Intro to My Plate (Grades 4-5)

FIT FAMILY books to read at home with parents and younger siblings

• The Food Parade by Elicia Castaldi
• I Will Not Ever Eat a Tomato by Lauren Child
• To Market, To Market by Anne Miranda
• Maisy Goes Shopping by Lucy Cousins
• Eating the Alphabet: Fruits and Vegetables from A to Z by Lois Ehlert

Intro to My Plate, What is a Balanced Diet?, Design a Day of Meals, and Let’s Stay Active! comprise the Core 4, and serve as an introduction to the F.I.T. Club Curriculum.

Consider sending home a letter explaining to parents that the class will be studying nutrition and exercise as a part of the next unit, since students will be examining components of healthy meals and developing personal exercise plans.

WEBSITE LINKS

• Choose My Plate
• Let’s Move!
• Staying Healthy @ KidsHealth.org
• American Academy of Pediatrics Healthy Living @ healthychildren.org
• Harvest Calendar for Rhode Island
• Sustainable Food Laboratory
• Wholesome Wave
• What’s In Season? at CookingLight.com
• Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution
• PBS Kids Fizzy’s Lunch Lab
• CDC 2014 National Diabetes Statistics Report
• CDC Adult Obesity Facts and CDC Obesity Maps
• American College of Physicians Patient Brochures and Guidebooks
• IRA/NCTE Read Write Think

BOOKS AND ARTICLES

Nutrition

Butterworth, C. (2011). How Did that Get in my Lunchbox? The Story of Food. Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press.

Castaldi, E. (2013). The Food Parade: Healthy Eating with the Nutritious Food Groups.  New York: Henry Holt and Company, LLC.

D’Amico, J., Drummond, K. (1999). The Healthy Body Cookbook: Over 50 Fun Activities and Delicious Recipes for Kids. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

De Laurentiis, G. (2013). Recipe for Adventure Naples!. New York: Grosset and Dunlap.

• This series of books by the chef Giada De Laurentiis includes Paris!, Hong Kong!, and New Orleans!

Eamer, C. (2012). The World in Your Lunchbox: The Wacky History and Weird Science of Everyday Foods. Toronto, Ontario: Annick Press.

Integrated Marketing Services.(2012). Fresh Produce Guide: 300(+) Fruits, Vegetables and Herbs.  Apopka, FL: Integrated Marketing Services.

Kessler, D. (2013). Your Food is Fooling You: How Your Brain is Hijacked by Sugar, Fat, and Salt. New York: Roaring Brook Press.

Macaulay, D. (2008). The Way We Work: Getting to Know the Amazing Human Body. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company.

Leedy, L. (2007). The Edible Pyramid: Good Eating Every Day. New York: Holiday House.

Miller, E. (2008).  The Monster Health Book: A Guide to Eating Healthy, Being Active & Feeling Great for Monsters & Kids!  New York: Holiday House.

Reid, M., Reid, A. (2012). Portion Size Me: A Kid-Driven Plan to a Healthier Family. Naperville, IL: Sourcebooks.

Reference:

Brown, S. with Vaughan, C. (2009). Play: How it Shapes the Brain, Opens the Imagination, and Invigorates the Soul. New York: Avery.

Lehr, S. (1991). The Child’s Sense of Developing Theme: Responses to Literature. New York: Teachers College Press.

Louv, R. (2008). Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder. Chapel Hill, NC: Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill.

Obama, M. (2012). American Grown: The Story of the White House Kitchen Garden and Gardens Across America. New York: Crown.

Oliver, J. (2008). Jamie’s Food Revolution: Rediscover How to Cook Simple, Delicious, Affordable Meals. New York: Hyperion.

Pappas, C., Kiefer, B., and Levstik, L. (1999). An Integrated Language Perspective in the Elementary School: An Action Approach, Third Edition. New York: Addison Wesley Longman, Inc.

Pollan, M. (2013). Cooked: A Natural History of Transformation. New York: The Penguin Press.