The tween years are when it is time for our children to start taking responsibility for their habits. Healthy living habits such as their personal hygiene and the food they eat are great first steps for them to take. This Middle School Health Nutrition Unit will teach and encourage your child to make wise choices regarding the food that they eat.
Middle School Health: Personal Hygiene is the first unit in my middle school health curriculum, Living Healthy, as this is the first step our tweens should make on their journey to taking responsibility for their own health.
The curriculum was designed to resemble an online unit study with the addition of a workbook with questions for your tweens to answer to help encourage conversation with you.
Note to parents, please check all links prior to allowing your child to access the internet to ensure they have not changed and keep in mind that all videos should be inspected prior to viewing to ensure you deem it’s appropriate for your child.
If you’d like to use the workbook, you can download it at the bottom of this page.
Middle School Health: Nutrition Unit
Lesson One: Carbs, Fat and Cholesterol
Learning about nutrition is an important part of health class. In order to eat healthily, you have to understand what is good for you and what isn’t.
This week you’re going to learn about carbs, fat and cholesterol. You’ll learn about the good and the bad of each and how you can ensure that you don’t have too much or too little of any of them.
It’s important that you pay attention and learn from these lessons to ensure that you eat healthy today and for the rest of your life. How you eat will greatly affect your quality of life, especially as you get older.
Carbohydrates
Nutrients in Food – Carbohydrates
Biology for Kids – Carbohydrates
What is a Carbohydrate? (Video)
Main Functions of Carbohydrates (Video)
Fats
Good Fats and Bad Fats – The Basics
Good Fats vs. Bad Fats (Video)
Cholesterol
Cholesterol Tips for Kids and Teens
Cholesterol and Your Health (Video)
LDL and HDL Cholesterol (Video)
Additional Study Resources
Carbohydrate Lesson and Worksheet
Healthy and Unhealthy Fats Unit
Lesson Two: Protein and Minerals
Learning about the proteins and minerals that we need and where we get them is an important step in the process of growing and eating healthy.
This week you’ll learn all about the protein and minerals in food that you need, what foods contain them and more. You’ll delve into quite a bit of chemistry this week in some of the videos which will be fun!
Remember to pay attention to the details of these nutrition lessons. They are important for the future of your health and your body for the rest of your life.
Protein
What is a Protein? (Video)
Proteins – Organic Chemistry (Video)
Proteins (Video)
Minerals
Importance of Minerals (Video)
Minerals in Our Food (Video)
Additional Study Resources
Protein, Carb & Fat Lesson, Activities and Worksheet
Basic Minerals (Macro & Trace) Lesson, Activities and Worksheet
Lesson Three: Calories and Vitamins
It takes just the right amount of calories and vitamins to live a healthy life. As with everything you eat, there must be a balance to care for your body properly. For example; If you eat too many calories it can be harmful to you and if you eat too little it will as well.
This week you’ll learn what calories and vitamins are, where you get them from and how important the right balance of each is to your health.
What you eat today is important for your future because your eating habits of today will likely be your eating habits of the future. So, be sure to pay attention to the details in this week’s lesson to ensure you know how to get calories and vitamins in a healthy way.
Calories
What is a Calorie? (Video)
Healthy Calories (Video)
Vitamins
How Do Vitamins Work? (Video)
Additional Study Resources
Calorie Counting Lesson and Worksheet
13 Essential Vitamins Worksheet
Vitamins Worksheet, Quiz and Projects
Lesson Four: Healthy Food and Meal Planning
You’ve spent the last 3 weeks learning about the importance of eating healthy. Now it is time to learn how to put it all together by looking at healthy foods and meal planning.
This week you’ll learn what foods you need to eat every day and how to plan healthy meals and snacks for you and your family. Meal planning can be a great family night activity and it can change the way your entire family eats.
It’s time to take everything you’ve learned this month about calories, carbs, protein, vitamins, etc. and create meals that you enjoy and that are good for you!
Healthy Food
Healthy Food Facts for Kids (Video)
Best Food for a Healthy and Active Child (Video)
Healthy Eating on a Budget (Video)
Meal Planning
Easy Dinners for Tweens and Teens
Meal Planning Personality Quiz
Additional Study Resources
