Intro to My Food Plate

In this simple activity, students who are blind or visually impaired have an opportunity to display their creativity and artistic ability as they learn about healthy eating.

Materials

Heavy duty white paper plates – 1 for each student or group
Colored markers – thick and thin
Wikki Stix
Perkins braillewriter
Braille paper

It works well to have a braille student work with a print student.
The print student can assist the braille student as necessary.

Activity:

Hand out a paper plate to each student (or group)
Have markers available and braille paper and braillewriters for braille students.
Tell students that the plate represents all the food they will eat this year.
Have students consider what groups to place the food in
Instruct students to make sections of the plate by labeling each section and drawing examples of items from each group.
Encourage them to be creative and have fun.
Braille students will complete this task by using Wikki Stix to separate the plate into sections and making braille labels to affix to the plate.

Closure:

Discuss students’ plates. This may prove entertaining! For instance, one of my students had the following food groups: cookies, candy, cake, ice-cream, etc.
Present the students with the My Food Plate in accessible format and discuss the importance of each of the food groups and how much of each is contained in a healthy diet.
If time allows, choose a supporting activity from the My Plate website.

NGSS Standards:

Middle School Matter and Energy in Organisms and Ecosystems:

LS1.C: Organization for Matter and Energy Flow in Organisms

Plants, algae (including phytoplankton), and many microorganisms use the energy from light to make sugars (food) from carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and water through the process of photosynthesis, which also releases oxygen. These sugars can be used immediately or stored for growth or later use. (MS-LS1-6)

Within individual organisms, food moves through a series of chemical reactions in which it is broken down and rearranged to form new molecules, to support growth, or to release energy. (MS-LS1-7)

Image attribution: http://www.clipartkid.com/healthy-plate-of-food-clipart-clipart-panda-free-clipart-images-WzLHBi-clipart/

By Laura Hospitál