Objective:
The students will classify foods into their proper group.

Materials

• A link to one of the following sites: KidsHealth, or  USDA.  (They both have good information on the Food Pyramid for kids.)

• A large piece of butcher paper outlined with the food pyramid.

• Use the Foods for the Pyramid Worksheet to cut up into small slips of paper.  Have one food on each sheet of paper.  There should be one slip per student.  (Some extra foods may need to be added depending on the size of the class.)

Procedure

1. Using information presented at the aforementioned web sites, discuss the Food Pyramid with the students.  Go over the different sections and the amounts that are recommended for each group.

2. Pass out the slips of paper so each student has one slip.

3. Have each student read their food (some are real pizza toppings and some are silly pizza toppings.)  The student should then place his/her slip in the proper area of the butcher paper food pyramid.  Discuss how many of the food groups can be contained in one single pizza.

4. As an extension have the students draw a picture or list their favorite toppings for pizza.  They may then write the food group each topping falls into.

Other Lesson Ideas

1. Make pizza.  Simple pizzas are easy to make using English Muffins, using the following link English Muffin Pizzas.  Have the students follow a recipe and watch how the ingredients change once they are baked (i.e. cheese melting.)  If possible, make the dough from scratch and have a lesson on the properties of yeast.

2. Have a lesson on how the different toppings get to a pizza.  For example, vegetables are grown, meat comes from animals, cheese comes from the milk of an animal, etc.