Five Food Groups at Our Table

We are learning to use the five food groups to look at a whole day of our own meals, and to tell everyday foods from occasional foods.

Before you startAbout 55 minutes · what success looks like · notes for the helper

About 55 minutes. It's fine to stop after the Quick Check and come back another day: the lesson opens where you left it, at the Quick Check.

You'll know you've got it when

I can name the five food groups and sort everyday foods into them
I can look at a day of meals and say which groups are well covered and which are light
I can explain the difference between everyday foods and occasional foods by what the food does, without calling any food good or bad

For the helperhow to sit beside this lesson, and what this step is for

This step: Spark

Start with the question at the top and chat about it. There is no wrong answer here: it gets your learner thinking about what they already know.

Getting ready: A pencil and paper, and a rough list of what your family ate yesterday; the fridge and pantry doors open are a handy memory-jogger, and real foods make the sorting easier than words alone. About 55 minutes in all, which is more than one comfortable sitting at this age; many families stop after the check and come back to the task the next day.
What understanding sounds like: Listen for your child saying what a group does ('grain foods keep me going longer') and spotting a light group without a verdict on anyone. Phrases like 'we could add' or 'this day is light on vegetables' are what you are hoping to hear.
A likely mix-up, and something that helps: Children, and plenty of adults, file a food by its starting ingredient rather than its job, so a biscuit becomes a grain food or ice-cream a milk food. You might ask, 'Would we have this at most meals, or is it one for now and then?' It also helps to keep the talk on what a food does, and away from words like 'naughty' or 'good', and away from bodies and weight.
If it comes easily: For a child who finds this easy, you might ask them to plan one whole day for the family that covers all five groups using foods you already have, and to say where it would be hardest to fit one in and why.
If it's a struggle: If it's a struggle, one way is to work with only one meal, such as breakfast, and to use real packets or pictures cut from a catalogue that your child can move between five piles. If food is a sore or sensitive topic at your place, for any reason, you might use the made-up days in the lesson instead of your own family's. The group names are new words, and harder in a second language; holding up a real food while saying its group helps more than a list.

Step 1 of 6 · Spark

Lesson 1 of 5 · Fuel for the Day: Choosing and Preparing Healthy Food

The plate that is missing something

For the helper

Start with the question at the top and chat about it. There is no wrong answer here: it gets your learner thinking about what they already know.

Picture a school-day dinner: a big bowl of pasta with cheese melted on top. It looks like a proper meal, and it fills you up. But look at it with a food designer's eyes and a question pops up: how many different kinds of food are actually on that plate? Before you read on, think about your own dinner last night. Tell your helper the foods one at a time, and say what you think each one is 'for'.

A full plate and a varied plate are not always the same thing.