Lesson 1.14, one day, 11 slides. Student-facing text at a grade 6 to 7 level.
Do now
- Think about last night's dinner at home.
- Who decided what it would be?
- Write two things that person had to think about before choosing it.
- One minute. Pencils down when the timer sounds.
Teacher notes
Cold call five students. Sort their answers into unnamed columns on the board as they come.
You just built the list
- Taste. What we had in the house. How late Mom got home. How much money.
- A professional meal planner thinks about six things.
- You found most of them.
Teacher notes
Image: the board columns from the do now, photographed or redrawn, with no headings yet.
The six jobs of a family meal
- 1. Nutrition: the MyPlate groups
- 2. Likes and dislikes
- 3. Allergies and food rules
- 4. Time
- 5. Cost
- 6. Pantry: what is already in the house
Teacher notes
Image: six simple icons in a row: a plate, a thumbs up and down, a warning triangle, a clock, a dollar sign, a cabinet.
Give one example from a real dinner for each. Students copy the six onto the handout header.
Allergy, intolerance, food rule
- Allergy: the body reacts. Can be dangerous. Peanuts, milk, eggs, wheat, soy, tree nuts, fish, shellfish, sesame.
- Intolerance: stomach trouble, not dangerous. Lactose is the common one.
- Food rule: religion, a doctor's advice, or a family choice. No pork. Low salt. Vegetarian.
- All three get the same respect on a plan.
Teacher notes
Check question: which of the three is about safety, not preference? (Allergy.) Do not ask any student about their own rules.
Family A
- Two adults, a 13-year-old, a 6-year-old.
- The 13-year-old plays soccer four nights a week.
- The 6-year-old will not eat foods that are mixed together.
- No allergies. No food rules. 30 minutes. $40.
- Pantry: rice, oil, salt, pepper, ketchup.
Teacher notes
Read aloud. Ask the class to find each of the six jobs on the card and underline it on their copy.
A dinner that fails one job
- Chicken and vegetable stir fry over rice.
- Nutrition: yes. Time: yes. Cost: yes. Pantry: rice, yes.
- Job 2: the 6-year-old will not eat it. It is all mixed together.
- The fix: same food, served in sections. Chicken here, vegetables there, rice there.
Teacher notes
Image: two plates side by side; one a mixed stir fry, one with the same food in three separate piles.
Your team's task
- One family card per team. Two teams share each family.
- Plan one dinner: a main, a vegetable or fruit, a grain if the main has none, a drink.
- At least four MyPlate groups. No rule broken. Fits the time.
- Cost is a guess today: under $10, $10 to $20, over $20.
- Mark anything already in the pantry.
Teacher notes
12 minutes. Circulate with the three clipboard questions: four groups, no rule broken, fits the time.
While you plan, ask
- Who on the card eats this dish?
- Which group is still missing from the plate?
- Which job is the hardest for this family?
Compare
- Find the other team with your family.
- Read your dinners to each other.
- On the back of the grid: which dinner fits this family better, and which of the six jobs decided it?
- One sentence. One reporter per pair.
Teacher notes
6 minutes. Take one pair's answer per family aloud.
Exit card
- 3 of the six jobs a family meal has to do
- 2 things your team's dinner did well
- 1 thing you would change if this family had $10 less
Teacher notes
Three students read one line aloud. Sort into got it and needs more.
Tomorrow
- Same families. Real prices.
- Bring nothing. I bring the circulars.
- Question to think about: how does a piece of paper save a family money?