dependent on having access to nutrientdense food. • Nutrients are obtained from food. • A variety of foods must be consumed to get all nutrients needed for healthy growth and development. • Food safety and sanitation are especially critical as they relate to young children.

Family Involvement • Family participation in children’s nutrition education is fundamental to achieving success. – Explain what this statement means and why it is true. • In what ways can schools involve families in children’s nutrition education? © 2012 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.

Children’s Nutrition Education • Teachers have many opportunities to weave nutrition education throughout children’s daily learning experiences. – Describe how teachers can achieve this goal. – What are the benefits of providing educational experiences for children in this manner? – What other areas of children’s development can be reinforced through nutrition education experiences? © 2012 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.

Principles of Instructional Design • Learning activities should be developmentally appropriate. • Actual foods should be used in activities whenever possible (check for allergies). • Only nutrient-dense foods should be used in learning experiences. • Children should be able to eat the end product. • Children learn best when they are involved. © 2012 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.

Principles of Instructional Design (continued) • Select a topic: – Choose topics that are developmentally appropriate, based on children’s interests, and respectful of cultural differences. – Develop long-range plans that build children’s understanding and skills (scaffolding). – Take advantage of teachable moments when opportunities present themselves. © 2012 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.

Principles of Instructional Design (continued) • Develop behavioral objectives to: – Guide content and organization – Identify expected outcomes – Help in deciding how a topic or theme should be presented – Evaluate the lesson’s effectiveness (in achieving learning objectives) © 2012 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.

Principles of Instructional Design (continued) • What are behavioral objectives? • Provide several examples of measurable objectives. • How would you change the following statement so that it is a behavioral objective? – The children will know that nutritious food is good for them. © 2012 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.

Principles of Instructional Design (continued) • Consider children’s safety: – Always check for children’s food allergies. – Teachers and children must wash their hands before starting an edible project. – Avoid using foods that are a choking hazard. – Children must sit down to eat. – Use only unbreakable equipment. – Avoid sharp objects that could injure children. – Provide enough equipment so that children do not have to wait. © 2012 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.

Principles of Instructional Design (continued) • Consider and select instructional methods: – Can affect children’s interest and learning – Should only focus on one or two concepts – Should be limited in length (time) based on children’s attention spans – Should be infused with visual media – Should include children’s hands-on participation and practice © 2012 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.

Principles of Instructional Design (continued) • What instructional methods would be engaging and effective to use with: – Infants? – Toddlers? – Preschool-age children? – School-age children? © 2012 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.

Principles of Instructional Design (continued) • Evaluation should: – be ongoing – be based on the learning objectives – assess the effectiveness of all aspects of the learning experience – yield information that can be used for improvement © 2012 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.

Information Sources That Influence Children’s Eating Habits • Where do children learn about food? • How do these sources influence children’s eating habits? © 2012 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.