GEM NO. 440
A Nutritious Field Trip
Christina Siry, MS*; Jillian FamigliettiManhattanville College, Purchase, NY
(J Nutr Educ Behav. 2007;39:175-176)
*Address for correspondence: Christina Siry,MS, Manhattanville College, 2900 PurchaseStreet, Purchase, NY 10577; Tel: (914) 323-5131; E-mail: [email protected]: 10.1016/j.jneb.2006.11.008
INTRODUCTION
A class trip to the local grocery storeis an engaging way to reinforce a uniton nutrition as students make connec-tions between a real-life experienceand their classroom learning. Re-search shows that students often re-member a field trip well into adult-hood and even recall specific exhibitsand facts.1,2 Field trips generally bringto mind a trip to a museum, zoo, ornature center, but a field trip to agrocery store provides an opportunityfor students to demonstrate their un-derstanding of nutrition science andfood choices.
Research has shown that nutritioneducation programs can effectivelyimprove the dietary behavior of chil-dren.3,4 Nutrition education in stu-dents’ elementary school experiencesshould focus on lessons that teachabout the importance of choosinghealthful food. This field trip can beconnected to a unit in which studentslearn about food groups and ulti-mately work together to create a list ofnutritious and healthful meal choices.It has been written for grade 3, but itcan be adapted to meet the needs ofolder students.
OBJECTIVES
The main objective of the supermar-ket trip is that students will be able todemonstrate their understanding offood groups by recording data regard-ing food items found in various aisles
of the supermarket. FPROCEDUREBefore the Trip
A picture book to introduce a studyof nutrition is Eat Healthy, FeelGreat,5 which presents food itemsthat are in either the “green light,”“yellow light,” or “red light” catego-ries. This book provides studentswith an understanding of how differ-ent foods they eat can affect theirbodies and encourages them to makehealthful food choices. If your stu-dents need additional knowledge be-fore exploring the grocery store,How to Teach Nutrition to Kids is aresource book that provides lessonsthat teach about nutrition and foodchoices. Out-of-classroom learningcan be increased by preparing stu-dents in advance for field trips.1 Onesuggestion is to provide childrenwith the Food Discovery sheet (Fig-ure 1, Figure 2) in the classroom toexplain the activities that will occur
Let’s discover somAs you travel through the store, s
each box—write its name and
Produce sectionFind a fresh fruit that you have
never seen before.
Did you know that eating a wholfruit is better and more nutritiou
than drinking a fruit juice?
Dairy caseFind 3 foods that are lowfat or
nonfat.
Did you know that calcium helpbuild strong bones and teeth?
BONUS! Find at least three differ(like
igure 1. Food discover sheet for grocery store explor
at the grocery store. By simulatingthe visit to the store, you can pro-vide students with an understandingof the expectations for the trip.
Contact the store in advance. Amanager might be able to tell youwhich times of the day, or days of theweek, are most appropriate for a largegroup of children to visit. Checkschool policies for field trips, as manyschools have specific permission slipsor require a specific ratio of childrento chaperones. Provide permissionslips to families, and recruit as manychaperones as necessary. This experi-ence will work best with several adultsto guide small groups of childrenthrough the aisles. Communicatewith adult chaperones before the tripso that you can explain the logistics ofthe visit and your expectations. Thiscommunication can also provide theopportunity to summarize what hasbeen taught and outline your objec-tives for the field trip.
foods together!t these aisles and find a food foribe it in words and drawings.
Produce sectionnd a vegetable that is dark green
and one that is orange.
Did you know that the darkergreen the vegetable, the more
nutritious it is for you?
Pasta (aisle 4)nd a pasta that is made of whole
grains.
id you know that whole grainpasta is a healthy choice?
ried beans. They give us proteineat does)
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Fi
es
Fi
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ent dlean m
ation (front).
explor
176 Famiglietti and Siry/A NUTRITIOUS FIELD TRIP
The Trip
Be prepared on the day of the trip byhaving selected in advance the aisleson which students should focus. Asuggestion for carrying out the grocerystore discovery is to have studentswork in groups to rotate through “sta-tions” in different sections of the storethat represent each food they havelearned about. Students can movethrough these selected parts of thestore guided by a data sheet to use forrecording their findings (such as theone in Figure 1 and Figure 2, FoodDiscovery). This type of scavengerhunt will add to their exploration.Students will need to have a penciland a board to write on, and adultswill need to know the specific placesin the store where they should bestopping. In addition, you may wantto include some fun facts to engagethe children as they stop at each sta-tion in the store.
Depending on the age of your stu-
Cereal (aisle 7)Find one oatmeal and a cereal
made out of rice.
Did you know that oatmeal andrice are grains?
Meat caseFind a meat that is labeled “lean
Did you know meat contains ironwhich helps transport oxygen
throughout our body?
Figure 2. Food discover sheet for grocery store
dents, this learning can be extended
with specific tasks that directly relateto classroom learning. If you havestudied nutritional labels, the studentscan find a type of bread that theythink would be a good dietary choice.If you have discussed leafy green veg-etables, students in the vegetable aislecan search for the darkest greens andrelate this information to their les-sons. By the end of the visit, eachstudent will have explored the grocerystore and encountered food productsin each food group that will provide acontext for healthful food choices.This experience connects their class-room learning to the real world andbrings the study of nutrition to life.
Back in the Classroom
Begin summarizing each child’s expe-rience by creating a store diagram onchart paper with the key aisles listedso that children can add their discov-eries. Students can connect the infor-mation they have discovered to their
Bread (aisle 10)nd 2 breads that are whole-grain
or whole-wheat.
Did you know that whole grainbreads provide you with longer-asting energy than white bread?
Dried fruit (aisle 2)Find a fruit that looks very
different when it is dried fromwhen it is fresh.
Did you know fruits andvegetables can be fresh, frozen,
canned, or dried?
ation (back).
own lives by visually representing the
food they found on the trip, perhapsthrough a poster or a mini-booklet toshare with others. To extend thelearning further, students can researchhow to cook a new type of food, inwhat part of the world it is eaten, andhow it grows. If your budget permits,choose a variety of unusual fruit for afruit salad that children can enjoy inthe classroom.
CONCLUSION
Well-planned trips out of the class-room can be accessible and engagingexperiences for learning. A simplevisit to the grocery store can be a greattool to teach about food groups andfood choices. A student’s next trip tothe supermarket with his or her familycan be a nutritional exploration thatbuilds on the classroom lessons andfield trip and encourages a morehealthful diet for the children andtheir families.5,6
REFERENCES
1. Falk J, Dierking L. The Museum Experience.Washington, DC: Whalesback Books; 1992.
2. Pace S, Tesi R. Adults’ perception of fieldtrips taken within grades K-12: Eight casestudies in the New York metropolitan area.Education. 2004;125:30-40.
3. Powers AR, Struempler BJ, Guarino A,Parmer SM. Effects of a nutrition educationprogram on the dietary behavior and nutri-tion knowledge of second-grade and third-grade students. J Sch Health. 2005;75:129-133.
4. Shannon B, Graves K, Hart M. Food behav-ior of elementary school students after re-ceiving nutrition education. J Am Diet As-soc. 1982;81:428-434.
5. Sears W, Sears M, Kelly CW. Eat Healthy,Feel Great (1st ed.). Singapore: Library ofCongress Cataloguing-in-Publication Data;2002.
6. Evers LC. How to Teach Nutrition to Kids.
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Ore: 24 Carrot Press; 2003.
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