In the Classroom
One of the best ways to encourage students to learn about good food and proper nutrition is with hands-on activities. While kindergarteners will delight in choosing ingredients for a special classroom granola, students in high school can learn the science behind an emulsion with homemade mayonnaise. Use this list as a jumping point to explore the world of food with students.
Elementary School
- Create a list of favorite lunches to share with families
- Build a baking soda volcano
- Brainstorm a hypothetical restaurant, discussing different food themes and dishes to be served
- Create a replacement menu for fast-food restaurant
- Make a list of healthy snacks for students to keep with them during the day
- Mix a fruit salad
- Ask students to write about their favorite family meal
- Make pesto in a blender
- Stuff beans inside empty toilet paper rolls, seal and use as maracas
- Grow an avocado in a cup
- Fill a bowl with beans (or any small food) and discuss estimation
- Practice measuring with bowls of flour or water and sets of measuring spoons and cups
- Read a recipe in the classroom and make the food as a group, discussing how a recipe is structured and the importance of following directions
- Take a trip to a local farm
- Invite a farmer to visit the classroom
- Make butter by shaking a jar filled with milk
- Read the book Stone Soup and then make the soup in the classroom
Middle School
- Ask students to create a week-long meal plan for a family of four, using a limited budget
- Identify fruits and veggies from your area, and research each food’s growing season
- Designing a breakfast to share with families and serve it to them in the classroom
- Visit a restaurant and write a review
- Create a game show: What is the Healthy Choice?
- Grow a window box of herbs
- Have a bake sale and donate profits to a charity of the class’ choice
- Start a food drive for your school
- Write a recipe for a favorite food
- Host a lemonade stand in the cafeteria
- Ask students to recalculate a recipe based on double or triple servings
High School
- Make mayonnaise to learn about emulsion
- Analyze food and meals for calories and fat content
- Teach students about good fats versus bad fats
- Food challenges: create a dish with three specific ingredients
- Invite a chef, baker, grocery store manager or other food-related professional to speak to the class
- Bring in some foods and have students track the journey from their origin to your classroom
- Write an article comparing the healthy options of two fast-food restaurants
- Plant a vegetable garden in the schoolyard
- Have students swap recipes to take home and prepare—come back with comments/suggestions for the writer, based on how accurate the recipe’s directions were
- Volunteer at soup kitchens
- Study various world regions and identify the climates and indigenous foods for each area
- Start a food drive for the community







