nutrition assignment for high school

• Skip to primary navigation
• Skip to main content
• Skip to primary sidebar

Teaching Expertise

• Classroom Ideas
• Teacher’s Life
• Deals & Shopping
• Privacy Policy

Nutrition Activities For High School: Digital Tasks, Snack Ideas, Investigation, And Worksheets

April 17, 2024 //  by  Chelsea Long

Learning about how, why, and what to eat before graduation can set students up for a lifetime of healthy eating habits.

Students have more options than ever in what they consume to fuel their bodies. GMOs, vegetarian, organic… so many choices! The following thought-provoking, engaging activities, lesson plans, and variety of resources help every high school student learn about nutrition, a healthy diet, their own eating habits, and why some methods of eating may be better than others, both for themselves and for the environment.

1. Should High Schoolers Eat Breakfast? 

As an introductory class, take the time to read a recent article with your students from the LA Times. Discuss the main points of the article, and whether or not your students agree with it. Take a poll of your class and find out how many of your students actually eat breakfast.

Learn More: Los Angeles Times High School Insider

2. Breakfast Brawl

This activity from the 4H has students create a dream breakfast with a certain budget. After that, students will discuss the breakfast items and rank them from most nutritious to least. This eye-opening lesson on food costing encourages a discussion of healthy food choices students make every morning.

Learn More: University of Massachusetts Amherst

3. MyPlate Quiz

This quiz will teach your students (and yourself) about your views on nutrition using interactive resources. It is created by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, using governmental resources on what we should be eating. Use these multi-media resources to learn about why you eat the way you do, and where to go from here.

Learn More: My Plate US Department of Agriculture

4. QR Stations Digital Activity 

Learn more about MyPlate and why it is a useful guideline for nutrition with these class activities. This activity includes QR stations (students love using their phones!), activity sheets, notes activity, video, information sheets, and more! This resource is all-in-one if you only have time for one of these great resources!

Learn More: Family Consumer Sciences

5. Nutrition Labels Deep Dive

Have students bring in their favorite foods and packaged food items- cookies, drinks, breakfast cereal, etc. Have them individually scrutinize the nutrition information, gain a better food label understanding, and discuss it as a class. Some students may be surprised by what their favorite snacks are hiding!

Learn More: Center For The Advancement Of Foodservice Education

6. Making Healthy Choices

Free printable booklet for students to learn about sodium, fiber, and sugar. This resource would make a great plan for a substitute, or for independent learning. This booklet succinctly highlights the pros and cons of each and how to eat healthfully.

Learn More: Deceptively Educational

7. Evaluating My Snacks

Compare different snack foods from the school cafeteria, food pictures, or items that students bring in. This worksheet is a great follow-up to the previous booklet where students learned about sodium, fiber, and sugar. Students can fill out their own information and compare it to a classmate.

Learn More: Deceptiveley Educational

8. Six Essential Nutrients 

Research the six essential nutrients we get from food. Have students create a poster to increase awareness about one of the six nutrients and post it for others to see. Create a nutrition campaign and promote healthy eating in your school!

Learn More: Mary Brown

9. Get Fooducated! 

This technology-based lesson uses iPads or phones and the Fooducate app. Scan snacks from the grocery store or cafeteria and find out what is really in your food. Weigh the pros and cons to decide if it is a healthy food or not.

Learn More: Hous View

10. Big Macromolecules

Use this chemistry lesson to determine what macromolecules can be found in a not-so-healthy meal, a Big Mac! Students will look for evidence of starch, glucose, proteins, and lipids. This activity is sure to be eye-popping – it begins with putting a Big Mac in a blender! These educational materials will help students decide on a more balanced diet.

Learn More: iTeachly

11. Hot Topics

Split your class into groups and have each group become the experts on a controversial hot topic about nutrition. This entire class discussion will help your students become the experts on healthy habits, organic vs. non-organic, superfoods, and plant-based diets.

Learn More: AFPA

12. From Farm to Fork

Here are 17 different lessons about how food travels from the factory to the consumer while preventing food poisoning. At the end of all of the links to teaching guides on the topics of the food system, farms, factories, food chains, and consumers, students are encouraged to create an action project utilizing what they have learned.

Learn More: Food Span

13. Wellness Week

Host a wellness week focused on healthier habits and nutrition at your school. Have students set up challenges such as who can try the newest fruits and vegetables, healthful foods, or who can eat the most locally, and give out healthy nutrition-themed prizes! Create a committee to come up with ideas!

Learn More: Real Mom Nutrition

14. Focus on 13 Essential Vitamins

Learn more about what vitamins are essential and where to find them. This will help students develop an idea of the foods they should be eating to make sure they are getting enough of them in their diet.

Learn More: Scholastic

15. Map Your Tongue! 

Use lemon juice, grapefruit juice, salt, and sugar to determine the layout of taste buds on your tongue with these hands-on activities. The tongue is the key to tasting foods and encouraging people to want to eat more of that food. Learning why you prefer certain flavors deepens your understanding of why you eat certain foods.

Learn More: Education

16. Examining Dietary Supplements

Learn about dietary supplements and their place in nutrition. Students will focus on caffeine, supplements, and energy products as students become more and more interested in consuming them. Determine if consuming these products is safe or risky.

Learn More: US Food and Drug Administration

17. Exploring Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering in the Food Supply 

This unit plan delves into the origin of agriculture and the genetic modification of a variety of foods. Included are activities such as extracting DNA from strawberries, managing pests, and changing the nutrients in food. Students will learn about past practices and how food evolved over time to what it is now.

18. Food Safety Guide

This unit plan teaches students about bacteria, and how it is managed in the farm, factory, store, and home. Included are activities about irradiation, heating, and using high pressure to make food safer to consume. This is a great way to increase knowledge of food and breaks down kid-friendly food safety.

19. You Are What You Drink

Identify different methods of making water safe to drink, and determine how individual communities treat their drinking water. Learn about how drinking water was purified over time, and how engineering has made drinking water safer than ever.

Learn More: Teach Engineering

20. Drink More Water! 

Read about why it is important to drink water during the school day and create a poster campaign to increase awareness in your school. Microlearning modules provide background information and steps students can take to drink more during the school day.

