Healthy Eating Adventure

Overview

This lesson focuses on Healthy Eating, aligned with the PSHE (Personal, Social, Health and Economic) education curriculum for Year 10 students in the UK. The aim is to promote understanding and awareness around balanced diets in an interactive and engaging way.

Curriculum Area: PSHE – Health and Wellbeing
Level: Key Stage 4

Learning Objectives

• Understand the importance of making healthy eating choices.
• Identify factors influencing food choices beyond the basic types and labels.
• Develop teamwork and communication skills through interactive activities.
• Use critical thinking to analyse and discuss topics related to healthy eating.

Materials Needed

• Coloured index cards or paper
• Markers
• A variety of snack items (healthy and less healthy options)
• A stopwatch or timer
• A whiteboard and markers
• Prizes (optional, e.g. stickers, certificates)

Lesson Structure

Introduction (5 Minutes)

1. Welcome and Warm-up:
   • Begin with a quick warm-up game: "Fruit Salad Shuffle".
   • Ask students to stand in a circle. Assign each student a fruit name (e.g., apple, banana, orange).
   • Call out a fruit and those students must swap places. If you call out "Fruit Salad", everyone swaps.
   • This helps students break the ice and get moving.

Main Activity (25 Minutes)

2. Healthy Eating Adventure Challenge:

   • Part 1: Food Maze (10 Minutes)

     • Set up different "stations" around the classroom, each representing a different factor influencing food choices (e.g., taste, cost, advertising, convenience).
     • Give each student a stack of coloured index cards.
     • Ask students to make choices based on given scenarios ("You have £5, what can you buy for lunch?", "You've seen an advertisement for a burger, what do you feel like eating?"), moving to the appropriate station.
     • Discuss briefly at each station why they chose it.

   • Part 2: Snack Detective (15 Minutes)

     • Place a variety of snacks at a central table. Some are healthy options (nuts, fruit) and others less healthy (crisps, chocolate bars).
     • Blindfold students one by one and ask them to identify and categorise the snacks by taste, texture, and smell.
     • After everyone has had a turn, discuss the findings. Which snacks were easier to identify? Why do some snacks appeal more than others?
     • Discuss how different senses and perceptions affect our food choices.

Plenary (10 Minutes)

3. Discussion and Reflection:

   • On a whiteboard, draw a T-Chart. Label one side “Healthy Choices” and the other “Unhealthy Choices”.
   • Ask students to reflect on the activity and share what new insights they have regarding healthy eating.
   • Have each student write a commitment for a healthy change on a piece of paper and place it in a "Healthy Eating Pledge Box".

4. Closing Game (5 Minutes):

   • Finish with "Healthy Eating Charades". Divide the class into two teams and have them take turns acting out scenarios like preparing a healthy meal, going grocery shopping mindfully, etc., with the other team guessing.

Assessment

• Formative Assessment: Monitor participation in discussions and activities, noting students’ understanding and engagement.
• Feedback: Provide verbal feedback during Activities and Plenary. Celebrate creative ideas and recognise efforts to think critically about healthy eating.

By making the lesson active and exploratory, students will not just learn but also experience the dynamics and fun of making healthier food choices.