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Nutrition Education Paper

“Eating the Rainbow”

by Daniela Gutierrez, Jessica Wong & Huixian(Kit) Situ

DFM 655

Prof. George, Gretchen L

Dec 20, 2018


Introduction/Literature Review

The specific target audience for our nutrition education project are children

between the age of seven and eight. “As the prevalence of obesity amongst children

increased over the years, policymakers are focusing on providing healthier food options

in schools” (Bauer & Liou, 2016). Evidently, there is a need for educating children on

nutrition as early as possible. Preferably children at ages 6 to 11 because children in this

age group are eager to learn and can follow directions. “They are also able to understand

how food can influence our body, and they are very likely to accept food choice

recommendations coming from an adult” (Bauer & Liou, 2016). Therefore, we choose to

educate our nutrition topic to children between the age of seven and eight.

As mentioned, overweight and childhood obesity are major issues and we think

early nutrition education and intervention can be beneficial to help obesity at an early

age. “Studies found frequent consumption of energy-dense foods, sweets, and processed

foods have positively associated with childhood obesity” (Grigorakis et al., 2016).

Consumption of a diet high in calories and snacks will inevitably lower the intake of

fruits and vegetables that are high in vitamin and minerals. In addition, low intake of

fruits and vegetables are negatively impacting children’s health and development. “There

is significant evidence that many diseases are related to consuming few fruits and

vegetables, and such bad eating habits can be translated into adulthood” (Dudley, Cotton,

Peralta, 2015). As a result, nutrition education will be valuable information for children

in the classroom to learn about.

We used an indirect method, which is information not collected from our

audience, to find a determinant of change in children ages seven and eight. Taste is one of
the most common key determinants as to why we choose what we eat, especially children

that are picky eaters. “Studies have found picky eaters between the ages 4 and 8 ate less

fruits and vegetables compared to non-picky eaters” (Taylor, Wernimont, Northstone &

Emmett, 2015). Children tend to gravitate towards foods that are refined, energy-dense

and that are not the most nutritious for them. “Children also tend to be scared to try new

foods, a phenomenon called food neophobia.” (Stafford, 2018). A great way to

incorporate more vegetables is by hiding them into foods that they already like and eat.

During presentation, almost all students raised their hands when asked if they like

smoothies. Smoothies are definitely a great way to incorporate bitter green vegetables

that most children do not enjoy with fruits that are sweet, which makes it more acceptable

for kids to consume.

The theory we have selected to educate children ages 7 and 8 on eating the

rainbow is the Social Cognitive Theory. As mentioned, children in the age group between

6 to 11 are eager to learn and capable of self-assessment. “The Social Cognitive Theory is

a model that influences behavior by changing a personal factor and/or environmental

factor” (Bauer & Liou, 2016). In this case, teaching children all the vitamins associated

with fruits and vegetables acts as an environmental factor that can potentially influence

consumption of more fruits and vegetables. For example, knowing why to eat healthy,

what healthy foods are, and the recommended amount may initiate voluntary healthy

eating. Smoothie making is a great way to promote observational and hands-on learning,

which will further stimulate self-assessment on behavioral change. Our philosophy is

children can be nurtured by the environment and by the people that surrounds them in

their everyday lives.


Methods and Materials

The main goal of our nutrition education class was to encourage kids to eat a

variety of fruits and vegetables in different colors to get all the nutrients the body needs.

We decided to illustrate Skittles at the beginning of the presentation because of their

slogan “taste the rainbow”, which correlates to our lesson’s name “Eating the Rainbow”.

The focus was to visualize all the different colors of the rainbow filled with fruits and

vegetables of each color. We created a lesson plan (Appendix A) with three objectives

consisting of three domains: cognitive to make them think, affective to make them feel,

and psychomotor to have them engaged.

For the cognitive domain, the goal is to have the children think and self-assess

how many colors of the rainbow they eat each day. The level we utilized was evaluation

because the children are self-assessing themselves by evaluating how many colors of the

rainbow they eat each day, meaning all the colors of fruits and vegetables. The

generalization of this objective is stating children should have 5 servings of different

colors of fruits and vegetables each day. The affective domain is to make them aware of

the importance of eating vitamins, minerals and fiber and their role in the body. The level

we utilized for this domain was receiving because the children are acknowledging the

moderation of fruits and vegetables and how their nutrients such as vitamins, minerals

and fibers impact the body positively. The generalization for this objective is how

vitamins, minerals and fiber help our body run smoothly. Lastly, the psychomotor

domain is to have the children participate in a smoothie making activity where they will

use every color of the rainbow. The level we used was perception since the children will

be preparing and tasting delicious smoothies using different colors of the rainbow. The
generalization of this objective is to show how smoothies are a good source to get all the

fruits and vegetables our body needs.

