Evaluating a Menu for Three-Year-Old Children

Lesson Content

• Lesson Plan Template:

  CTE Lesson Plan

• CTE Course Info and Benchmark Notes

  
  

  Program Title: Early Childhood Education

  Course Title: Early Childhood Education 1

  Course Number: 8405110

  Career Cluster: Education and Training

  CIP Number: 0419070913

  Course Type: Career Preparatory

  CTE Standard(s) and benchmarks:

  Focus

  04.01 Identify the nutritional needs of infants through school-age children (birth through age 8).

  Supporting

  04.04 Identify foods that are potentially dangerous for young children’s consumption.

  04.06 Use United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) current guidelines as a tool for planning nutritious meals.

• Unit Outline

  
  

  This lesson is designed to be used with the case study, “Mealtime with Toddlers.” See CPALMS resource ID#207741.

• Career Connection

  
  

  This lesson supports the career building skills of critical thinking, research, and evaluation. In addition, this lesson practices supporting children’s nutritional needs, an essential skill for early childhood educators.

• Learning Objectives

  
  

  Students will be able to:

  • Evaluate a weekly menu for three-year-old children.
  • Discuss the importance of being aware of the nutritional needs for three-year-old children.

• Prior Knowledge

  
  

  Students should be familiar with/able to:

  • Age-appropriate food service and nutritional needs for children three-years of age
  • Developmental growth and skills of three-year old children

• Guiding Questions

  
  
  • How can a weekly menu help meet the nutritional and safety needs for three-year-old children?

• Procedure

  
  
  1. To introduce the lesson, refer to the case study, Mealtime with Toddlers, (See CPALMS Resource ID #207741).
  • Consider providing students with a copy of the case study so that they can take notes, highlight content vocabulary, or underline important details.
  2. Pose the following discussion questions as the case study is read.
  • What is the basis for Taylor’s concerns? Do you see validity in her concerns?
  • How might the menu choices be affecting the children?
  • What references, resources, or information should Taylor consult regarding her concerns?
  3. Provide students with the Menu Evaluation handout (see attachments). Ensure that students have the sample menu provided with the case study. Have students evaluate the sample menu for topics such as nutritional value, food safety, encouragement of food habits and so forth. The evaluation should answer the question, “How well does the sample menu support the nutritional and safety needs of three-year-old children?”
  • Explain that an evaluation does not need to focus on concerns about the menu. The goal of an evaluation is to determine overall significance and provide useful information.
  • See the Teacher Notes for potential menu aspects that show student understanding of nutritional and safety needs.
  4. Students should highlight at least 5 aspects of the menu to evaluate.
  • Each of the 5 points highlighted should include the evaluation and justification for reasoning, along with a recommendation/consideration.
  • Students should consult the course text or web resources to justify their evaluation decisions.
  5. As students finish, have them share their evaluations with a partner. Partners can discuss the similarities they noticed, look for inconsistencies with justifications, and provide feedback on recommendations/considerations.
  6. To bring the lesson to a close, have students pretend that they are the owners of the preschool, Sal and Megan, and write an email to Morgan discussing the menu. The email should be properly and professionally formatted, checked for spelling/grammar, and include a summary of their menu evaluation with justifications and recommendations/considerations.

• Teacher Notes

  
  
  • Following are some potential aspects of the menu that display an understanding of the nutritional and safety needs of three-year-old children.
  • Potential Choking Hazards: bagels, meatballs, veggie sticks, corn on the cob
  • Safe Foods: cheese sticks, Cheerios, applesauce, grilled cheese, watermelon; other foods when cut appropriately (i.e., spaghetti and meatballs)
  • Nutritional Considerations: fruit cup versus fresh fruit, limited vegetables for the entire week, no protein on some days, high in dairy
  • Encouraging Positive Food Habits: lack of diversity in menu, lack of choice on some days (i.e., Tuesday lunch, Wednesday and Thursday breakfast), includes familiar foods for toddlers (i.e., cheese sticks, yogurt, chicken nuggets)

• Optional

  
  

  Formative Assessment Ideas:

  • The Menu Evaluation handouts and summaries can be used to determine student understanding of the nutritional and safety needs of three-year-old children.

  Accommodation Suggestions:

  • Complete one row of the Menu Evaluation as a class to provide an example of expectations for completion.
  • Allow students to orally present their summaries to the teacher.

  Extension Ideas:

  • Students can develop a new menu based on their recommendations and considerations.