Curated OER
The Great Big Yellow Banana Quiz - Fun Facts about Bananas 1
In this research skills learning exercise, students read the questions about bananas and research to answer the 10 multiple choice questions.
National Health Museum
Access Excellence: Food and Calories Lesson Plan
This lesson plan from Access Excellence offers sample charts and an answer key which helps students guess the caloric content of a variety of foods and then check their answers.
Other
South Coast Today: Fast Food, Faster Calories
A personal account of eating at fast food restaurants. Learn how you can still eat at fast food restaurants without consuming all the calories you need in one meal.
Science Buddies
Science Buddies: How Much Energy Is Stored in Different Types of Food?
In this project you'll learn a method for measuring how much chemical energy is available in different types of food. You will build your own calorimeter to capture the energy released by burning a small food item, like a nut or a piece...
US Food and Drug Administration
Fda: The Nutrition Facts Label
This colorful printable gives you a quick look at the key information you can find on the Nutrition Facts label.
National Geographic
National Geographic: What the World Eats
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.
CNN
Cnn: Quick Facts on Calories
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.
Curated OER
Kids Health: What Do Food Labels Really Say?
An overview of food labeling history and importance, how to read food labels, basic components of a food label, and a comparison of different foods.
US Food and Drug Administration
Fda: How to Understand and Use the Nutrition Facts Label
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...
US Food and Drug Administration
U.s. Food and Drug Administration: The Food Label
Read about how the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, through the use of food label, plans to make Americans informed consumers of food. Here, you can learn about the sections of the food label and read definitions of the terms like...
Other
Kids' World Nutrition Information: Understanding Food Labels
In order to plan a healthy diet, students must know how to read a food label. Food labels show that a food has a little or a lot of certain nutrients. Look on the side of a product to find the Nutrition Facts title, which is fully...
Thinkport Education
Thinkport: Designing a Healthier, Happier Meal: Food and Nutrition
Learn about the five food groups that are important for a healthy diet.
PBS
Pbs Teachers: Scientific American: Fat and Happy?: Counting Calories
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.
Curated OER
Kids Health: Figuring Out Fat and Calories
Most people know that fats and calories are connected to our weight, but what is their correlation? This article analyzes their relationship and how an understanding of these items can benefit your body. Links to related articles are...
Other
Fast Food Fun
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.
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College
Serc: Food as Fuel
Students find and compare the amount of calories found experimentally with the values found on the food packages.
City University of New York
Brother Gregory's Dinner: Food Energy Content
Use a virtual calorimeter to investigate the energy content of various foods. The background information is clear and easy to understand.
Utah Education Network
Uen: Burning Calories
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.
Other
Health Check Systems: Healthier Fast Food Choices
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.
PBS
Pbs Teachers: Fast Fats: An Analysis of America's Obsession With Fast Food
Analyze parts of a food label, and determine the amount of fat and calories in average foods. Conduct an observational experiment and examine the food choices of classmates.
Science Buddies
Science Buddies: How Greasy Are Your Potato Chips?
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...
PBS
Pbs: Scientific American: Never Say Die: Eat Less Live Longer
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...
Cynthia J. O'Hora
Mrs. O's House: Lunch Menu Calories Tracking Project
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.