Learn More: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

• CORE CURRICULUM 
• LITERACY > CORE CURRICULUM  > Into Literature, 6-12" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Into Literature, 6-12" aria-label="Into Literature, 6-12"> Into Literature, 6-12
• LITERACY > CORE CURRICULUM  > Into Reading, K-6" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Into Reading, K-6" aria-label="Into Reading, K-6"> Into Reading, K-6
• INTERVENTION
• LITERACY > INTERVENTION > English 3D, 4-12" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="English 3D, 4-12" aria-label="English 3D, 4-12"> English 3D, 4-12
• LITERACY > INTERVENTION > Read 180, 3-12" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Read 180, 3-12" aria-label="Read 180, 3-12"> Read 180, 3-12
• SUPPLEMENTAL 
• LITERACY > SUPPLEMENTAL  > A Chance in the World SEL, 8-12" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="A Chance in the World SEL, 8-12" aria-label="A Chance in the World SEL, 8-12"> A Chance in the World SEL, 8-12
• LITERACY > SUPPLEMENTAL  > Amira Learning, K-6" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Amira Learning, K-6" aria-label="Amira Learning, K-6"> Amira Learning, K-6
• LITERACY > SUPPLEMENTAL  > Classcraft, K-8" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Classcraft, K-8" aria-label="Classcraft, K-8"> Classcraft, K-8
• LITERACY > SUPPLEMENTAL  > JillE Literacy, K-3" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="JillE Literacy, K-3" aria-label="JillE Literacy, K-3"> JillE Literacy, K-3
• LITERACY > SUPPLEMENTAL  > Waggle, K-8" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Waggle, K-8" aria-label="Waggle, K-8"> Waggle, K-8
• LITERACY > SUPPLEMENTAL  > Writable, 3-12" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Writable, 3-12" aria-label="Writable, 3-12"> Writable, 3-12
• LITERACY > SUPPLEMENTAL  > ASSESSMENT" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="ASSESSMENT" aria-label="ASSESSMENT"> ASSESSMENT
• CORE CURRICULUM
• MATH > CORE CURRICULUM > Arriba las Matematicas, K-8" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Arriba las Matematicas, K-8" aria-label="Arriba las Matematicas, K-8"> Arriba las Matematicas, K-8
• MATH > CORE CURRICULUM > Go Math!, K-6" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Go Math!, K-6" aria-label="Go Math!, K-6"> Go Math!, K-6
• MATH > CORE CURRICULUM > Into Algebra 1, Geometry, Algebra 2, 8-12" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Into Algebra 1, Geometry, Algebra 2, 8-12" aria-label="Into Algebra 1, Geometry, Algebra 2, 8-12"> Into Algebra 1, Geometry, Algebra 2, 8-12
• MATH > CORE CURRICULUM > Into Math, K-8" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Into Math, K-8" aria-label="Into Math, K-8"> Into Math, K-8
• MATH > CORE CURRICULUM > Math Expressions, PreK-6" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Math Expressions, PreK-6" aria-label="Math Expressions, PreK-6"> Math Expressions, PreK-6
• MATH > CORE CURRICULUM > Math in Focus, K-8" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Math in Focus, K-8" aria-label="Math in Focus, K-8"> Math in Focus, K-8
• SUPPLEMENTAL
• MATH > SUPPLEMENTAL > Classcraft, K-8" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Classcraft, K-8" aria-label="Classcraft, K-8"> Classcraft, K-8
• MATH > SUPPLEMENTAL > Waggle, K-8" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Waggle, K-8" aria-label="Waggle, K-8"> Waggle, K-8
• MATH > INTERVENTION > Math 180, 3-12" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Math 180, 3-12" aria-label="Math 180, 3-12"> Math 180, 3-12
• SCIENCE > CORE CURRICULUM  > Into Science, K-5" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Into Science, K-5" aria-label="Into Science, K-5"> Into Science, K-5
• SCIENCE > CORE CURRICULUM  > Into Science, 6-8" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Into Science, 6-8" aria-label="Into Science, 6-8"> Into Science, 6-8
• SCIENCE > CORE CURRICULUM  > Science Dimensions, K-12" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Science Dimensions, K-12" aria-label="Science Dimensions, K-12"> Science Dimensions, K-12
• SCIENCE > READERS > ScienceSaurus, K-8" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="ScienceSaurus, K-8" aria-label="ScienceSaurus, K-8"> ScienceSaurus, K-8
• SOCIAL STUDIES > CORE CURRICULUM  > HMH Social Studies, 6-12" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="HMH Social Studies, 6-12" aria-label="HMH Social Studies, 6-12"> HMH Social Studies, 6-12
• SOCIAL STUDIES > SUPPLEMENTAL > Writable" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Writable" aria-label="Writable"> Writable
• For Teachers 
• PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT > For Teachers  > Coachly" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Coachly" aria-label="Coachly"> Coachly
• PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT > For Teachers  > Teacher's Corner" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Teacher's Corner" aria-label="Teacher's Corner"> Teacher's Corner
• PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT > For Teachers  > Live Online Courses" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Live Online Courses" aria-label="Live Online Courses"> Live Online Courses
• PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT > For Teachers  > Program-Aligned Courses" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Program-Aligned Courses" aria-label="Program-Aligned Courses"> Program-Aligned Courses
• For Leaders
• PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT > For Leaders > The Center for Model Schools (formerly ICLE)" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="The Center for Model Schools (formerly ICLE)" aria-label="The Center for Model Schools (formerly ICLE)"> The Center for Model Schools (formerly ICLE)
• MORE > undefined > Assessment" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Assessment" aria-label="Assessment"> Assessment
• MORE > undefined > Early Learning" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Early Learning" aria-label="Early Learning"> Early Learning
• MORE > undefined > English Language Development" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="English Language Development" aria-label="English Language Development"> English Language Development
• MORE > undefined > Homeschool" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Homeschool" aria-label="Homeschool"> Homeschool
• MORE > undefined > Intervention" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Intervention" aria-label="Intervention"> Intervention
• MORE > undefined > Literacy" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Literacy" aria-label="Literacy"> Literacy
• MORE > undefined > Mathematics" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Mathematics" aria-label="Mathematics"> Mathematics
• MORE > undefined > Professional Development" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Professional Development" aria-label="Professional Development"> Professional Development
• MORE > undefined > Science" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Science" aria-label="Science"> Science
• MORE > undefined > undefined" data-element-type="header nav submenu">
• MORE > undefined > Social and Emotional Learning" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Social and Emotional Learning" aria-label="Social and Emotional Learning"> Social and Emotional Learning
• MORE > undefined > Social Studies" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Social Studies" aria-label="Social Studies"> Social Studies
• MORE > undefined > Special Education" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Special Education" aria-label="Special Education"> Special Education
• MORE > undefined > Summer School" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Summer School" aria-label="Summer School"> Summer School
• BROWSE RESOURCES
• BROWSE RESOURCES > Classroom Activities" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Classroom Activities" aria-label="Classroom Activities"> Classroom Activities
• BROWSE RESOURCES > Customer Success Stories" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Customer Success Stories" aria-label="Customer Success Stories"> Customer Success Stories
• BROWSE RESOURCES > Digital Samples" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Digital Samples" aria-label="Digital Samples"> Digital Samples
• BROWSE RESOURCES > Events" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Events" aria-label="Events"> Events
• BROWSE RESOURCES > Grants & Funding" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Grants & Funding" aria-label="Grants & Funding"> Grants & Funding
• BROWSE RESOURCES > International" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="International" aria-label="International"> International
• BROWSE RESOURCES > Research Library" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Research Library" aria-label="Research Library"> Research Library
• BROWSE RESOURCES > Shaped - HMH Blog" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Shaped - HMH Blog" aria-label="Shaped - HMH Blog"> Shaped - HMH Blog
• BROWSE RESOURCES > Webinars" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Webinars" aria-label="Webinars"> Webinars
• CUSTOMER SUPPORT
• CUSTOMER SUPPORT > Contact Sales" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Contact Sales" aria-label="Contact Sales"> Contact Sales
• CUSTOMER SUPPORT > Customer Service & Technical Support Portal" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Customer Service & Technical Support Portal" aria-label="Customer Service & Technical Support Portal"> Customer Service & Technical Support Portal
• CUSTOMER SUPPORT > Platform Login" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Platform Login" aria-label="Platform Login"> Platform Login
• Learn about us
• Learn about us > About" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="About" aria-label="About"> About
• Learn about us > Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion" aria-label="Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion"> Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
• Learn about us > Environmental, Social, and Governance" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Environmental, Social, and Governance" aria-label="Environmental, Social, and Governance"> Environmental, Social, and Governance
• Learn about us > News Announcements" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="News Announcements" aria-label="News Announcements"> News Announcements
• Learn about us > Our Legacy" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Our Legacy" aria-label="Our Legacy"> Our Legacy
• Learn about us > Social Responsibility" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Social Responsibility" aria-label="Social Responsibility"> Social Responsibility
• Learn about us > Supplier Diversity" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Supplier Diversity" aria-label="Supplier Diversity"> Supplier Diversity
• Join Us > Careers" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Careers" aria-label="Careers"> Careers
• Join Us > Educator Input Panel" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Educator Input Panel" aria-label="Educator Input Panel"> Educator Input Panel
• Join Us > Suppliers and Vendors" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Suppliers and Vendors" aria-label="Suppliers and Vendors"> Suppliers and Vendors
• Divisions > Center for Model Schools (formerly ICLE)" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Center for Model Schools (formerly ICLE)" aria-label="Center for Model Schools (formerly ICLE)"> Center for Model Schools (formerly ICLE)
• Divisions > Heinemann" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Heinemann" aria-label="Heinemann"> Heinemann
• Divisions > NWEA" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="NWEA" aria-label="NWEA"> NWEA
• Platform Login

HMH Support is here to help you get back to school right. Get started

SOCIAL STUDIES

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Activities & Lessons

7 Nutrition Lesson Plans and Activities for High School Students

Teens aren't exactly known for their healthy eating habits. Only about 7% of U.S. high school students meet the daily recommendations for fruit, and just 2% meet the recommendations for veggies, according to a 2017 CDC report . Another recent study found that two-thirds of teens’ calories come from “ultra-processed foods” like cookies, candy, chips, chicken nuggets, and pizza. The pandemic has only exacerbated bad eating habits. National Nutrition Month in March is a good time to hit reset.

This year’s theme—Personalize Your Plate—will appeal to teens’ individualist spirit. “There’s no universal way to eat healthy,” Su-Nui Escobar told Shaped . She’s a dietitian and spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, which started National Nutrition Month . "'Personalize Your Plate' is about respecting who we are and where we come from. Start with the way you like to eat, and then figure out how to make it healthy."

The trick is to add nutrition without removing the joy our favorite foods give us. "Young people should be encouraged to play with their food," Escobar says. "Keep it fun. Eating nutritiously doesn't have to feel like a diet." The ideas for nutrition lesson plans and activities for high school that follow will help students accomplish this goal.

Fresh and Fun Nutrition Lesson Plans for High School

Kick-start a commitment to healthy eating this National Nutrition Month with these nutrition lesson plan and activity ideas for high school students.

1. Meal Makeover

Dietitian Su-Nui Escobar told Shaped that she often turns traditional Mexican favorites into plant-based recipes for her family. She prepares tacos al pastor, which are traditionally made with pork, using jackfruit (a relative of figs), pineapple, and spices. To give pizza a healthy twist, teens might try topping it with plenty of veggies or simply pair it with a side salad jazzed up with roasted vegetables. To satisfy a sweet tooth, cut-up fruit with a drizzle of honey can do the trick. If potato chips and other salty snacks are their go-to, they can swap in air-popped popcorn or kale chips. Here's a list of fun and easy-to-make snacks for teens (and adults!).

Have students try their hand at transforming a not-so-healthy meal into a more wholesome option. They might choose a traditional family meal or a favorite breakfast, lunch, or snack item and come up with ideas for making it meatless, vegan, higher in fiber, or lower in fat or salt. They should present the revamped recipe along with a paragraph describing the change in ingredients and nutrients.

2. A Look at Labels

Tell students that the updated nutrition label can help them make informed choices and establish healthy eating habits for a lifetime. Have students explore the label independently using this interactive from the FDA. Or, you can share the image below to review the label changes with the entire class. Ask: Why do you think "calories" are in large, bold font? Why is it important to take note of the "serving size?" Do you think "added sugars" is a needed addition to the label? Why or why not?

Have students bring in nutrition labels from their favorite foods and drinks to analyze. Give them these tips for evaluating how healthy the foods are:

• 100 calories per serving is considered moderate, while 400 or more calories per serving is considered high in calories
• 5% Daily Value or less per serving of a nutrient is low; while 20% DV or more per serving of a nutrient is high
• Nutrients to get more of (strive for 100% DV every day): dietary fiber, vitamin D, calcium, iron, potassium
• Nutrients to limit: saturated fat, sodium, added sugars, trans fat

3. Mindful Eating

Tell students that mindful eating means paying attention to the food we buy, prepare, and eat. Savoring each bite we take can put an end to mindless bingeing and lead to better health. Challenge students to give mindful eating a try using a small piece of chocolate, fruit, or vegetable. Have them follow these steps:

• Hold the chocolate in your hand. What does it feel like?
• Study the chocolate. How would you describe it?
• Smell the chocolate. What comes to mind?
• Let the chocolate sit on your tongue. What textures and flavors do you note?

Talk over the exercise with your students. Ask: Was the experience enjoyable? Why or why not? What did you discover about your eating habits? What do you think is the purpose behind eating mindfully? Will you continue to eat mindfully? Explain.

4. Got Fruits and Veggies?

Challenge students to design an ad for a vegetable or fruit of their choice. Tell them their goal is to convince teens to eat the avocado, arugula, asparagus, papaya, mango, pear, or other produce that they are promoting. The campaign should convey:

• Benefits of eating the vegetable or fruit
• Excitement for the product using a catchy tagline Example: Got Milk? (California Milk Processor Board), I’m Lovin' It (McDonald’s)

Tell students the trick is to create a campaign that appeals to teens and their values. They should also consider the best medium to reach their audience—maybe it’s a social media platform like Instagram or TikTok, or maybe it’s a billboard, print magazine, or TV ad. Allow time for students to present their campaigns to the class and get critical feedback.

5. Ready, Set, Cook!

Invite a local chef to do a super-simple healthy cooking demo over Zoom or another platform for your students. Give the guest some guidelines. The recipe should

• Use inexpensive and easy-to-find ingredients
• Require only common kitchen tools
• Include tips for making the recipe vegetarian, vegan, or gluten-free
• Be made available to students before the demo

If you can’t book a local chef, you can show students how to make a healthy snack yourself or invite a student to take on the demo. You might give students the option of recording themselves making the snack and sharing the video with the class instead of doing a live demo.

