Making healthy choice regarding nutrition and exercise can be a daunting and confusing task. Through participating in hands-on activities and using real life situations, my goal is to give my students valuable information so they can begin to make choices that are healthier and beneficial. This unit has been developed using an interdisciplinary approach to instruction. Students will learn science content through direct instruction as well as through reading non-fiction text, journal writing, math problem solving, and physical education.

This unit is designed for a third grade classroom and is divided into three concept areas. The first concept focuses on calories in and will teach students about food calories and what is in the food we eat as well as components of a healthy diet. The next concept deals with digestion and in this portion of the unit students will develop their own research project to learn about the digestive process. After they have completed their research, students will be responsible for creating a presentation of the research using, but not limited to power point, posters, or plays. The final concept spotlights calories out and will expose students to the benefits of physical activity.

(Developed for Science, Math, and Physical Education, grade 3; recommended for Science, grades 3-5)