Meal Planning

Lesson Content

• Lesson Plan Template:

  CTE Lesson Plan

• CTE Course Info and Benchmark Notes

  
  

  Course Name: Orientation to Health Science Professions

  Program Name: Health Science

  Course Number: 8400110

  Course Type: Orientation/Exploratory

  CIP Number: 03179999OR

  CTE-HLTH.68.8400110.5.6 - Explore the need for proper nutrition and water intake to maintain wellness.

• Unit Outline

  
  

  This lesson should be used with the Case Study "Lifestyle Choices: Nutrition and Wellness" (See CPALMS Resource ID# 218928). It is intended to be the final lesson in a series of 5. Previous lessons aligned to this case study focus on Food Groups (See CPALMS Resource ID# 219015), Nutrition Facts Labels (See CPALMS Resource ID#219086), Therapeutic Diets (Resource ID#: 219019), and Dieticians/Nutritionists (See CPALMS Resource ID# 219074).

• Career Connection

  
  

  The ability to plan a meal using food groups and dietary restrictions is a key skill in health-related careers, including dieticians, nutritionists, and even personal trainers.

  Students will practice the communication skill of negotiation, the leadership skill of decision making, and also utilize critical thinking skills as they discuss and determine what food items to include on their menu. Students will demonstrate active listening skills as they listen to the suggestions and input of all group members.

• Learning Objectives

  
  

  Students will be able to:

  • Create a meal plan for a family, based on proper nutrition and their medical conditions, food preferences, allergies, etc.
  • Present their meal plan to the class.

• Prior Knowledge

  
  

  Students should be familiar with/able to:

  • Identify some behaviors and choices that impact health.
  • Understand that some foods are healthier than other foods.
  • The different food groups and a healthy diet includes all of them.
  • Whole foods versus Processed foods.
  • Dietary restrictions due to allergies, intolerances, and/or medical conditions.
  • Therapeutic Diets as guidelines on dietary restrictions for specific health conditions.

• Guiding Questions

  
  
  • What should be considered when planning meals?
  • How can food groups be incorporated into each meal?
  • How might menu items have to be modified to incorporate dietary restrictions (ex. therapeutic diet) of family members?

• Procedure

  
  

  1. To introduce the lesson, pose the guiding questions to the students and allow them to discuss with shoulder partners. Teacher can have students discuss all or some of the guiding questions.

  2. Provide the case study “Lifestyle Choices: Nutrition, and Wellness” (See CPALMS Resource ID# 218928) to students.

  1. • Tell students that the case study will provide background/setting for today’s lesson.
     • Have students read the case study aloud with a partner or group.
     • Student can then discuss the following questions in pairs/groups:
  • • • What kinds of foods do the Martinez family eat?
      • What improvements could they make to their diet to make it healthier?
      • What changes do they need to make for Abuelo Carlos?
      • Does everyone need to follow Carlos’ therapeutic diet? Why or why not?

  3. To begin the activity, provide students with a copy of the Meal Planning Worksheet attachment. Using this worksheet, students will create a one-day meal and snack menu that is nutritious and meets the needs of all members of the Martinez family.

  • • If completed, refer students to the previous lessons that focused on food groups, food labels, and therapeutic diets when making decisions for this assignment.
    • If needed, review food groups, whole vs. processed foods, and therapeutic diets prior to giving students this assignment.
    • See Teacher Notes for pacing suggestions.

  4. Have student groups present their menus to the class. In their presentation, students should explain why certain meals were chosen. Students can discuss the discussion questions on the worksheet to guide their presentation.

  5. To close the lesson, have students participate as a whole class in a follow-up discussion based on the following questions:

  • • How did you accommodate Abuelo Carlos’s food restrictions?
    • Which food groups did you find the most challenging to incorporate?
    • What challenges did you face as you tried to follow guidelines for proper nutrition? (ex. hard to avoid pre-packaged foods, etc.)
    • What if a neighbor was going to come to dinner that night and that person was lactose intolerant? What changes would you have to make to that meal?
    • How can you use this activity to guide your diet?
    • Would you be interested in a career that helps people follow guidelines for proper nutrition (such as dietician or nutritionist, or even a chef)?

• Teacher Notes

  
  
  • This lesson is intended to be a culminating activity and/or authentic assessment following instruction on food groups, processed vs. whole foods, and therapeutic diets.
  • This lesson can be completed over the course of two days, depending on classroom needs and schedule. Day 1: 10 minutes for case study and introduction, 45 minutes for meal planning activity. Day 2: 45 minutes for presentations, 10 minutes for follow up discussion.
  • The teacher can informally assess learning through group discussion and observation of students during group activity.
  • Answers on the assignment (meal plan) may also be used to evaluate mastery.

• Optional

  
  
  • Students can discuss dietary needs of family members with their parents and make a 1-day menu for their family’s unique dietary needs.
  • Students could create a virtual ‘cart’ for a local grocery store to determine the cost of the groceries for this menu.
  • Have the students take their meal plan and transform it into a digital brochure, like one a nutritionist might give a client. Have students include multimedia by adding images of the meals or ingredients. The attached lesson handout can be used as a planning sheet.