Yet another option is to simply share one of the many cooking videos on the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics website . You'll find video how-to's for making no-bake chocolate cherry oat bars , pizza hummus , or healthy Alfredo bagel bites . Encourage students to make one of the recipes and write a review of the food that includes a photo of the final product.

6. The Dietitian Is In

Invite a local dietitian to answer students’ questions about nutrition over a Zoom call. Have students read up on the dietitian’s background and expertise beforehand. Brainstorm a list of questions that students would like to ask, keeping in mind the dietitian’s expertise. Encourage students to ask follow-up questions during the talk. For homework, have students write a paragraph explaining how they will incorporate one piece of nutrition advice that the dietitian shared into their daily routine.

7. Nutrition Know-How

Test students’ knowledge of nutrition with this quiz from the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics . Read each statement aloud and have students determine if it’s “fact” or “fiction,” using an online polling tool like Kahoot.

Did students have trouble telling fact from fiction? Have them choose one statement they identified incorrectly. Then have them do research to determine why the statement is true or false. For an added challenge, have students choose a health trend they’re interested in, such as plant-based or low-carb diets, mindful eating, environmentally-friendly nutrition, the brain-gut connection, probiotics, organic foods, and the like. Then have them write a quiz (they can make it interactive using Kahoot or another online tool) using facts they find in their research. Remind them to include an answer key that explains why each statement is true or false.

More Nutrition Lesson Plans for High School Classrooms

There are many more nutrition lesson plan starters for high school available on the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics website . Among the resources that can serve as a jumping off point for a lesson on eating well: nutrition sudoku, video cooking demos, and healthy lifestyle tip sheets, including "Healthy Eating on the Run" and "Smart Snacking Tips for Adults and Teens."

Have more nutrition lesson plan and activity ideas for high school students? Email us at [email protected] or tweet us at @TheTeacherRoom .

Learn more about HMH Science Dimensions , enabling teachers to guide K–12 students in learning through exploration, analysis, application, and explanation.

Download our FREE 2022–2023 calendar of activities.

• Activities & Lessons
• Grades 9-12

Related Reading

How to Create a Virtual Field Trip for Students That Engages and Delights

First-Grade Teacher

August 14, 2024

Lending a Hand: Classroom Jobs for Students

Alicia Ivory Shaped Editor

Fun Science Activities and Lesson Plan Ideas for All Grades

Shaped Executive Editor

August 5, 2024

• Our Content
• Success Stories
• Schedule A Demo
• Login / Register

Nutrition Lesson Plans For High School (With Downloadable PDF)

• Doug Curtin
• January 21, 2022

We try to encourage healthy eating with our students, but what does that actually look like? Nutrition lesson plans for high school students help to empower long-term healthy lifestyles that go past being able to recite the food pyramid for a test. Nutrition education is about the long-term benefits we can instill with our students. 

Struggling to find nutrition worksheets for high school?

Physical education aims to address the total health and wellness of students. Part of living a complete healthy lifestyle is understanding nutrition! Therefore, teachers seek to help students understand nutrition information so that they can make healthy food choices. 

You might find a worksheet or two, but you want more than a few printable posters to hang in your gymnasium! That’s where finding nutrition activities for high school students that put together the complete picture of nutrition can be challenging! 

Creating a high school nutrition curriculum is challenging! 

Nutrition curriculum for high school students is about balancing science and real-world application. At the high school level, students can begin to explore:

• Food chemistries like macronutrients and micronutrients
• Impact of food on future physical and mental health
• Impact of movement on physical and mental health health

We might be eager to jump right into food groups, dietary guidelines, and balanced diets, but we need to progress students through comprehensive nutrition lesson plans just like we do in any other topic or subject.

Intro To Nutrition EBook

This E-book comes fully loaded with written and video lessons covering calories, carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. 

Four Nutrition Activities For high school students

Starting with chemistries can be an excellent place to begin for any high school student. We can take a three-part approach with nutrition activities for high school students.

1) Written & Visual Materials:  This is where students can get the more traditional nutrition education you might be familiar with. You can hand this portion out as a worksheet.

2) Video Resources:  There are many gray areas and questions that come up for high school students when we talk about nutrition. This portion allows students to hear a nutrition expert talk about it and answer frequently asked questions. 

3) Chapter Questions:  A great way to make nutrition education interactive! Paired discussion questions that support the written and video resources can be used in various ways. For example, you can assign these questions for small groups or class discussions or ask students to submit their answers. 

Here are four nutrition lesson plans for high school that introduce calories, carbohydrates, proteins, and fats that you could use with your students in class!

Lesson 1: Calories

Written lesson.

Calories are not evil, and they do not need to be avoided. In fact, calories are essential because they are what our bodies convert to energy. In our previous lesson, we talked about what happens when bodies don’t get enough energy. But where IS the energy in food?

There are four chemistries (or types) of calories, and they may sound familiar – carbohydrates, proteins, fats, and alcohol. The first three chemistries are necessary for human health, but the last (alcohol) is not.

These chemistries are not exactly the same as the food groups we were taught when we were younger. Any given food (and food group) can be a combination of energy chemistries.

Looking at food in terms of chemistry instead of food groups is a little complicated at first. But it helps us understand foods that don’t fit cleanly in a food group (e.g., pizza).

And it allows us to get past “good” or “bad” food. Instead, we can look at a food’s chemistry and better predict how it will impact performance and health. 

What our body sees when we eat? 

Bodies don’t recognize food groups. When we eat a banana, our body doesn’t say, “Ah-ha! A fruit!” 

Instead, it sees carbohydrates in the form of sugar, starch, and a little fiber. It also sees a little protein and fat, as well as a slew of vitamins and water.

Here are a few examples of the the energy in our food:

-Fruits: Water + carbohydrate (sugar, starch, fiber) -Vegetables: Water + carbohydrate (little starch, mostly fiber) -Beans / Lentils : Carbohydrate (starch, fiber) + protein + little fat -Meat / Eggs / Fish: Protein + fat -Grains: Carbohydrate (starch + some fiber) + some protein + little fat -Milk/Yogurt: Water + Carbohydrate (sugar) + protein + fat

How many calories do we need?

Now that we have an understanding of “what” calories are, how do we figure out how many to consume? The human body has a wide range of energy needs so it’s difficult to put an exact number on it.

There are formulas and general recommendations, but there can be huge variances based on sex, age, height, muscle mass, and physical activity intensity and duration. Even factors like what we eat, how often we eat, and our mental health can impact energy needs.

But in general, boys between the ages of 13-19 need at least an average of 2000-3000 calories per day, and girls ages 13-19 need at least an average of 1600-2400. But it’s not uncommon for active, growing bodies to need more, and there can be tremendous day-to-day swings in energy needs based on activity.

There’s also nothing magical about the number. Bodies are incredibly flexible, and can easily adapt to increased and decreased intake without changing the body itself.

How do we assess if we are eating too little or too much? How do we do this in an easy and straightforward way that we can apply to our daily lives? In our next lesson, we will explore ways to listen to the body to determine our energy needs.

Chapter Questions

1: What are the 2 major classifications of nutrients?

2: Name at least 5 things that influence a person’s energy needs?

3: On average, how many calories do people need?

4: Name at least 3 signs of not getting enough energy?

5: What’s the primary indicator of someone’s body size?

6: How much does a person’s body weight change on average between the beginning of the day and end of the day?

7: What are at least 3 of the behaviors that might drive someone to eat beyond what their body needs?

8: What are at 2 signs of mild to moderate hunger?

9: What are 2 signs of extreme hunger?

Lesson 2: Carbohydrates

Before we dive into the wide world of carbohydrates, let’s make sure we have a clear definition of what they are.

Popular culture refers to things like grains and sugars as carbs. However, carbohydrates refer to the chemistry that make up any plant-based food. Fruits, vegetables, grains, and sugars are all made of carbohydrates. 

When we talk about carbs, we are referring to the chemistry of the food (carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen).

All carbs are created from sugar molecules (glucose, fructose, galactose). What changes between the types of carbohydrates (sugar, starch, and fiber) are the number of molecules, and the complexity of the bond between the molecules, making them easier or harder to break apart.

As those molecules bind together in various ways, they form compounds we are more familiar with. These include things such as starch (found in potato, grains, corn, etc.), fiber (something we can’t digest), sugars (found in milk, yogurt, fruits and sweeteners like honey, syrup, cane sugar).

What They Do For Us?

There is a lot of confusion and concern about carbohydrates these days. So before we get any further, let’s be clear: Carbohydrates are not evil!

Carbohydrates are the perfect package of nutrients for the body and provide many benefits such as:

1) Energy  – Our body can quickly break down and use energy from carbohydrates to think and move. Fat and protein take more time and effort, making them a lower quality fuel source. Our brain alone uses around 400 calories of carbohydrates per day (or approximately 120 grams).

2) Fiber – Found in whole grains, fruits, and vegetables. Fiber cannot be digested. It keeps us regular in the bathroom, prevents disease, and stabilizes energy. It also keeps us fuller longer. Beneficial for gastrointestinaI health, disease prevention, and feeling fuller longer. You cannot get fiber from animal-based foods. Fiber, by definition, is a type of carbohydrate.

3) Antioxidants – Prevent against free radicals that can cause disease. You won’t find antioxidants in animal-based foods.

4) Protein – Plant-based proteins can meet all of our protein needs without the need to eat meat, but have to be appropriately paired for good nutrition (more on this in the protein chapter)

5) Vitamins and minerals  – Carbohydrates provide a wide variety of nutrients, including b-vitamins (thiamin, riboflavin, and niacin) used to convert food to energy and support our nervous system, calcium for our bones, iron to support oxygen transport in the blood, and folate to help us produce red blood cells.

Carbohydrates = Energy 

As you can see, at the top of the list is the energy we can get from carbohydrates. Carbohydrates are the preferred fuel source for the body. Ideally, people should have at least 50-75 percent of their daily energy needs from carbohydrates – a mixture of fruits, vegetables, and grains.

When we eat something with carbohydrates, whether it’s a fruit, grain, vegetable, or sweetener like sugar, our body can quickly break down the molecules of carbohydrates and turn them into blood glucose (aka blood sugar).