We decided to split our lesson into three parts while using a Powerpoint brief

presentation. For the first part, we discuss the different kind of fruits and vegetables and

their color group. We also focused on teaching the children about the serving portions

they should consume each day while also telling them how the nutrients in all these fruits

and vegetables are the building blocks in our body such as vitamins, minerals and fiber.

The smoothie activity is performed as the second part of the lesson, so that way the kids

can engage in a learning activity to shift their focus. After the smoothie activity, the focus

was shifted back to the teacher where she finished up the lesson by having the children

think of ways they can add fruits and vegetables to their meals and snacks every day as

well as encourage them to put food waste like banana peels in the green compost bin. We

finished the lesson by summarizing the 4 key points of our lesson which are: eat at least 5

servings of fruits and vegetables each day, eat all the colors of the rainbow, ways to add

fruits and vegetables to their meals and snacks and where to place food waste such as

banana peels and cores.

For the smoothie activity, we created a recipe where we used most of the colors of

the rainbow. The recipe (Appendix B) called for strawberries, banana, carrots, spinach,

pineapple and blueberries. We also used almond unsweetened milk to blend everything

together in a blender. Since our class wasn’t the set up we hoped for, we asked for a

volunteer to come up and be our helper during the activity. If the classroom set-up was

able to form groups, it would be three groups and each group would be able to make a

smoothie with their classmates. Since we are three teachers, we would each take care of
one group. However since this was not the case, the special helper was the only

volunteer. For this activity we used a blender, a ½ measuring cup and dixie 3 oz cups to

pour the smoothie sample for each child. The volunteer poured all the fruits and veggies

into the blender while naming them. The teacher helping the volunteer, states the

vitamins and minerals that specific fruit or vegetable contains. Every child gets a 3 oz

sample of the smoothie.

At the end of the lesson, we passed out a smoothie recipe they can make at home

with their parents or guardians. The recipe handout was in big words and very

straightforward for them to read and follow. We also encouraged kids to go grocery

shopping with their parents and pick up fruits and vegetables of every color of the

rainbow. We considered this as their assignment and see what meals and snacks they

come up with.

Results

We did not perform any online surveys or in class paper surveys since we didn’t

think it would be applicable for our specific target audience. However, we then realized

we could have conducted a small survey of 4 to 5 simple questions after the lesson such

as: How many fruits and vegetables do you eat a day? Or did you like the smoothie we

made today? This data could have given us an idea of how many fruits and vegetables

these children are consuming each day as well as predict if they would make the

smoothie again at home. Since we weren’t able to provide no data, we each performed a

self-reflection form for our presentation (Appendix C), which discusses the pros and cons

and future changes to make the presentation more efficient.

Discussion
We did not perform any formative or summative evaluations for our presentation

since we did not think it would be applicable for our specific target audience. We did ask

the children what they thought of when they heard “taste the rainbow” and a couple

examples of each color for fruits and vegetables. We assumed that the children would be

able to know what “taste the rainbow” meant from watching television or from other

sources and that they would have experienced fruits and vegetables from the different

colors of the rainbow in their daily lives. There wasn’t any information available on

whether or not kids knew about fruits and vegetables but there was data available on how

much kids are eating.

Data shows that 64.6% of children from the ages 2-11 in California don’t

consume the recommended 5 servings of fruits and vegetables a day (Kids Data, 2018).

This shows that there is a need for more education about fruits and vegetables, serving

sizes, and recommendations. We focused on educating on those three topics as well as

nutritional values of the fruits and vegetables. The children were able to give us a couple

of examples for each color of the rainbow so it shows that we were right in assuming that

children know fruits and vegetables for the different colors of the rainbow.

The three pros that we had for the presentation were that the children were

enthusiastic about the lesson, we had great volunteers, and that the children were

knowledgeable about the topic. Having the children knowledgeable and enthusiastic

allowed us to have a good energy vibe flowing throughout the presentation. The three

cons for the presentation were that we could have asked more questions during the

lesson, being more engaged during the process of making the smoothie, and having the

smoothie process be more organized. The format of the room didn’t allow us to ask for
multiple volunteers when doing the smoothie. We had originally planned to have the

smoothie demonstration done in the middle of the front of the room and have multiple

volunteers help put the fruits into the blender. The blender’s cord was too short and we

were forced to do the demonstration in the corner of the room. Overall, we thought our

presentation did well, but it could have been improved through more engagement with

the children.

Conclusion

Our presentation was good and simple for the children ages seven and eight. They

were able to be engaged with the presentation and comprehend the material being taught.

The presentation could have included more engagement from the presenters but the

presentation still went well with the amount of engagement from the Powerpoint and

activity. Although children typically do not eat the recommended amount of fruits and

vegetables a day, they were very excited to learn about them. The issue with children not

eating enough fruits and vegetables a day could most likely be improved by educating

children and getting them excited about eating fruits and vegetables.

References

Bauer, K. D., & Liou, D. (2016). Nutrition counseling and education skill development
(3rd ed.). Australia: Cengage Learning.

