1. Iron for Breakfast Teaching Physical Science through Childrens Literature By Alicia Ledezma

2. Iron and Breakfast The idea for this lesson plan is for the students to learn what iron is and how its important in our diet. When the students learn what iron is and how it is attracted to magnets they can be able to look for iron in their food. The students will also learn several important nutrition facts that will be needed in order to have a healthy diet.

3. Learning Hands On In this lesson plan there is only one experiment. For the experiment you will need a cereal that is high in iron, like grits, a magnet, a bag, a pencil, and a bowl. By using a magnet safely covered with a bag, the students will be able to pick up iron pieces from the cereal. Since the pieces are very small a magnifying glass will also be needed in order for them to see.

4. The students will then see that the magnet is attracting the iron from the cereal, and that indeed there is iron in their food. At this point many of the students will be understanding what iron is, but many will wonder, What is it doing in my food and why do I need it? Here is when, us teacher, will make the connection between nutrition and iron in their diets.

5. The Food Pyramid At the beginning of the lesson the students are asked what they think is good food. At this time many of the students answers will be related to the way the food taste. In actuality the good food doesnt always taste good. In fact we much rather have a candy bar than something like grits. In order to make the students understand that distinction, the food pyramid is a good model.

7. The Need for Iron Now that the students know a little more about their dietary needs, why exactly do they need iron? Iron is a very important element to keep your body healthy. Our blood has something called hemoglobin, which carries oxygen throughout the body.This very important compound has 4 iron ions in it. If we dont have enough iron in our diets we will become tired and more easily exposed to diseases, heart and lung problems.

8. Making the Literature Connection For this lesson the book that was recommended to use was, Gregory, the Terrible Eater. In the book Gregory doesnt quite keep a healthy diet. So, his parents teach him about proper eating habits and why they are important. I think that the books are appropriate for this lesson and it would be helpful and fun for the students.

9. In my opinion… Overall I thought the lesson plan was great. The experiment was simple yet it made the students aware of something that might have not been obvious to them. I also liked the fact that they could try this experiment at home and be able to show their parents what they learned. I think that the experiment was a very effective way to show the students what iron is and why its in our food. I thought the lesson plan was a great way to make a connection between the science and the nutrition.