The blood glucose is then transported to the muscles, brain, and vital organs to convert to energy (or ATP). Any unused glucose gets stored for later, and when those storage spots are full, it can convert it to body fat for later use. In other words, energy now, and energy for later.

MYTH BUSTING: Before anyone panics when they see body fat, let’s dispel another myth. The myth that carbs convert to body fat more than other nutrients is not true. Our body is constantly putting nutrients in and out of storage. It never “throws” them away. This is a natural and normal part of human physiology and not something unique to carbs and blood glucose. They are NOT more likely to become body fat than any other nutrient.

Different Types of Energy: 

One of the benefits of carbohydrate-rich foods is that they can give you energy quickly. So if you’re trying to fuel up to train, study, or go about your day, carbohydrates should be the food of choice.

The downside is that because carbohydrates are digested and absorbed quickly when we eat a meal that is purely carbohydrates, we tend to feel hungry sooner. Conversely, when we eat foods with more protein and fat, we feel fuller longer, as these take longer to break down.

For example, a plate of pasta with salad is filling, but it likely won’t keep you full as long as a plate of pasta with chicken and salad.

Sugars provide energy the fastest. However, because sugar is broken down and absorbed quickly, it leaves us looking to replace energy faster than when we consume starch. If we add fiber to the equation, we get even more sustainable energy. Add protein and fat, and we get the most sustainable energy.

However, you don’t need chemistry to explain that to you. You can feel the difference when you drink a can of soda vs. eating a turkey sandwich. Both have the same carbohydrate content, but where those carbohydrates comes from, and what it’s paired with, makes all the difference.

What Comes Next? 

As you can see, there is a lot of overlap when it comes to talking about carbohydrates. Hopefully, you can see that carbs are good for us, and provide us energy to fuel our lives. The next question that almost inevitably follows, is how to decipher between “good” and “bad” carbs? 

So, let us be clear. Carbohydrates are not “good” or “bad” – they’re just different chemistries with different purposes. Instead of looking at carbohydrates as good and bad, you will notice that we have talked a lot about sugar, starch, and fiber. 

In our next chapter, we will break down the three types of carbohydrates in more detail. We will talk about where to find them, and what they do for us! Understanding the chemistry allows you to better plan and balance your meals for health and performance.

1:What are the main types of carbohydrates?

2: Which food groups contain carbohydrates?

3: What functions do carbohydrates serve in the body?

Lesson 3: Proteins

Protein is the second nutrient we’ll explore on our nutrition journey. Recall that we started by understanding the importance of nutrition for growing bodies and unpacked some of the ways our body communicates its needs. 

From there, we explored the idea of energy – what it is and where it comes from. We took a deep dive into the body’s primary energy source – carbohydrates. And now it’s time to figure out what’s up with protein. 

Does it live up to the media hype? Like the other macronutrients (carbohydrates and fat), our body uses protein as energy. But it’s valuable for other functions as well.  Additionally, depending on where you get your protein, there are some considerations for your daily routine.

Where It’s Found?

Remember that when we talk about “protein,” we’re not just talking about food groups. We are talking about the chemical compounds found within foods.

Protein can be found in animal-based foods like beef, chicken, pork, fish, eggs, yogurt, milk, and cheese.

Protein can also be found in plant-based foods like nuts, seeds, beans, lentils, peas, tempeh, and tofu. Lastly, grains like oatmeal, quinoa, wheat, and rice have protein as well, albeit smaller amounts.

What It Does?

Protein is a crucial nutrient for humans that goes beyond energy. Proteins are made of chains of amino acids. Amino acids are often called the building blocks of life – and for a good reason. 

Our bodies break down those chains and use the amino acids to support growth and development, biochemical reactions, the immune system, and neurological functions. Amino acids also transport nutrients, send biochemical messages, create structures, and repair muscles.

If we don’t get enough protein over time, humans can develop a serious condition called “protein-calorie malnutrition.” In our modern world, it’s not common unless someone is severely restricting their food or avoiding all protein sources. But in developing countries where food is scarce, it’s more common.

While protein is important, protein has been glorified beyond what’s needed for health and performance. Most people in the United States get more protein than they need each day.  

How Much We Need?

Protein needs are personally driven, and are typically based on weight, age, as well as the type, intensity, and duration of the training you do. 

For those who are inactive, the recommendation from the International Society of Sports Nutrition (ISSN) is around .8 to 1.2 grams of protein per kilogram (.3 to .5 grams per pound). 

For those who are active, ISSN notes that needs often increase to 1.4 to 2 grams per kilogram (.6 to .9 grams per pound) to support repair.

Those who are more intensely active or doing intense power or strength training,  tend to be on the higher end of the scale. Needs also might fluctuate day to day, and season to season depending on training.

To put that in perspective, a 150-pound athlete would need between 90 and 150* grams of protein per day. It’s possible to get that from food depending on appetite needs and food availability. 

Let’s break that down further, meal by meal:

Breakfast – 1 cup greek yogurt (12 grams) Snack – 2 eggs (14 grams) Lunch – 1 cup beans (15 grams) with 4 oz chicken (28 grams) Snack – 1 cup greek yogurt (12 grams) Dinner – 4 oz chicken (28 grams)

= approximately 96 grams

Simply add three, 8 oz glasses of milk (7 grams of protein), and you’ve got another 21 grams of protein pretty easily.

Health Benefits Of Protein Rich Foods: 

There are 21 amino acids that are the building blocks of life. Nine of those amino acids are called “essential” because our bodies cannot make them and therefore they must come from our food. When we eat an animal source of protein, we get all of the essential amino acids within that food – no questions asked.

When we eat an animal source of protein, we get all of the essential amino acids within that food – no questions asked.

However, plants do not contain all of the essential amino acids in one package. Instead, different plants have different packages of amino acids. To get everything you need, you have to pair proteins for the full package. 

For example, when we eat beans along with a grain such as rice, we get two different subsets of amino acids. Similarly, peanut butter on bread would provide the right combination of different amino acids for your body.

However, amino acids are not the only benefit of protein-rich foods. There’s also a wealth of nutrients in protein-rich foods in varying amounts. These include: 

-Iron for oxygen transport -Vitamin B12 for our nervous system and red blood cell production -B-vitamins (niacin, thiamin, riboflavin, and B6) provide a variety of functions in metabolism as well as our nervous system -Magnesium helps build bones and supports muscle function -Zinc can support your immune systems

In addition to vitamins and minerals, most animal sources of protein also contain fat, in the form of saturated fat. Fat is an essential nutrient for human health as it supports hormone development, and provides flavor and satisfaction. 

Saturated fat however, in large amounts, over a long period of time, is not great for heart health. That doesn’t mean animal proteins need to be avoided. It’s a matter of balancing higher fat protein options (bacon, sausage, ribs, hot dogs) with leaner options (chicken, turkey, fish, eggs).  We’ll learn more about the types of fat and how they support the body in the next module.

1: Which food groups contain protein?

2: How does protein support the body?

3: How much protein do we need?

4: What are the missing / limited nutrients in a plant based diet?

Lesson 4: Fats

People often misunderstand fat in our food. Just like the other macronutrients (carbohydrates and protein), our body uses dietary fat for energy, but it also supports our health in surprising ways. And just like the other nutrients, depending on where you get your fat, there are some important things to know.

What Is Fat?

Dietary fat is found in varying amounts in most foods – plants and animals. Just like carbohydrates, there are subcategories or types of dietary fats – unsaturated fats, saturated fats, and trans fats. 

Unsaturated fats can be further divided into more subcategories (see chart). What’s important to know is that the chemical structure of each is different and as a result, have varying impacts on the body.

Why Do We Need It?

Your body uses fat for a variety of functions – regardless of what type we eat. Dietary fats are a dense source of energy for the body – a small volume contains a large amount of energy. But fats are tough for the body to digest and turn to energy, so they’re not an ideal fuel source if you need energy quickly.

Beyond energy, fats of all types serve important functions such as: -Transport, absorb, and store vitamins A, D, E, and K​ -Contribute to sex hormone production and corticosteroids -Form the outer layer of every cell on our body (aka, the phospholipid bilayer) -Reduces inflammation in the body which helps recover from sport (Omega 3 fatty acids – a type of unsaturated fat) -Form much of the brain -Taste amazing and help us feel satisfied -Takes long to digest so we feel fuller, longer

Fats are found in plant and animal foods. In general, the fat found in any given food is not just one type. For example, food is rarely pure unsaturated fat. Instead, it’s a combination of saturated and unsaturated sources. 

Plant fats and fish fat tend to contain more unsaturated fats. Examples include nuts, seeds, olive oil, olives, avocado, salmon, tuna.

Animal fats and tropical plants tend to have more saturated fat. Examples include beef, pork, chicken, cheese, cream, coconut oil, palm oil.

Trans fats are unique. They are made of “partially hydrogenated” oils. They are not naturally found in foods.

Humans created them years ago to improve the texture and shelf life of processed foods like cookies, cakes, peanut butter, as well as some fried foods. Most trans fats have been removed from our food system, but here and there, you find a few companies still using partially hydrogenated oils.

What Do The Types Matter?

The human body needs dietary fat, but it prefers a balance of fat types for our overall health. When too much of our dietary fat comes from saturated and/or trans fat, it can impact our heart health in the future, increasing the risk of heart attacks and strokes for some people. 

In general, most of the fat we eat each day should come from plants and fish or “unsaturated” sources. It’s completely ok to have saturated fats, but it’s best to keep them a bit smaller part of what we eat. 

Trans fats have no benefit for the human body and have been shown to be harmful in large amounts. It’s best to avoid them when possible, but understand that a little now and again won’t harm you.

How Much Do I Need?

The amount of fat you need each day varies based on how much energy you need overall. As you recall from previous articles, daily energy needs change a lot depending on height, weight, age, physical activity, and so much more. Tracking and/or limiting what you eat based on precise numbers is not recommended, as it’s very difficult to predict changing needs. 

Our body (and health) care more about the average of what we eat over time – not daily perfection. It’s better to follow your personal cues (link to article about that).

But if you must have a number, in general, the guideline is that 25% of your daily energy comes from fat. For someone eating around 2000 calories per day, that’s approximately 55 grams of fat in total from unsaturated and saturated fats. Ideally, saturated fat is 5-6% of total energy or around 13 grams. 

Again, those are not hard and fast rules. That doesn’t mean if you’re above or below these numbers, something will happen to you. Instead, it’s a reference point.

