Open Letter to Nutrition Foods Teachers

This is a curriculum guide. Consequently, it contains topics concepts (generalizations), objectives and learning activities. Teachers must do their own lesson plans. As is typical of curriculum guides, very little content is included, but teachers are provided with resources and references from which to get much of the needed background information; otherwise, the guide would be too large and cumbersome for practical use.

This curriculum guide is intended for use as a semester course in basic nutrition and foods at the ninth or tenth grade level. This nutrition and foods curriculum is an important part of the articulated nutrition education program, K-12 for the State of Utah. It is a basis curriculum, meant for students who have not had in-depth experiences with food science and nutrition subject matter.

All nutrition and food science classes need to have management and introductory units in place. What is contained in this guide is based on belief that the teacher has started the course with CLASSROOM AND LABORATORY MANAGEMENT designed to be the first experience of the FOOD AND FITNESS course. The management unit is found in VOLUME 1 - the Utah State Board of Education curriculum guide NUTRITION AND FOOD SCIENCE-CLASSROOM AND LABORATORY MANAGEMENT CURRICULUM published in 1992. Every secondary school in the State of Utah has received copies of this curriculum.

The CURRICULUM FORMAT is organized around the theme WHY WE EAT. Students will relate to the purpose of food by thinking in terms of "why I eat food and what it does for me."

Each Section of the curriculum is designed to stand alone. Each section contains units of detailed study with scientific and technical information. A skills supplement follows which allows the teacher the opportunity to enhance the lesson material. The skills supplement should not be separated from its background units. However, teachers can sequence the different sections in any order they desire. This allows them to meet the needs of their individual situations and resources, e.g. the section on vitamins and minerals with its skill supplement could be moved to the time of year that fruits and vegetables are most economical and available in each local situation.

Some teaching strategies are included to assist the teacher with presentation of lessons. A list of resources is included to give the teacher some assistance in obtaining current and up-dated information on the ever changing subject of nutrition. Specific references and resources can be found at the beginning of each unit on page 2 - Section/Unit Resource Materials. This page lists the title of each worksheet or teaching aid in the unit. This title will be referenced in the OPTION or learning activity and is printed in caps and bolded for easy identification.

Each unit has a PRE-ASSESSMENT. It is found at the beginning of the unit before the background information. A pre-assessment lets the teacher assess the cultural literacy or prior knowledge of the students. The students need to be assured that performance on pre-assessment is never graded.

Teachers should be aware that the Food Pyramid and the Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) are used as the food guides in the curriculum. The skills supplement is organized around the traditional basic four groups as a guide. This underscores for the teacher and the students the basic concept of food guidelines and the idea that food guides are designed to facilitate consumer needs.