Article
Mayo Clinic

Mayo Clinic: Energy Density & Weight Loss:feel Full on Fewer Calories

For Students 9th - 10th
This article is medium-sized in length and provides great information on the subject. Links are provided for additional information as well.
Website
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US Department of Agriculture

Choose My Plate: Health and Nutrition Information for Educators

For Teachers Pre-K - 1st
Find sets of lesson plans for children grades one through six about the healthy food choices. Includes posters, worksheets, and coloring pages.
Activity
PBS

Pbs Teachers: Fat and Happy?: Testing for Simple Sugars [Pdf]

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Investigate different methods for testing the sugar content in foods, and determine relative amounts of sugar in several juices using a sugar indicator solution.
Lesson Plan
PBS

Pbs: Scientific American: Never Say Die: Eat Less Live Longer

For Teachers 9th - 10th
This site from the PBS production "Never Say Die" provides a section on how to eat less and live longer. The first part of this site discusses food and nutrition. The second part is an activity in which you can make a calorimeter. The...
Graphic
National Geographic

National Geographic: What the World Eats

For Students 9th - 10th
This interactive website offers pie charts showing what the world eats and what 22 different countries eat. It also allows you to choose by year as well. These include food groups, calories, and grams overall and per category.
Unit Plan
University of Colorado

University of Colorado: Ph Et Interactive Simulations: Eating and Exercise

For Students 9th - 10th
How many calories are in your favorite foods? How much exercise would you have to do to burn off these calories? What is the relationship between calories and weight? Explore these issues by choosing diet and exercise and keeping an eye...
Lesson Plan
Michigan Reach Out

Newton's Apple: Body Fat

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Through these lesson plans, investigate the different types of fat found in food and found in the human body. Discuss the functions and problems associated with dietary fat and make wise food choices based on what you learn about fat,...
Website
CNN

Cnn: Quick Facts on Calories

For Students 9th - 10th
How many calories should you eat a day? Just what is a calorie? What foods should I avoid? Click here and find the answers to these questions and more.
Activity
Cynthia J. O'Hora

Mrs. O's House: Lunch Menu Calories Tracking Project

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Maintain a healthy diet to maintain a healthy weight. Students will track their meals for a week, entering the food and caloric intake. After collecting the data and reviewing the spreadsheet, lead students in discussions of the results.
Website
US Food and Drug Administration

Fda: How to Understand and Use the Nutrition Facts Label

For Students 9th - 10th
The FDA provides information relating to the nutrition facts panel overview, the serving size, calories, the nutrients, understanding the footnote, how the daily values relate to the percent daily values, the percent daily value, quick...
Activity
PBS

Pbs Teachers: Scientific American: Fat and Happy?: Counting Calories

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Explore the concept of the calorie. Determine the calories/gram of the burned food by measuring its mass, and make conclusions about the experimental design.
Handout
Eastern Kentucky University

Eastern Kentucky University: Dietary Requirements of a Medieval Peasant

For Students 9th - 10th
Notes from a university-level course about food and culture consider the food eaten by medieval European peasants and the calories expended in performing daily labors, for both men and women.
Handout
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Centers for Disease Control: Nutrition Introduction

For Students 9th - 10th
The CDC offers a wealth of information regarding several specific topics that fall under nutrition including good health, exercise, diet and more.
Activity
Other

Fast Food Fun

For Students 9th - 10th
Use your knowledge of spreadsheets to analyze the calories and fat content of fast food choices. This project gives links to a USDA site and a final report format. A sample spreadsheet and grading rubric is also provided.
Lesson Plan
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College

Serc: Food as Fuel

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Students find and compare the amount of calories found experimentally with the values found on the food packages.
Handout
City University of New York

Brother Gregory's Dinner: Food Energy Content

For Students 9th - 10th
Use a virtual calorimeter to investigate the energy content of various foods. The background information is clear and easy to understand.
Website
Other

Health Check Systems: Healthier Fast Food Choices

For Students 9th - 10th
At this site from HealthCheck Systems you can click on the names of your favorite fast food places to see the "healthier" food choices they provide. Check out the calorie, fat, protein, and carbohydrate content for each food choice.
Lesson Plan
Utah Education Network

Uen: Burning Calories

For Teachers 2nd
Second graders will investigate calorie usage in this activity. Students will make predictions, wear a pedometer, walk and record steps, and understand how high calorie foods require more calorie-burning effort.
Lesson Plan
Indiana University

Area 10 Math and Technology Project: Nutrition Labels

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Lesson Plan involving all aspects of reading a nutrition label. Emphasizes math skills. Includes links to a teacher outline, student copies and reference materials.
Activity
Science Buddies

Science Buddies: How Greasy Are Your Potato Chips?

For Students 3rd - 5th
One of America's favorite snacks is potato chips. Although potato chips are very tasty, some varieties are not very healthy for you. A typical 1-ounce (oz.) serving of a well-known national potato chip brand contains 150 calories, 90 of...
Interactive
Other

My Food Buddy: Food Calorie Table

For Students 9th - 10th
This page has a list of almost 1,000 different types of foods with their amount of calories, protein, fat, and carbohydrates.
Activity
Read Works

Read Works: Hot Topics: Hot News About Calories

For Students 6th
[Free Registration/Login Required] An informational text about food, calories, and how the body makes energy. A question sheet is available to help students build skills in reading comprehension.
Activity
Texas Instruments

Texas Instruments: Holt Modern Chemistry: Energy Content of Foods

For Teachers 9th - 10th
This probeware Lab Energy Content of Foods from the chapter Causes of Change uses a temperature probe to calculate the temperature change of the water to determine how much energy was released when food samples burn.
Lesson Plan
PBS

Pbs Teachers: Smarter Food Processing Techniques

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Test your knowledge about the foods you eat by taking a short quiz. Match products to their ingredients, answer questions about nutritional values and compute the amount of fruits and vegetables consumed per year.