But one way in which the numbers can be helpful is when you look at the food label. Often seemingly “healthy” foods can be very high in saturated fat depending on how it was made.

For example, you pick up a bag of chocolate-covered dried bananas – sounds amazing, right? You might assume it would give your body more nutrition than a cookie while still satisfying that sweet tooth. 

When you looked at the label though, you are shocked to see that a tiny serving had over 20 grams of saturated fat! That’s when you notice the bananas were fried with palm oil. So in that instance, you are better off enjoying a cookie than the deceptive health product. Tricky!

It’s much easier to think about fat in terms of food balance. In general, the goal is to try to choose plant or fish fats more often than animal fats while not relying too much on fried foods and processed foods for your energy each day.

Tips to add more unsaturated fats to your routine:

-Enjoy a handful of nuts/seeds between meals -Add nuts/seeds to meals (yogurt, salads) -Add avocado to sandwiches and salads -Add a side of guacamole to snack/meals -Use guacamole instead of mayo on sandwiches -Enjoy salmon occasionally -Enjoy tuna salad sandwiches

1: How does dietary fat support the body?

2: What are the different types of fat in the diet and where are they typically found?

3: Which type of fat may negatively impact heart health?

Download The Nutrition Lesson Plans High School PDF 

To use a nutrition joke, this was just a ‘taste’ of what can be in a robust nutrition curriculum. Download the first 6 full chapters of PLT4M’s Intro To Nutrition that have even high school nutrition lesson plans! This is full of excellent handouts that will help foster an interactive nutrition education experience! 

Final Points on Nutrition Lesson Plans For High School

Nutrition education matters! Because with students and all of us, it’s not about just what they achieve that day but it’s the relationship with food that they’re developing for the rest of their life. 

These lessons and modules provide a foundation of knowledge based on the chemistry of the food. Not good food, bad food, right food, wrong food, or any other fad in between.

But really helping people understand when you look at a food, what are you getting? And how do I shift that and apply it for who I am and what I need? So instead what we’re looking to be able to do is to empower the student with the knowledge, with the information, and the confidence to make the decision that is right for them.

What about nutrition lesson plans for middle school? 

Many of these activities could work intro nutrition lesson plans for middle school. Nutrition activities for middle school students begins to look closer to what we formally teach adults and high school students. This is the age where students begin the transition to formal operations. They begin to learn by logical use of symbols (eg, food groups) related to abstract concepts (eg, chemistry / biology). This age group is ready to expand on their nutrition foundation to….

• Learn which foods go in which food group and why
• Understand how to pair food / food groups to create satisfying meals
• Learn nutrients that come from various foods
• Avoid food / body comparisons

Do you have more than nutrition lesson plans for high school?

Yes, PLT4M is the leader in physical education content and provides a wide variety of  lesson plans for high school pe. 

The goal of all our lesson plans is to equip students with the skills to live a healthy lifestyle!  

What are the benefits of nutrition education in schools? 

There are both short and longterm benefits of nutrition education in schools . Nutrition education programs are not just about short term outcomes but instead about helping students establish a healthy relationship with food that supports them for the rest of their life. It starts with building a foundation.

What other health education topics does PLT4M have?

Check out more health education lesson plans from PLT4M here! Different topics include: 

• Drug and Substance Education
• Underage Drinking Prevention
• Digital Citizenship 
• Physical Literacy
• Personal Hygiene 
• Social Emotional Learning

Share this article:

Recent Posts

Volleyball Lesson Plans

Students Designing Personal Fitness Plans In PE

Tennis Lesson Plans

Interested if plt4m can work at your school.

Thank you @PLT4M for highlighting our program in this article!

Can Health & Wellness Education go digital like so much of the educational landscape?

Online Health Textbook

PLT4M offers a comprehensive online health textbook as part of it's curriculum and technology platform for school health and wellness.

BR Advanced PE students getting after it today! @PLT4M @BR_Schools

How some schools are fighting back against a troubling trend in Physical Education...

Why Are Schools Cutting Physical Education In High School?

Why are schools cutting physical education in high school? We take a look at the data and argue for more PE for grades 9-12!

How does a high school of 2,000 students provide individualized instruction in PE, across a wide range of needs and schedules?

Individualizing Phys Ed In A Large School Setting 

Arroyo Grande High School in California is personalizing the physical education experience for students. Check it out!

Do your state PE standards require students to design their own fitness plans? How do you manage this initiative in your classes? PLT4M offers a student workout builder as part of its Health and Wellness system!

Students designing personal fitness plans in PE can empower and build deeper connections to fitness and exercise. See how.

get.plt4m.com

• WordPress.org
• Documentation
• Learn WordPress
• Members Newsfeed

20 Nutrition Activities for High School Students

• Health & Wellness

1. Food Journaling: Have students maintain a food journal for a week, keeping track of everything they eat and drink. This will help them become more aware of their daily food choices and intake.

2. Analyze Nutritional Labels: Teach students how to read and interpret nutritional labels on packaged foods, and then have them compare labels of different products to make healthier selections.

3. Nutrient Research Project: Assign each student a specific nutrient to research, such as carbohydrates, protein, fats, vitamins or minerals. They can then present the information to the class through posters or group discussions.

4. Menu Planning: Have students plan a week’s worth of balanced, healthy meals considering dietary restrictions, budget constraints, and cooking skills.

5. Recipe Makeover: Encourage students to choose a favorite recipe and modify the ingredients or preparation methods to make it healthier.

6. Cook Off: Organize a healthy cooking competition where students create nutrient-dense meals from predetermined ingredients within a certain timeframe.

7. Portion Control Game: Teach students about proper portion sizes using visual aids and hands-on activities like measuring out servings of different food items.

8. Cultural Cuisine Exploration: Have students research the traditional foods of various countries to understand the cultural influences on diets worldwide.

9. Sugar Shock: Calculate the amount of sugar in popular beverages/snacks and display as visuals – using sugar cubes or measuring spoons –to illustrate excess sugar amounts that can be present in these items.

10. Calorie Countdown: Organize an activity that illustrates how many calories are burned during everyday activities like walking or cycling versus sedentary behavior like watching television or sitting at a computer.

11. Power Snacking: Teach students about the benefits of healthy snacking by sampling different options like yogurt parfaits with fruit and granola or veggie sticks with hummus.

12. Food Swap Challenge: Organize an event where students bring in unhealthy snacks they typically eat and swap them for healthier alternatives.

13. Advertising Analysis: Have students critically analyze advertisements for food products, and discuss the strategies used to promote these items.

14. Food Safety Training: Teach students the basics of food handling and preparation, including proper hygiene, cooking procedures, and storage techniques.

15. Nutritional Debate Teams: Stage a debate on hot-button nutrition issues like organic vs. conventional produce or the benefits of vegetarian diets.

16. Fruit & Veggie Bingo: Create bingo cards with images of fruits and vegetables for a fun game to encourage healthy eating habits.

17. Smoothie Day: Host a smoothie-making workshop using a variety of fruits, vegetables, and other healthy ingredients, teaching students about balanced nutrition through delicious blended drinks.

18. Plant a School Garden: Cultivate student appreciation for healthy foods by growing fresh fruit and vegetable gardens on school grounds.

19. Farm-to-School Program: Invite local farmers or food producers to speak to the class about their operations and how they contribute to community health and sustainability.

20. Community Service Project: Organize an initiative where students volunteer at soup kitchens or participate in community health events to gain firsthand experience with food-related needs that affect their local area.

Related Articles

Breathing exercises are not just beneficial for adults; they also offer a…

In today's fast-paced world, finding time to center oneself and practice mindfulness…

In a world where children are often swept up in the rush…

Pedagogue is a social media network where educators can learn and grow. It's a safe space where they can share advice, strategies, tools, hacks, resources, etc., and work together to improve their teaching skills and the academic performance of the students in their charge.

If you want to collaborate with educators from around the globe, facilitate remote learning, etc., sign up for a free account today and start making connections.

Pedagogue is Free Now, and Free Forever!

• New? Start Here
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Privacy Policy
• Terms of Service
• Registration

Don't you have an account? Register Now! it's really simple and you can start enjoying all the benefits!

We just sent you an Email. Please Open it up to activate your account.

I allow this website to collect and store submitted data.

Teaching High School Nutrition: 13 Ideas

To instill life-long healthy eating habits, take a hands-on approach.

Prisma is the world’s most engaging virtual school that combines a fun, real-world curriculum with powerful mentorship from experienced coaches and a supportive peer community

Nutrition education doesn’t have to be an endless stream of worksheets and handouts, full of facts and figures about macronutrients, calories and additives.

Yes, there are building blocks you’ll want to teach your child: knowing how to read a nutrition facts label is an essential part of adulting. But, to be meaningful, nutrition can’t just be about calories-per-gram and lists of vitamins and minerals. Kids will be so much more likely to absorb the information — and incorporate it into their lives — if it’s rooted in personal meaning.

Nutrition is multifaceted, highly individual and our understanding of it, ever-shifting. But that’s the good news. Unless your child is training to be a dietitian, there’s no pressure to master every scientific element. All you need is an on-ramp, and you’ll be able to help them learn about nutrition in a way that positively impacts their everyday food choices.

How to design nutrition lesson plans for high school students

Start from their interests.

Eating a balanced diet is considered one of the pinnacles of wellness, but why should we care about nutrition? Your child needs to have an answer that motivates them.

What gets your child excited? Chances are there’s a connection back to food. Do they love cooking? Are they open to starting a veggie patch or herb garden? Do they (or a loved one) have some kind of dietary restriction? Are they passionate about giving their best on the athletic field? Are they intrigued by experimentation and research? Curious about different cultural norms around food or how to use food medicinally?

Once you figure out the most meaningful point of entry, start there. Whether it’s getting your child in the kitchen to bake their own delicious and healthy birthday cake, learning to eat to improve their sports performance, or understanding how different cultures prize different ingredients, they’ll be more committed — and more likely to make healthy food choices — if they know why they’re studying nutrition to begin with.

Make it interactive

Shopping, cooking, eating: Nutrition is one of the most interactive parts of our life. Get your kids involved with as many of those elements as possible (and, for the green-thumbed out there, growing food as well).

Inviting kids to the grocery store is a great start — so you can have a real-time discussion about what you buy for the family and why. Take it a step further, and design a scavenger hunt where they need to locate foods that fit a certain nutritional profile (cookies with no saturated fat, chips with no trans fats, five different colored vegetables and fruits etc.). Added bonus: it might help you expand your family’s weekly menu.

