1. Today we will be discussing why it is important to “Eat 5 Servings of Fruits and Vegetables each day”.

2. Name your favorite fruits and vegetables
Ask students to “think, pair, share” by asking “What are your favorite fruits and vegetables and why do you like them?
Students should share at least one fruit and one vegetable that they like to eat.”
This will provide the opportunity to activate prior knowledge in identifying fruits and vegetables and inform instruction.

3. Learning Objective
Today you will understand the importance of eating 5 servings of fruits and vegetables each day
Review learning objective - Students understand the importance of eating 5 servings of fruits and vegetables each day.

4. From Nature to Factory
– Students should identify food items that are either nature grown fruits or vegetables or have fruit and vegetable ingredients or flavors. Call out food items and have students identify whether the food items are grow in nature or are made in a factory with a manmade process. List those items under the tree to represent nature grown or under the factory to represent processed.
Possible food items to call out:
Tip – your kitchen can be considered a factory – adding or taking away ingredients in your kitchen at home would still make a food processed. Example: baking a carrot cake.)
Orange Orange juice
Strawberry Strawberry milkshake made with ice cream
Carrots Carrot cake
Potato French Fries
Avocado Guacamole
Tomato Spaghetti Sauce
Apple Apple Juice
Corn Cornbread
Broccoli Grape Jello
Green Beans Strawberry fruit roll-up
Eggplant Macaroni and cheese
Lettuce BBQ potato chips
Eggplant Eggplant parmesan
Lemon Lemonade
Onion Sour cream and onion potato chips
Banana Banana smoothie with sorbet
Bell pepper Cinnamon raisin bread
Pineapple Key Lime pie

5. Factory Process Demonstration
Select a student to come to the front of the classroom and have that student squeeze the juice of half of an orange into a clear plastic cup. Ask the class “What did we just make?” Students will identify that they just made juice.
Ask the student helper to walk around and show the orange half to students while you ask “Is there anything remaining in the orange half?” Assist students in identifying that there is pulp and pith (that white stringy fibrous material) left in the orange half once the juice is removed. What remains in the orange contains pectin or fiber and this is an important ingredient in the orange for your body to efficiently use the orange’s energy.
Share with students that they just performed a common factory process with food called separation. Factories often remove or add things to food and the food then is considered processed. The juice you just made is less healthy than the whole orange because it no longer contains the fiber.
Ask students “Whether whole fruits and vegetables grown in nature are healthier than fruits and vegetables that have been processed in a factory? And “Why?”

6. The Orange Array 100% 5% juice Orange Drink Orange juice Orange
Marmalade
100%
Orange juice
Using the visual presentation or preferably real food items (randomly order half an orange, cup of juice just made, orange flavored drink, orange jam or processed orange flavored food item) as a classroom group, guide students in arranging 4-5 food items all containing orange ingredients in an array of closest to nature from furthest from nature (most processed).
Refer to the ingredient list to identify whether or not there are any real fruits and vegetables in the food or whether the flavors and colors are artificial.
Make the point that as food becomes more processed, it contains less of the important nutrients and minerals our bodies need from nature grown food and therefore is less healthy for us. It is important to eat nature grown fruits and vegetables.

7. Make sure half your plate is fruits and vegetables
How much fruits and vegetables is the right amount? Show students the food plate and identify that half their food intake at meals should be fruits and vegetables and that it is recommended that they eat at least 5 servings of fruits and vegetables each day, preferably at least 2 fruits and 3 vegetables. If they use the Food Plate as a guide and have 3 meals per day, they have the opportunity to get up to 6 servings if they fill half their plate with fruits and vegetables.
Ask students, “Why do you think nature grown fruits and vegetables are important to eat each day?” Guide students in a discussion about the importance of the vitamins, minerals, fiber and other important nutrients that you cannot get from any other food source. It is important for students to understand that fiber in the fruits and vegetables is helpful to how the food breaks down in their body to balance their energy and help the way they digest food.
Candy and sugary drinks don’t have this fiber, but fruits and vegetables do. (There is an enrichment activity aligned with this concept.)
Emphasize that eating 5 servings of fruits and vegetables each day in a variety of colors helps to prevent future health problems such as diabetes, heart disease, cancer, high blood pressure, obesity and more. These fruits and vegetables provide additional benefits that keep you healthy such as; building your immune system to prevent you from getting sick, creating strong bones, helping digestion, supporting good vision and more.
Eat at least 5 servings of fruits and vegetables each day!

8. Eat fruits and vegetables in the colors of the rainbow
Show a rainbow and ask students to identify fruits and vegetables that are in the colors of the rainbow: red, yellow, orange, green, blue, purple and white. Write the foods in the rainbow in the corresponding color. Or, have students do this as an individual project with the attached “Rainbow Handout”.
Ask students, “Why do you think it is important to eat fruits and vegetables in a variety of colors each day?” “Do you think it would be healthy if the only fruits and vegetables you ate were oranges and carrots?”
Lead students in a discussion about how it is important to eat fruits and vegetables in the colors of the rainbow because the different nutrients that give the nature grown foods their colors do different and very important things for your bodies.
(There is an enrichment activity aligned with this concept.)

9. Create a Health Goal
My health goal is ___________________________. The steps I will reach take to reach my goal are: How many vegetables? How many fruits?
Have students write down a specific and measurable health goal related to eating 5 servings of fruits and vegetables and use the Walk On! Challenge tracking tools to measure their success throughout the week.
(There is an enrichment activity aligned with this concept.)

10. Three things I learned today
Ask students to share in their group or with a neighbor what they feel is the most important thing they learned today.
Or, as a classroom group, ask students to identify three things that they learned that they felt was most important to them today.
Challenge students to eat 5 nature grown fruits and vegetables in a variety of colors each day for the month and chart their progress. Review each week to reinforce the Walk On! Challenge to ensure students are making progress toward the goal.