Short description of activity: Find the rainbow in all of the fruits and vegetables you eat during the week.

Type of activity: Content Connection, Food and Nutrition

Minimum Time Needed for Activity: 20 minutes before and after week-long tracking

Grade Level: K – 12th

Subject Area: ELA, Math, Health, NGSS

Materials:

• Print one Eat The Rainbow Color Tracker for each student
• Crayons and markers
• Food Flashcards, or images of fruits and vegetables for discussion
  • Downloadable food images

Set up:

1. Introduce a discussion of foods being in many different colors. Even some fruits and vegetables come in different colors.
   • If needed, specify that for this purpose we are saying what color the food is when it is ripe to eat.

Play:

1. Have students color the fruits and vegetables in each color category.
   • If students can name other fruits and vegetables in that category, they may write or draw them.
2. In the morning and/or after lunch, students enter the names of the fruits and vegetables they ate the night before, during breakfast and lunch, etc.
   • Fruits and vegetables should be whole foods, not processed foods (strawberry jelly does not count)
3. At the end of the week, have students answer the four questions on the second page of the tracking sheet.
   • Encourage students to use more descriptive words than “yummy,” “gross,” “tasty,” and “disgusting.” Try to use words that describe texture or quality of the fruits and vegetables.
   • Have students share their experiences with each other. What are the similarities or differences?

Variations:

ELA/Health:

1. Have students use the experience/questions as a prompt for an opinion writing.
   • Paragraph with opening statement, supporting ideas and closing statement.
   • Essay with an opening paragraph, two supporting paragraphs that more fully explain supporting ideas and a conclusion.
2. Use sight words, spelling or vocabulary words regarding the foods and color groups tasted..
   • Write a short story to use many vocabulary and spelling words.
3. Have students do research to identify nutrition facts about a ½ cup serving of one or two vegetables or fruits. Compare to other food in that color or other colors.

Math/NGSS:

1. Have students create a list of fruits and vegetables tried in each color category for the whole class. 
   • Rank foods/colors in order of times eaten, dis/liked, etc.
2. Sort fruits and vegetables according to seasonality or growing zone.
   • Which were grown in your town? Grown in the school garden?
   • Which traveled the farthest? Does one color travel farther than another?
   • Which grow on a tree, on a plant or vine, or under the ground?
3. Sort fruits and vegetables according to plant part
   • Vegetables are part of the plant that we eat: root, stem, stalk, flower, leaf.
   • Fruits are the product of a fertilized flower, and contain seeds..
4. Represent the answers using a graph or table.
   • Identify average, median, range, etc.
   • Calculate percentages
   • Can students identify trends?

Standards:

ELA Standards > Reading: Informational Text > Key Ideas and Details; Integration of Knowledge and Ideas; Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity

ELA Standards > Writing > Text Types and Purposes; Research to Build and Present Knowledge;

ELA Standards > Speaking and Listening > Comprehension and Collaboration; Presentation of Knowledge and Ideas

Math Standards > Measurement & Data > Represent and interpret data; Geometric measurement: understand concepts of volume

Health Education Standards: 1, 3, 4

PE Standards> The physically literate individual demonstrates the knowledge and skills to achieve and maintain a health-enhancing level of physical activity and fitness; The physically literate individual recognizes the value of physical activity for health, enjoyment, challenge, self-expression and/or social interaction.

NGSS Standards> Life Sciences> From Molecules to Organisms: Structures and Processes