Nutrition Education Resources

Little D's Nutrition Expedition: Activity 3 - King Henry's Meat Group

Grade Level: 2nd Grade/Primary Elementary

Materials and Advance Prep

• Preview Suggested Instructional Strategy
• Little D, the Five-Food-Group Dragon mini-poster (PDF) - 1 per student.
• Print The Mighty Muscle Meat Group (PDF) story
• Duplicate King Henry's Meat Group (PDF) worksheet - 1 per student
• Duplicate Dragon Scales (PDF) blackline master 1 scale to cut out per student. Optional: Use purple or lavender paper.

  The Food Group Wall Dragon Activity begins in Activity 1.

• Prepare a sample dragon scale naming your favorite Meat Group food
• Purple or lavender poster board for the Food Group Wall Dragon
• 7 1/2" circle template for the Food Group Wall Dragon. Cut a circle out of the poster board. Print "Meat Group" near the top
• Markers or crayons, scissors and tape
• Little D's Interactive Nutrition Games in Games

Suggested Instructional Strategy

• What are some of the foods pictured in the Milk Group? White milk, chocolate milk, string cheese, cheddar cheese, yogurt
• What are some other Milk Group foods not on this poster? Answers might include: specific names of cheeses, strawberry milk, pudding, frozen yogurt
• How do foods from the Milk Group help your body stay healthy? Milk Group foods have calcium, which helps build strong bones and teeth.

Today we'll learn about another food group - the Meat Group.

• Which member of the Royal Food Family stands for the Meat Group? King Henry the Egg
• Why is he's a good character to teach about the Meat Group? Because an egg is in the Meat Group.

2. Ask:

• Which Meat Group foods are on the poster? Egg, hamburger, peanut butter, chicken leg, tuna, sunflower seeds

3. Continue, saying:

• Today we'll hear another story of how King Henry the Egg taught Little D all about the Meat Group. Once again, I need your help acting out what Little D is doing as I read the story.
• When I point to all of you and pause, what do you do? Listen for the action word and act it out.
• When I point to my mouth, what do you say? "Mmm, good!"

Review guidelines regarding how much movement is appropriate to act out during the story.

4. Read The Mighty Muscle Meat Group aloud.

5. Ask:

• What do you think Little D saw when he looked at his chest? Accept all reasonable answers.
• Why do you think the purple square with Meat Group foods appeared on his chest? Because he learned about the Meat Group.

6. Distribute the King Henry's Meat Group worksheet. Have students name each item and raise their hands if they've eaten the food.

7. As a class or individually, have students classify the Meat Group foods on the worksheet as coming from a plant or an animal. If students work individually, review their answers as a class:

• Which foods come from animals? Pork chop, tuna, turkey, shrimp, hamburger, ham
• Which foods come from a plant? Peanuts, almonds, kidney beans, peanut butter

8. Explain that students also need to be physically active to build strong muscles.

Tell students that they're going to do some more acting that's called pantomime. They do not talk; they just do actions. While one student does his or her pantomime, everyone else tries to guess what is being acted out.

Provide some "pantomime-starter" questions, such as:

• What's an activity you do at home that uses your muscles?
• What's an activity you do at school that uses your muscles?
• What's an activity you do on the playground or in the park that uses your muscles?
• What's a physical activity you enjoy doing in the summer?
• What's a physical activity that you like to do in cold weather?
• What's a physical activity you enjoy doing by yourself?
• What's a physical activity that is more fun when you do it with friends?

Remind the rest of the class to observe and identify what is being pantomimed.

9. Summarize by asking:

• Why are strong, healthy muscles important for students your age? They help your body move at home, at school and at play.

Check for Understanding

10. Ask students to pantomime at their desks. Say:
I'm going to say 10 foods. If the food is in the Meat Group, make a muscle with your arm. If the food is NOT, put your hands on your desk.

Finish this sentence out loud: "Foods in the Meat Group help build strong _____." Muscles

12. Point out the Food Group Wall Dragon started in Activity 1. Distribute dragon scales for students to cut out, initial, and write the name of a favorite Meat Group food. Remind students to check with you and/or use their dictionaries if they do not know how to spell the Meat Group food they select.

13. Attach the circle to the Wall Dragon. Tell the students your favorite Meat Group food and tape your scale to the circle. Have the students identify their favorite Meat Group foods as they tape their scales to the circle.

14. Collect Little D, the Five Food Group Dragon mini-posters for Activity 4.

15. Allow students to play Little D's interactive nutrition games to reinforce the Five Food Groups and the foods in each group.

Going Further

Muscle-Building Action Collage
Create a collage by cutting out pictures of students' favorite Meat Group foods and the activities they like to do to make their muscles strong and healthy. Have the students present their collages to their classmates.

Follow the Mover
Encourage students to stretch and move by leading them in movement games. In class, have the students imitate the moves you make. Lead students in stretching moves, such as reaching the arms overhead, touching their toes, or rotating their trunk. Or, appoint a student to lead. Also, join the students at recess and lead them in animal moves. Have the students gallop like horses, hop like rabbits, swim like fish, jump like frogs, or stomp like elephants.

Nutrition Expedition Programs © 2005

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