Learning to understand food labels is important, but to make it meaningful, let them translate the data into something they can chew on. Since most kids will be eager to snack in the name of science, you could design a taste test: Pick comparable products, but with some key difference (more/less whole grains, different serving sizes). Have your kids rate the foods and then see how that corresponds to the nutritional values.

Sign up for more research-backed guides in your inbox

• Prisma is an accredited, project-based, online program for grades 4-12.
• Our personalized curriculum builds love of learning and prepares kids to thrive.
• Our middle school , high school , and parent-coach programs provide 1:1 coaching and supportive peer cohorts .

Build it slowly

We always recommend creating scaffolding around any new challenges. If you’re introducing them to the world of cooking and meal planning, they’ll be incorporating multiple new skills at once, including grocery shopping, navigating the kitchen and food safety.

In our weekly Prisma High School Life Skills course, we teach nutrition through hands-on challenges of increasing complexity. In the introductory challenges, learners explore their kitchens and grocery stores, until, over the course of weeks / months, they’re able to  meal plan on their own. This step-by-step approach allows learners to gain mastery and avoid that drinking-from-the-firehouse feeling.

Avoid “good food” / “bad food”

To the extent possible, avoid demonizing any food group. With the popularity of certain diets, kids may very well absorb the message that either fats or carbohydrates or protein (especially animal-based) are “bad” without knowing why, when all three are essential for sustaining physical activity from our brawn to our brains.

One way to shift from the black-and-white labeling of foods is to be more qualitative. If you try the comparative taste-test activity mentioned above, add on an additional element to  add nuance to the way we judge foods. Ask them to eat a certain snack, and then thirty minutes later reflect on how they feel: Are they immediately hungry again? Do they still feel satisfied? How energetic do they feel?

Have them write down their answers in a journal. Then, repeat the activity on successive days with different kinds of snacks or different quantities (low calorie, low fat, processed, fruits and veggies, carbohydrates versus protein, etc.), and see how their feelings change. Activities like these teach kids to reflect on the relationship between what they eat and how they feel.

Include emotions

Nutrition is not just about fuel. It is also deeply connected to our emotional well-being. All age groups can benefit from developing a more mindful relationship to what we put in our bodies. It could be as simple as observing: What feelings do I associate with certain food items? If that kind of exploration leads them to recognize an eating pattern that they want to change (for example “boredom equals chips”), use that as a starting point to brainstorm other ways to address the feeling, that may lead to a better outcome (call a friend when bored).

Ideas for project based nutrition activities

As a project-based school, we find that when learners can choose their own adventure and connect their exploration to real-world issues, they’re naturally willing to dive deep into complicated subjects — and nutrition is no exception. Our “Food Lab” cycle used kids’ love of baking and experimentation to reach a range of subjects that extended from nutrition to chemistry, data analysis and ethics.

Here are some of the many ways you can approach a nutrition project with your kids.

• A budding chef can plan and cook a healthy meal. (When we include cooking challenges in our curriculum, we recommend parents start by carefully supervising each step, until their child shows comfort in the kitchen.) A middle school or elementary school child could ease into this chef-mindset by assembling a healthy snack from a variety of foods.
• A science-minded student can take a look at how dietary guidelines have evolved over the years — and what evidence supports those shifts. A student with a political eye could address the same topic, looking for outside factors that may have also contributed to the shifts — major world events, discoveries, and the influence of specific industries.
• An aspiring anthropologist can compare typical diets of various cultures, looking at how the traditions, climate and geography shape the different foods that get put on the table — and how that might impact life-expectancy and certain diseases.
• A vegetarian, vegan, or plant-curious kid can research plant-based meats, comparing their nutritional profiles and environmental impact.
• A kid who is interested in media can look at how news outlets, social media and celebrity chefs create narratives that demonize things like added sugars or elevate certain veggies like kale. Or, they can turn their attention to food packaging to see how food products pitch themselves as “healthy” — and whether that depiction matches the ingredient list.
• A history-curious kiddo can trace the rise and fall of certain food groups, and how that relates to shifting ideas of wellness during a certain period.
• A student interested in social justice can explore the concept of food deserts and how access to healthy foods impacts community well-being.
• A budget-minded learner could create several different meal plans (one full of nutritious foods and one heavy in processed foods), compare the nutrition information and the respective costs, and reflect on why a healthy diet is so expensive.

More Resources

• Games from the FDA to make learning to read nutrition labels fun
• Project-based lesson plans on nutrition from the USDA
• A CDC-sponsored app to learn to make healthy food choices
• Myplate.gov - an interactive resource to learn how to eat the food pyramid
• Spoons Across America - a 9-lesson food exploration project (for kids 8-11)

Join our community of families all over the world doing school differently.

Want to learn more about how Prisma can empower your child to thrive?

More from our blog

Recommendations.

Prisma Newsletter

Want a daily email of lesson plans that span all subjects and age groups?

Subjects all subjects all subjects the arts all the arts visual arts performing arts value of the arts back business & economics all business & economics global economics macroeconomics microeconomics personal finance business back design, engineering & technology all design, engineering & technology design engineering technology back health all health growth & development medical conditions consumer health public health nutrition physical fitness emotional health sex education back literature & language all literature & language literature linguistics writing/composition speaking back mathematics all mathematics algebra data analysis & probability geometry measurement numbers & operations back philosophy & religion all philosophy & religion philosophy religion back psychology all psychology history, approaches and methods biological bases of behavior consciousness, sensation and perception cognition and learning motivation and emotion developmental psychology personality psychological disorders and treatment social psychology back science & technology all science & technology earth and space science life sciences physical science environmental science nature of science back social studies all social studies anthropology area studies civics geography history media and journalism sociology back teaching & education all teaching & education education leadership education policy structure and function of schools teaching strategies back thinking & learning all thinking & learning attention and engagement memory critical thinking problem solving creativity collaboration information literacy organization and time management back, filter by none.

• Elementary/Primary
• Middle School/Lower Secondary
• High School/Upper Secondary
• College/University
• TED-Ed Animations
• TED Talk Lessons
• TED-Ed Best of Web
• Under 3 minutes
• Under 6 minutes
• Under 9 minutes
• Under 12 minutes
• Under 18 minutes
• Over 18 minutes
• Algerian Arabic
• Azerbaijani
• Cantonese (Hong Kong)
• Chinese (Hong Kong)
• Chinese (Singapore)
• Chinese (Taiwan)
• Chinese Simplified
• Chinese Traditional
• Chinese Traditional (Taiwan)
• Dutch (Belgium)
• Dutch (Netherlands)
• French (Canada)
• French (France)
• French (Switzerland)
• Kurdish (Central)
• Luxembourgish
• Persian (Afghanistan)
• Persian (Iran)
• Portuguese (Brazil)
• Portuguese (Portugal)
• Spanish (Argentina)
• Spanish (Latin America)
• Spanish (Mexico)
• Spanish (Spain)
• Spanish (United States)
• Western Frisian

sort by none

• Longest video
• Shortest video
• Most video views
• Least video views
• Most questions answered
• Least questions answered

Why is rice so popular?

Lesson duration 04:53

739,314 Views

What would happen if everyone stopped eating meat tomorrow?

Lesson duration 04:37

788,951 Views

Which is better for you: "Real" meat or "fake" meat?

Lesson duration 05:19

511,541 Views

Is it possible to lose weight fast?

Lesson duration 04:57

2,632,685 Views

What is MSG, and is it actually bad for you?

Lesson duration 05:29

3,847,674 Views

The infamous overpopulation bet: Simon vs. Ehrlich

Lesson duration 04:48

574,022 Views

How do steroids affect your muscles— and the rest of your body? - Anees Bahji

Lesson duration 05:49

3,639,358 Views

Which type of milk is best for you?

Lesson duration 05:26

5,247,021 Views

Can we create the "perfect" farm?

Lesson duration 07:10

2,107,920 Views

The surprising effects of pregnancy

Lesson duration 05:46

10,244,422 Views

Fruits and veggies for kids/Eat your rainbow

Lesson duration 03:30

27,065,639 Views

How racism makes us sick - David R. Williams

Lesson duration 17:28

317,715 Views

The 5 fabulous food groups

Lesson duration 04:32

2,388,894 Views

Why do we eat spoiled food?

Lesson duration 03:20

3,430,515 Views

The legend of Annapurna, Hindu goddess of nourishment

Lesson duration 05:09

3,779,616 Views

What happens to your body when you start exercising regularly

Lesson duration 04:19

9,301,538 Views

What would happen if you stopped brushing your teeth?

Lesson duration 02:58

1,440,448 Views

What causes heartburn?

Lesson duration 04:55

1,815,520 Views

Why does your voice change as you get older?

Lesson duration 05:06

1,719,057 Views

Myths you learned in health class

Lesson duration 05:03

536,767 Views

How do your hormones work?

Lesson duration 05:04

2,223,415 Views

What causes headaches?

Lesson duration 05:32

6,523,366 Views

How did teeth evolve?

Lesson duration 04:45

749,355 Views

What happens during a stroke?

Lesson duration 05:00

2,964,157 Views

Lessons for Middle & HS

< Back to JSI Resource Center

The links in this category include lesson plans and other classroom resources on nutrition for middle and high school students.

Explore more

From the jsi resource center.

Food Allergies & Intolerances

NSLP & Taste Tests

Power Up with Plant Based Lunches

Building Flavors That Excite! Recipes

This institution is an equal opportunity provider. USDA Nondiscrimination Statement.

• 100 State Street | P.O. Box 9101 | Framingham, MA 01701-9101
• [email protected]
• Tel 508-626-4756 | Fax 508-626-4018

This site meets or exceeds accessibility standards of WCAG, AA.

Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Disclaimer

Pin It on Pinterest

Official websites use .gov A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS A lock ( ) or https:// means you've safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

• Basic Nutrition

Printable Materials and Handouts

Find printable handouts and fact sheets that can be used for health fairs, classes, and other food or nutrition-related events.

Cook up something new in your kitchen with these healthy, delicious recipes.

View four tips to help you save money when food shopping and help the environment.

View printable brochures and handouts with healthy eating tips based on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020-2025 , including:

• Build a Healthy Eating Routine
• Cut Down on Added Sugars

Browse the MyPlate collection of printable tip sheets and resources. These materials are in the public domain.

Want your kids to learn how to build a healthy meal? Use these clever activity sheets to find ideas and tips!

