5th Grade Science: Unit 3 – Food and Nutrition!
Our class is beginning a new science unit using the FOSS Food and Nutrition Module. We will be investigating what food is, what it is made of, and how several nutrient groups contribute to good, healthful nutrition. Children will learn about fats, sugars, proteins, and vitamins and ways of testing for some of these nutrients in food. They will have an opportunity to use their knowledge about foods to plan lunch menus that conform to guidelines for total number of calories and for the number of calories contributed by different nutrients. And we’ll become familiar with the labels on food and the kinds of information provided for the consumer.
Your child will be conducting experiments that use common foods. After break, I may be asking you to send small samples of foods to school for this purpose. The foods might include items such as a handful of breakfast cereal, a spoonful of peanut butter, a piece of fruit, or a couple of cookies. We are also assembling a collection of empty food containers of all kinds. We are especially interested in the list of ingredients and nutritional information contained on the food packages. Please save a few containers for our “food market.” Watch for more details once we return from Spring Break. You might even find that your family’s dinner conversation will actually focus on the meal!
If you have any questions or comments, or have family and/or cultural traditions involving food that you would like to share with the class, please reach out or come in and visit our class. We are looking forward to many weeks of exciting investigations with food and nutrition.
Over break, I am suggesting that students who have the opportunity, keep a food journal for a few days. It will be a good way for our students to start analyzing and reflecting on what they are typically eating and how this may change as we progress through our unit!
I look forward to the upcoming unit and hope the unit provides plenty of takeaways for our students and families, alike!