Nutrition education lesson plans.

For grades K-1

Explore a variety of foods with your students through four experiential learning and tasting lesson plans: Cheese, Apples, Cereal, and Beans. Each lesson is designed to promote confidence and enjoyment among students in learning about and trying new foods. Exploring CheeseExploring ApplesExploring CerealExploring Beans

For grades 4-7

In this lesson, Grade 4-7 students use inquiry processes (ask questions; gather, interpret and analyze ideas; and communicate findings and decisions) to explore how meals have changed over two or three generations by interviewing their parents and grandparents. Estimated time: Class time for student presentations plus 20 minutes for wrap-up and discussion. Lesson PlanStudent Worksheet

For preschool to grade 12

Students will have the opportunity to prepare and share a healthy snack. Estimated time: ~ 30 minutes Food Costs: Approximately $8 for the yogurt. Remaining costs depend on choice of toppings. Yogurt Sundae Lesson Plan

For grades K-8

Students will make bread and learn about where flour comes from. They will explore the role of yeast in bread-making and make butter by hand.

Estimated time: 2 hours

Food Costs: $15-25 Kindergarten/Grade 1 Lesson PlanGrade 2/3 Lesson PlanGrade 4-8 Lesson PlanCurriculum links

For grades 2 to 12

Students will explore the cheese-making process and put knowledge into action by making cheese.

Estimated time: 60–120 minutes (plus 2 hours waiting for cheese to strain)

Food Costs: Approximately $10

Making Cheese Lesson Plan

For every grade level.

Students will explore the concept of mindfulness and will have the opportunity to participate in a mindful eating activity. Mindful eating is noticing how, what, where, when and why we eat. Practicing this skill helps us to understand how we feel, and how that can affect the food choices we make. Mindful eating connects physical, emotional and mental well-being, and increases awareness of the social and environmental factors influencing eating habits. A mindful eating approach can also be used during any eating opportunity, including lunchtime, snacks and any classroom lesson plan that involves food tasting. For lesson plans that use food, refer to our list of lesson plans here. Estimated time: 40-50 minutes Food costs: less than $5 Mindful Eating Lesson Plan

For students from Preschool to Grade 8

Students will have the opportunity to explore food and identify its sensory properties through a classic, engaging activity. Foods common to BC are best suited for this activity. Estimated time: ~30 minutes Estimated food cost: $10-15 (depends on chosen ingredients) Mystery Food Activity Lesson Plan

For Grades 2-3

In this lesson, students will explore food and develop language arts skills by creating and sharing riddles. Students can solve the two sample riddles in the lesson, then write their own food riddle and have classmates solve the riddle. Estimated time: 30 minutes Little Riddles Lesson Plan

For Grade 6 and up

In January 2019, Health Canada released the new food guide, “an online suite of resources...that encourages Canadians to eat healthy whenever and wherever they go.” Since its release, the food guide Snapshot (or “healthy eating plate”) has been given a lot of attention. However, when it comes to healthy eating, Health Canada has said this picture is just the tip of the iceberg. This activity allows students to benefit from diving below media headlines to think critically about whether those messages accurately reflect Canada’s dietary guidelines. Students will explore healthy eating habits and increase their digital health literacy. Estimated Time: about 1 hour, plus time for review and discussion. Lesson PlanStudent Worksheet