View this fact sheet with nutrition tips for breastfeeding moms. 

View printable materials about food safety, including guides, activity books, and tip sheets.

View lessons, workshops, activities, and curricula for teachers. Topics include food, nutrition, physical activity, and food safety.

Use this checklist to track healthy eating and exercise habits throughout your day!

View tips for building healthy eating habits in infants, toddlers, and preschoolers. This fact sheet is available in 13 languages.

FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition developed “Everyday Food Safety” resources to increase food safety awareness among young adults ages 18 – 29. Check out the materials available to use in your classroom, health expo, waiting room, or website.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has updated the Nutrition Facts label on packaged foods and beverages with a new design, making it easier to make informed choices towards healthy eating habits. 

This one-page handout highlights the key changes being made to the new Nutrition Facts Label.

Share these tips to reduce food waste, save money, and protect the environment.

Browse handouts and recipes for the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) Diet. Topics include getting more potassium, staying on track, and meal tracking for different calorie levels.

Looking for materials about healthy aging for older adults? Download or order these free handouts and booklets on exercise, nutrition, and other health topics.

View science-based fact sheets and handouts for health fairs and community events. 

The Sisters Together program encourages Black women ages 18 and older to reach and maintain a healthy weight. Learn how to bring the program to your community.

Download, print,or order a free copy of this brochure on eating disorders. Also available in Spanish.

Access vitamin and mineral supplement fact sheets for the consumer or health professional. Available in PDF format, and in Spanish.

Find handouts that teach how to build a healthy eating routine, cut down on added sugars, cut down on sodium, and cut down on saturated fat.

Print and share these fact sheets and posters to help people learn key recommendations from the Physical Activity Guidelines. Find materials for adults, older adults, parents and kids, and during and after pregnancy.

Browse by health topic or resource type to find 1-page printable fact sheets written at the 6th- to 8th-grade reading level in English or Spanish.

Challenge yourself to eating fruits and vegetables in new ways by following along to this 30-day calendar.

What are healthy cooking methods, and what equipment do you need for each method? Read this handout to find out.

Use this 31-day calendar to challenge yourself to one choice for a healthy weight each day.

View a table of spices to learn about their flavors and uses.

Use this handout to measure your hunger level on a scale of 1 to 10.

Find handouts to help you manage your weight with healthy eating and physical activity. Also available in Spanish.

Use this handout to plan weekly meals and create a grocery list.

8 Fun Nutrition Activities For High School Students

In the hustle and bustle of high school life and in the anticipation of what lies ahead, students often forget to focus on their nutrition. According to a 2023 report [ 1 ] , less than 15% of high school students in the United States consumed food rich in micronutrients such as fruits, veggies, legumes, and nuts. Not just that, most of the calories they consume come from processed foods that provide little to no nourishment while increasing the risk of various diseases. 

Proper nutrition acts as fuel for both physical health and academic success. Therefore, it becomes essential to learn all about maintaining a healthy diet and indulging in physical activities that keep one fit and hearty. 

The best part about nourishment through food is that it doesn’t have to be boring. As high schoolers, you can take various steps to spruce up your plate and explore different food options that are healthy, delicious, and important for your overall vitality. 

In this article, we will be talking about various nutritional activities that high school students can be indulged in. This prepares them for the future and ensures they develop healthy eating habits early on in their lives.

Exciting nutritional activities to empower high schoolers

It is important to educate students about the benefits of following a balanced diet. However, giving them mere instructions will not suffice. Here are some interesting group activities that high schoolers can be encouraged to undertake to better understand the importance of proper nourishment: 

1. Nutrition Rich Workshops

Everyone including high schoolers needs to work on their culinary skills. This serves a dual purpose: it prepares them to be independent in the future while also ensuring their present nutritional needs are met. For this activity, arrange for a workshop or seminar dedicated specifically to talk and learn about nutrition. You can also invite certain industry professionals for more enhanced learning and participation.

Start by asking students to follow simple healthy recipes available online before the day of the workshop. On that day, give opportunities to students to share their recipes and discuss the nutrition element in each food item. The goal is to ensure that you consciously make healthy choices instead of relying on readily available junk food.

Following this, invite experts to share their insights and knowledge with students. Encourage students to ask questions to them and actively participate. This activity can bring something unique and different to the table other than classroom lectures fostering active participation and learning.

2. Food Marketing Campaigns

Pick some nutritious snacks such as yogurt, whole-grain crackers, fresh fruits, hummus, and veggies. Divide the students into groups and ask them to prepare marketing campaigns for each of the food items, listing their benefits, nutritional value, and how they help us meet our daily calorie requirements. Encourage children to make attractive posters and slogans and use infographics and visuals. The peers can vote for the most engaging and persuasive campaign. 

This allows them to educate themselves and their friends about the various snack items and their dietary benefits. Once students realize that most of their favorite junk food is not all that nutritious, they will have a solid reason to ditch their favorite cookie for a delicious apple. 

3. Culinary Cultural Exchange

Divide your students into groups and allow each of them to explore a different cuisine from around the world. They must carry out proper research, understand the nutritional value of different dishes, and understand why it is popular in different cultures. They can prepare presentations that delve into the nutrition and health practices of different communities around the world. 

 You can also host a potluck where each group prepares a healthy homemade meal that is popular in their culture and brings it to class. In this manner, students will be encouraged to try different cuisines and learn more about its benefits. 

4. Deep Dive into Nutritional Labels

Most teenagers need around 2200 to 2800 calories per day, out of which 45-60% is made up of complex carbs. Ask students to prepare a meal chart in which they can list different food items and their nutritional value. This includes carbohydrates, protein, fats, vitamins, and so on. 

This allows students to become conscious eaters as they are aware of the benefits and disadvantages of the food they are consuming. Consequently, they will make sure to check the nutritional labels of different food items that they purchase. 

5. Undertake Farming Activities on Campus

While practicing healthy food choices, high school students can indulge in different agricultural activities on the school campus and grow different vegetables or fruits if there is space available. This is to ensure that they learn to grow fruits, vegetables, and cereals keeping in mind the nutritional value in them.

Divide students into groups and instruct them about different steps that are crucial before planting and to ensure the nutritional quality of the output. These steps may include checking the quality of seeds before planting, the quality of soil, the use of fertilizers, etc.

If your school campus does not have enough space, take the teams to a nearby farm or local market and ask them to explore around and gain insights about the process involved in order to ensure the nutritional value of the food grown. Ask students to actively participate, make notes, and then have a group discussion in the class where everyone can share their valuable insights. 

6. Culinary Science Experiment

Students are always curious about the scientific aspect of things and often undertake natural science experiments to satiate their curiosity. So, they are likely to enjoy a culinary science experiment. 

For this activity, divide the students into teams and allow each team to carry out proper research about how different cooking methods affect the nutritional value of food. Ask them to prepare a report, find scientific reasoning behind the difference in nutritional content, and present their conclusions to the class. This will have three benefits: it will help students learn the nutrition potential of different food items, teach them about proper presentation, and improve their research skills. 

7. Undertake a Grocery Store Budgeting Challenge

In this activity, divide the students into groups and ask them to discuss the challenges they face when trying to balance nutritional requirements with budget constraints. A common misconception when it comes to healthy eating is that food items that are nutritious are by default expensive.

The goal of this activity is to dispel this myth by allowing each team to compile a budget-friendly shopping list that has nutritious food items such as fruits, veggies, whole grains, tofu, avocado, lentils, meat, and so on.

Ask the student to make a list of food items they have included in their shopping cart, the nutritional value of each item, and the challenges they faced compiling them while adhering to the budget. Then, ask them to share these findings with the class, and discuss and encourage students to formulate a similar chart for themselves without burning a hole in their pocket. 

8. Organize Cooking Challenges

Divide the students into teams and assign a set of ingredients using which they have to prepare a healthy meal. This promotes creativity in crafting delicious yet nutritious meals. To make it more challenging, the teams can be given a time limit within which they have to create a balanced meal. 

In addition, give them additional time during which they will come up with an argument to justify why they have chosen to prepare a particular meal and what is the nutritional value of the dish. This motivates them to become more creative and conscious of what they are making. 

The purpose of any high school is to prepare students for life . These unique nutritional activities add a fresh and engaging twist to your initiatives and encourage students to explore healthy eating habits in creative and interactive ways. 

Besides, by fostering engagement, you allow students to become more mindful of what they eat. They will be encouraged to check labels, consume nutrient-dense food items, and prepare a meal chart for themselves, depending on their budget. It is an effective way to develop proper eating habits and ensure that students have a deep understanding of nutritional concepts as they move ahead in life.

• Jenkins, M., Jefferds, M. E. D., Aburto, N. J., Ramakrishnan, U., Martorell, R., & Addo, O. Y. (2023). What Do United States Adolescents Eat? Food Group Consumption Patterns and Dietary Diversity from a Decade of Nationally Representative Data. Current Developments in Nutrition , 7 (8), 101968. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cdnut.2023.101968

Sananda Bhattacharya, Chief Editor of TheHighSchooler, is dedicated to enhancing operations and growth. With degrees in Literature and Asian Studies from Presidency University, Kolkata, she leverages her educational and innovative background to shape TheHighSchooler into a pivotal resource hub. Providing valuable insights, practical activities, and guidance on school life, graduation, scholarships, and more, Sananda’s leadership enriches the journey of high school students.

Explore a plethora of invaluable resources and insights tailored for high schoolers at TheHighSchooler, under the guidance of Sananda Bhattacharya’s expertise. You can follow her on Linkedin

Leave a Comment Cancel reply

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Newest Nutrition Resources

Our cross-curricular resources on wellness education and nutrition will engage your students in pre-K, elementary, middle school, and high school, with fun and informative lesson plans, worksheets, and projects on their well-being. Teach them about illness, physical education, and balanced diets so they have the knowledge to make healthy choices. Good eating habits and a healthy amount of exercise help keep the mind and body performing at their best. Students will be fascinated with science activities on the human body, many of them aligned to state and national standards, and you'll find plenty of tools on delicious foods to keep them interested in nutrition programs. And they are easy to use with any nutrition curriculum programs!

Nutrition Worksheets, Lesson Plans, and Fun Activities and More for Your PreK to High School Students

Worksheets for Grades K-5

Physical activity is at the core of a healthy lifestyle. Help your students learn that food security is one of our basic rights and the best ways to develop healthy habits and get fit with these different activities! Students can learn about how to become their best selves through different fitness and nutrition worksheets, activities, food plans, and resources. Students go in depth with the inner workings of the body, eating different foods that give their bodies energy, and different ways that they can help others become healthy just like them. Teach kids good nutrition with these worksheets and printables.

