Team Nutrition in the Schools: New Mexico
Silver City, NM 88061
Sixth Street Elementary School participated in a Team Nutrition event during the months of April and May, 2000. There were 37 students, ages 7-12, involved in four activity sessions, which were coordinated by:
* Susie Snedeker- Grant County FCE Team Nutrition Coordinator
* Margaret Dines-Grant County Extension Home Economist
* April Teague and Olga Chavez - Family Educators
* Gayle Reeves - Silver Schools Food Service Manager
During the first session we discussed "Parts of a Plant" and had a taste testing. The students were given small pieces of various fruits and vegetables. Some of the students had never tasted some of the foods and discovered that they actually liked them. We also discussed the importance of exercise, and developed an exercise program that the students decided to start as part of the Team Nutrition program.
Other topics discussed were the food groups and the food guide pyramid. Students played "Pyramid Relay," a game in which the students decide in which food group certain foods belonged in. They really enjoyed this game and it also served as their physical activity for that session.
One session was spent learning how to read nutrition facts labels. The students then participated in an activity in which they read the labels from various food products, making the best nutritional choices between foods. Also discussed were ways in which the media promotes foods that aren't always good for us. The students were given an assignment to create an ad of their own using the different methods of advertising discussed in the lesson.
During the final session we had a food guide pyramid party with snacks from all the different food groups. At this time the students presented their ads to the class.
