Objectives: The students will conduct a classroom survey o see if children eat breakfast. The students will identify the reasons why eating breakfast is a smart choice. The students will identify different ways to encourage themselves and others to eat breakfast every morning. Students will understand that eating breakfast gives them energy and nutrition to think, learn and play.
Materials: Poster Board, Chart Paper, Crayons and Markers, Masking Tape, Breakfast Eating Form (follows lesson.)
Preparation: Set up a tally chart by drawing two columns labeled Yes and No. Draw an outline of a child on a piece of chart paper and hang it in the classroom. Make one copy of the Breakfast Eating Form for each child.
Procedure: 1) Use children’s breakfast habits to introduce basic graphing. Start by surveying the class to collect data. Ask the students, “Did you eat breakfast this morning? Have the children place a tally mark in the column that represents their answer. 2) Then, gather the children around the graph and ask them questions like: What information does this graph tell us? What would be a good title for this graph? How many students ate breakfast this morning? How many students did not eat breakfast this morning? Did more students eat breakfast than not eat breakfast? 3) Now have the children who did eat breakfast, give examples of the food they ate. The teacher can also use the examples to classify the foods into the food group that they belong. 4) Talk with the students about the importance of eating breakfast every morning. Using the outline on the chart paper, discuss and record the following benefits of eating breakfast: helps brain grow and think, helps the body grow, makes bones strong, helps legs run and jump, provides minerals and vitamins. Explain to the students that when they do not eat breakfast, they can feel tired and grouchy. Explain that they will not have the energy to think about our school work or answer questions in class effectively. Tell them that without breakfast they will not have the energy to play. 5) Give each child a breakfast food chart for them to fill out and return the following week. Discuss how the keeping the chart will help them learn about their breakfast habits. 6) You can also have the students chart their daily activities, academic progress and emotions on a similar chart. 7)Discuss children’s breakfast eating habits and reasons for not being able to eat breakfast. Brainstorm with the children ways they can remember to eat breakfast, (i.e. get up earlier, plan ahead by leaving the bowl and cereal box on the table the night before). 8) To have the students apply what they have learned they can then survey another classroom in the school about their breakfast eating habits and graph their data. Students should also take some time to teach them about what they learned about the importance of eating breakfast by presenting their own breakfast eating charts as well as their daily activity energy level, emotions and academic progress. 9) In groups of five students can create posters about the importance of eating breakfast that can be displayed in a hallway bulletin board or hung in the cafeteria.
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