Health Reading Warm-Up: Healthy Food

Thought for Food: A Nutrition Lesson

• Basic First Aid
• Why Is Exercise Important?
• First-Aid Treatments
• Favorite Foods
• Find Worksheets on the Human Digestive System and Healthy Eating
• More Popular Health & Nutrition Printables

Printables for Grades 6-12

How Does Alcohol Affect the Body?

• Food Groups
• What Is a Balanced Diet?
• We Beat the Street Discussion Guide
• How Do Some Drugs Affect the Body?
• Survival Kits

Health Lesson Plans

• Smoking Lesson – Grade 4 and 5
• Salt or Sugar: Which Dissolves Faster in Different Liquids?
• Which Foods Do Molds Love Best?
• An Honest Cigarette Ad?
• What Foods Attract Ants?
• Colonial New England Food & Cooking
• Autumn Veggies and Fruits
• More Popular Health & Nutrition Lesson Plans

Graphic Organizers

• How Can You Stay Healthy?
• KWL Chart – Being Healthy
• What Parts of Plants Do You Eat?

Food Resources

• Cranberry Facts

Food From Plants and Animals

• Health & Nutrition Printables Slideshow
• Chemistry of Cooking
• Fred's Fruits and Vegetables
• More Popular Food Resources

Activities for Science Class

• Wellness Poster
• Food Flight: Digestive Tracking
• The Foods We Eat
• Nutrition Lab
• Extinguishing a Fire
• More Popular Activities for Science Class

Math, Health, & Nutrition Connected

• Math and Recipes Worksheet
• Math and Recipes Vocabulary
• HIV/AIDS Statistics
• Activity: Comparing Infectious Diseases
• How I've Grown
• Math in Science: Favorite Fruits
• Science Skill: Estimating and Measuring with Cereal and Raisins
• More Math, Health, & Nutrition Resources

Art, Health, & Nutrition Connected

• Fruit Patterns
• Bob's Lunch Box
• School Safety Connect-the-Dots
• Science and Art: Hello Mr. Smart Heart
• Science Fun: An Apple a Day
• I Am Loveable
• Planning a Picnic

Language Arts, Health, & Nutrition Connected

• Lesson Planning Center

The Invention of Coca-Cola® Reading Warm-Up

• Ryan White, My Own Story
• Chew on This Teacher's Guide
• Thirteen Reasons Why Discussion Guide
• We Are All the Same: The Life and Death of Nkosi Johnson
• More Popular Language Arts Activities for Health & Nutrition

Literature, Health, & Nutrition Connected

Health Reading Warm-Up: Germs

• Reading Warm-Up 119 for Gr. 1 & 2: Contemporary Realistic Fiction
• Fever 1793 Teacher's Guide
• The Omnivore's Dilemma Teacher's Guide
• Using The Omnivore's Dilemma in the Classroom
• Crank Reading Guide
• More Literature Resources for Health & Nutrition

Social Studies, Health, & Nutrition Connected

• World Class Recipes
• Famous Survivors
• Hunger and Malnutrition
• Death and the Grief Reaction Process
• A Family Wordsearch
• Olympic Games and Politics
• More Popular Social Studies Activities for Health & Nutrition

History, Health, & Nutrition Connected

• History of Marshmallows Reading Warm-Up
• Thanksgiving Menu: Then & Now
• Rev Up Your Veggies: A Physical Science Activity
• Hasty Pudding
• School Lunch Choices Reading Warm-Up
• Columbus and Food
• More Popular History Resources for Health & Nutrition

Physical Education Activities

• The Human Body: Disease & Wellness Printable Book (Grades K-5)
• Heart Rate and Exercise
• My Favorite Exercise
• Explore Activity: Ways to Exercise
• Science and Physical Education: Brain Power
• Planning a Fitness Schedule
• More Physical Education Activities

Resources on Illness & Disease

• Smoking-Related Mortality Facts
• Disasters – Natural and Unnatural
• World AIDS Month Slideshow
• HIV/AIDS FAQs
• Stroke: Causes, Signs, Effects & Prevention
• What Happens When the Body Overheats?
• Life Science Test: Fighting Disease
• More Popular Resources on Illness & Disease

Resources on the Human Body

• The Five Senses – Kindergarten
• My Wonderful Body
• Hospital Word Search
• Life Science Test: Respiration and Excretion
• Asthma Word Fill-In
• Spinal Cord Injuries
• More Popular Resources on the Human Body

Alcohol & Drug Awareness Resources

• Cigarette Smoking Fact Sheet
• No Smoking!
• "Say NO" to Drugs
• Drugs and Your Body: Vocabulary
• Intervention Strategies for Suicide
• Drug Use by Americans, 12 Years and Older
• More Drug Prevention Resources

View Nutrition Resources By Type

Book Guides

Classroom Tools

Daily Warm-Ups

Editor's Collections

Games and Apps

Lesson plans, teaching resource, recommended nutrition resources.

Favorite Foods Activity

Health & Nutrition (Grades 4-9) Printables Slideshow

Healthy Vegetables and Fruits Word Scramble

Six Essential Nutrients Lesson Plan

PA Standards

• 11.3.9 D  Analyze relationship between diet and disease and risk factors (e.g., calcium and osteoporosis; fat, cholesterol and heart disease; folate and birth defects; sodium and hypertension).
• 11.3.9 E  Analyze the energy requirements, nutrient requirements and body composition for individuals at various stages of the life cycle.
• Show students the PPT slide of deficiencies and excesses and ask them what they are and what causes them.
• Discuss whether these health and nutrition ailments preventable.  If so, how?  So what makes a healthy person?
• Discuss that good nutrition makes a healthy person and this begins with a healthy diet.  A healthy diet needs to include the six essential nutrients:  Carbohydrates, Fats, Protein, Vitamins, Minerals and Water.  To give an overview about nutrition show the Bill Nye The Science Guy: Nutrition video.
• Colored Pencils or Markers
• 6 Different Colors of Copy Paper
• Lab Supplies
• Create a “Pac-Man” style foldable for the Nutrient Chain Foldable assignment using six different colors of copy paper and glue.  Attached you’ll find a PPT demonstrating the paper folding compliments of FACS teacher Sharon Allen of Indiana.  Once assembled, it’s time to go over the requirements.
• Our school has a community portal that teachers can post templates, assignments and PPTs for students to access from home or school.  Since I wanted students to be more self-directed with their notes, I had them work through the PPT and take notes on their own instead of me lecturing.  They were instructed to ask questions if they did not understand and then we discussed it. This foldable Nutrient Chain will be their working resource of information for  upcoming assignments and tests.
• I like to attach labs to nutrition topics when I can so I decided to do a Tater Toppings style lab where students prep their potatoes the day before, and select topping choices (this helps me know how much to purchase).  The next day I bake the potatoes so they are ready for class.  Student lab groups prepare the toppings for the actual buffet or “bar”.  As students choose their toppings they are to document the amounts they take of each topping and there are limits to how much they can take.
• For the follow-up lab assignment, students must “Profile their Potato” by analyzing it’s nutritional value using the recipe nutrion calculator .  After they get a nutritional printout of their potato recipe, they  complete a short writing assignment.
• For review students complete the “Nutrient Sort” and “Nutrient Match -Up” which are based on the information in their nutrient chain foldable.

Attachments

• Nutrition Deficiencies & Excesses Intro  (PPT)
• Advanced Foldable  (PPT)
• Nutrient Chain Foldable  (PDF)
• Six Essential Nutrients PPT
• Nutrient Sort  (PDF)
• Nutrient Match-Up (TPT)
• Tater Topper Lab  (WORD)
• Profile Your Potato–Lab Follow-Up  (PDF)

Post navigation

8 comments for “ six essential nutrients lesson plan ”, leave a reply cancel reply.

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed .

Send me a message

Select a product below:

• Connect Math Hosted by ALEKS C
• My Bookshelf (eBook Access) C

Sign in to Shop:

• Professional
• International
•   Sign In
• There are currently no items in your shopping cart.
• News & Insights
• Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
• Social Responsibility
• About   
• Get Support   

Get Support

• My Account Details

Share This Article

Topic-nutrition facts label.

By Priya Venkatesan

Purpose The nutrition labels are changing. But, even after all these decades, we have not yet mastered how to use them effectively and efficiently. This activity will help you see a few new tricks as you go shopping the next time. It is important to identify the ingredients that are present in the foods that you choose to eat. Use the interactive food label and fact sheets to get started. The interactive food label presents “4” quick pieces of information below. The fact sheet organizes all ingredients that are commonly seen in the grocery stores. It is important to be able to recognize the ingredients and what their function is in the product. https://www.fda.gov/food/new-nutrition-facts-label/how-understand-and-use-nutrition-facts-label

Nutrition education for those passionate about elevating the health of children through the pursuit of healthy eating habits.

Nutrition Education Resources

All lesson plans align to Common Core State Standards and are free for California educators.

Free in California

Common Core

Reorder Student Workbooks

Teacher Tested + Approved

Explore Products For Your Students

Let's Eat Healthy Toolkit

A resource guide for professionals working together to empower lifelong healthy eating patterns.

The Let’s Eat Healthy Toolkit offers a thoughtfully curated selection of credible and up-to-date resources, ensuring that you have access to trustworthy and relevant information and tools. This toolkit is structured around four steps; Learn, Educate, Advocate, Collaborate ; each contributing to the activation of the Let’s Eat Healthy Initiative. When you engage with Let’s Eat Healthy, you become part of a broader network of nutrition champions. The Let’s Eat Healthy community gains access to the latest resources, technical advising, including Community of Practice webinars, grant funding opportunities and much more! 

Check out our award winning 12 episode series.

Download extension activities that compliment the 12 episode series.

Access online resources that easily embed into online platforms.

Get started teaching nutrition education with monthly themes.

Explore instructional slides for students to reinforce healthy eating.

Not sure where to start? Check out our catalog for the full spectrum!

Interested in Short, Interactive Nutrition Activities?

Explore Nutrition Builders to expand nutrition education throughout the year.

New Nutrition Advocate?

Register a new account on HealthyEating.org to order nutrition resources, get the latest nutrition science or support healthy eating in your community.

Create account

Thanks for creating an account. Please login.

Forgot Password