Children Who Eat Five or More Servings of Fruits and Vegetables Daily, by Age Group.
(2018). Retrieved December 18, 2018, from
https://www.kidsdata.org/topic/739/nutrition-fruitsandvegetables-
age/table#fmt=1122&loc=2,127,1657,331,1656,171,1655,345,357,324,369,362,3
60,337,364,356,217,328,354,320,339,334,365,343,367,344,355,366,368,265,349,
361,4,273,59,370,326,341,338,350,342,359,363,340,335&tf=109&ch=1091,486
Dudley, D. D., Cotton, W., Peralta, L. R. (2015). Teaching approaches and strategies that
promote healthy eating in primary school children: a systematic review and meta-
analysis. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity.
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12966-015-0182-8

Grigorakis, D.A., Georgoulis, M., Psarra, G. et al. (2016). Prevalence and lifestyle
determinants of central obesity in children. European Journal Nutrition, 55(5),
1923- 1931.

Stafford, L. D. (2018). Food neophobia, autistic traits, and body mass index: a broader
behavioral constellation?. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 108(4),
654–655.

Taylor, C. M., Wernimont, S.M., Northstone, K., Emmett, P. M. (2015). Picky/fussy


eating in children: review of definitions, assessment, prevalence and dietary
intakes. Appetite, 95, 349-359.

Appendix A- LESSON PLAN


Eating the Rainbow
Duration:25 minutes
Target Group: 7-8 year olds/ 3rd graders
Overall Goal: Increase kids knowledge about the importance of eating all the colors of
fruits and vegetables to get all the nutrients our body needs.
Major Concepts:
 At least 5 portions of fruit and vegetables a day

-A palm size handful is a serving

 Eat all the COLORS of the rainbow

-Nutrients (vitamins, minerals, and fiber)

-Benefits (health)

 Ways to add veggies and fruits to your meals and snacks

-ex: smoothies

 What you can do with food waste

-Compost green bin

Ice Breaker: (3 minutes)


 Use a sample poster of a type of fruit or vegetable in the colors: red, orange,
yellow, green, blue/purple and white/brown.
 Have them name a fruit or vegetable that belongs in the designated color group
but it can’t be the one on the sample poster.
Objectives and Learning Domains; Generalizations and Learning Experiences
1. Have the children think and self-assess if they’ve consumed a variety of fruits and
vegetables in different colors.
Domain: Cognitive-evaluation (knowledge)
Generalization: Children should have 5 servings of different colors of fruits and
vegetables each day.
Learning Experiences: (4 minutes)
 Portion size examples
 Add dressings, dips for extra flavor
 Using measuring cups to portion size (during smoothie activity)

2. What vitamins, minerals and fibers do for our body.


Domain: Affective-Receiving
Generalization: Vitamins, minerals and fiber help our body run smoothly.
Learning Experiences: (6 minutes)
 Vitamins A, B, C, D, E, and K
 Minerals-Sodium, potassium, chloride, calcium, and iron
 Benefits of fiber and digestion
3. Physical activity engaging the children to prepare and taste delicious smoothies with
different colors of fruits and vegetables.
Domain: Psychomotor-perception
Generalization: Show how smoothies are a good source to get all the fruits and
vegetables our body needs.
Learning Experience: (10 minutes)
 Smoothie activity
 Ways to add fruits and vegetables to meals and snacks
 Parent and child interaction at home
 Hands-on learning experience
Reminders/handout: (2 minutes)
 Remind kids to place food waste in the compost “green” bin to help earth
stay green. (ex: banana peels, cores)
 Pass out recipe handout for kids to take home and make with their parents
or guardians
Summary: Eating a mixture of fruits and vegetables are important for children to eat on
a daily basis. It is recommended that they eat 5 servings of fruits and vegetables a day. A
serving is considered a handful for children. Eating fruits and vegetables help us consume
Vitamins A, B, C, D, E, and K which help us grow and stay healthy. Fruits and
vegetables also give us minerals such as sodium, potassium, chloride, calcium, and iron
that help us have strong bones, a healthy heart, and good hydration. Fiber is also found in
fruits and vegetables and helps our digestive system stay healthy. There are a variety of
different way to get 5 servings of fruits and vegetables into your daily meals such as
smoothies, fruit salads, or yogurts. With fruits and vegetables comes food waste which
affects the environment. We should make sure to compost our banana peels, cores, roots,
and stems.
Evaluation: There will be a station at the front of the room with a blender and fruits.
Multiple volunteers will be chosen to help dump in some fruits and vegetables into the
blender. The kids will name the color and fruit that is being placed into the blender and
its benefits. This will assess the students’ knowledge of the type of fruits and vegetables
and their benefits from the presentation. For example, “ This red fruit is called a
strawberry. It is good for getting Vitamin C.”
Assignment: Encouraged kids to go grocery shopping with their parents and pick out
fruits and vegetables of every color of the rainbow.

Appendix B- Smoothie Recipe

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