Nutrition Education Resources

Little D's Nutrition Expedition: Activity 10 - Healthfully Ever After

Grade Level: 2nd Grade/Primary Elementary

Materials and Advance Prep

• Preview the Suggested Instructional Strategy
• Royal Food Family Trading Cards (PDF) -1 per student
• Little D, the Five-Food-Group Dragon mini-poster (PDF) - 1 per student
• Print Healthfully Ever After (PDF) story
• Write on the board: "Ow, ow, ooh, aah, ooh!" and "Mmm, good!"
• Food Group Wall Dragon (completed; see Activity 1)
• Three Challenges for Little D (PDF) worksheets
• Duplicate Little D, the Five-Food-Group Dragon (PDF) handout - 1 per student
• Markers or crayons
• Optional: Duplicate the Final Letter for Parents/Guardians - 1 per student
• Little D's Interactive Nutrition Games in Games

All of Little D's games are found on NutritionExplorations.org in Games.

Suggested Instructional Strategy

1. Pass out a Royal Food Family Trading Card (PDF) to each student. Give each student a chance to speak and share one of the following:

• The name of the food group represented by this member of the Royal Food Family
• A food in the food group
• The health benefit of the food group

2. Continue, asking students to compare the Little D, the Five-Food-Group Dragon mini-poster with the Food Group Wall Dragon (See Activity 1). Ask:

• What's similar about the mini-poster and the Wall Dragon? They both have dragons; they both include foods from the Five Food Groups.
• What's different? They have different foods; the Wall Dragon has more foods; the Wall Dragon also includes the "Others" category, the Little D poster includes the Royal Food Family.

3. Help students articulate Little D's character development throughout this unit. Ask:

• What was Little D like when the Royal Food Family met him? He was sick.
• Why was he sick? He wasn't eating any foods from the Five Food Groups. He only ate foods from the "Others" category.
• Did he know how to take care of himself? No
• Did he have confidence? What makes you say that? He didn't know how to eat in a healthy way.
• Was Little D able to learn about the Five Food Groups? Yes
• How is he different now? He's smarter. He knows how to eat well to stay healthy. He now has the Five Food Groups pictured on his chest.

4. Introduce today's story, Healthfully Ever After. This story is about the day that Little D wanted to leave the palace and go back to his cave.

Point out the phrases on the board. Tell students that once again, they'll help you tell the story by making sound effects and pantomiming. Ask:

• When I point to my stomach, what will you say? Ow, ow, ooh, aah, ooh!
• When I point to my mouth, what will you say? Mmm, good!
• When I point to all of you, what will you do? Listen for the action word and act out the word.

There are three places to stop so that students can complete a portion of the Three Challenges for Little D worksheets. Distribute the worksheets before you begin reading.

5. Read Healthfully Ever After aloud to the first "Stop Reading" directive. Ask students to complete Challenge 2 on their worksheets. Before reading again, have all students whisper their answers to both questions. Ask a few students to share their answers out loud.

Continue to the second "Stop Reading" directive. Have students complete Challenge 3, and then have several students share the meal they planned.

6. Have students to turn over their handouts and write two sentences in response to a question, such as:

• What do you think happened next?
• What do you think the Royal Food Family gave Little D as going away presents?
• What do you think Little D packed to take back to his cave?

This activity can also be done orally.

Check for Understanding
7. Distribute the Little D, the Five-Food-Group Dragon handout. Have students label Little D's stomach with the names of the food groups and draw at least three foods from each group in the appropriate segment. Collect and review the handouts as check for understanding.

8. Optional: Have students fill in the blanks and sign the Final Letter. Have them take it home and share it with their parents and/or guardians.

9. Allow students to continue playing Little D's Interactive Nutrition Games to reinforce the Five Food Group concepts.

All of Little D's games are found on NutritionExplorations.org in Games.

Going Further

Storyboard Mural
Have the class create storyboards showing the major events in Little D's Nutrition Expedition with the Royal Food Family. Let each student choose one of the events to illustrate. When the drawings are finished, have the students retell the story. Bind the drawings together to create a class book.

Wall Dragon on Parade
Remove the Food Group Wall Dragon from the wall. Attach a yardstick to each of the six sections. As part of your cultural diversity studies, discuss Chinese New Year. Explain that during Chinese New Year there is a parade with a dragon. Have students parade with the dragon through the school halls. Teach some simple footwork to do as they parade:

• Stretch right foot to the right and touch toe.
• Move right foot back to center and step flat.
• Stretch left foot to the left and touch toe.
• Move left foot back to center and step flat.
• Four walking steps (right, left, right, left).
• Repeat.

Nutrition Expedition Programs © 2005

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