Attachment R-1 Grade 6 Lesson Plan

Attachment R-1: Grade 6 Lesson Plan

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6TH GRADE | LESSON PLAN 

What’s With Breakfast?
Lesson Overview

Lesson Structure

In this lesson, students
will explore why eating
breakfast matters, what
constitutes a balanced
breakfast, and how MyPlate
can help them make healthy
eating choices. Engaging
activities weave together
two informational text
articles, a video about the
impact of breakfast on
the body, an interactive
application about breakfast
customs around the world,
and a project exploring
students’ eating habits.

Each lesson is created like a
“menu,” allowing you to pick
and choose from a variety of
learning activities designed
to engage all children and all
learning styles. Lessons also
include video, interactive
application, and challenges/
investigations developed
specifically to promote
engagement and exploration.

TIME REQUIRED: Lesson
activities are grouped into 3
sessions of 45 minutes, with
a short warm up and wrap
up.

Added sugars, antioxidant,
climate, culture, custom,
minerals, nutrients, refined
grains, region, saturated fats,
vitamin, whole grains, sodium

SUPPLIES:

Transfer Objective

• Video projector

Students will be able to
independently use their learning
from these activities to:

Essential Questions

• Increase the number of days

• What influences my breakfast

• Computers with access to

the Internet
• Breakfast Myths Guide

(p.5)
• SuperTracker:

https://www.supertracker.
usda.gov/
• SuperTracker Reflection

Handout (p.6)
• MyPlate Handout (p.7)

Subject Connections
English Language Arts,
Geography, Social Studies

Key Vocabulary

they eat healthy breakfast
foods.

Learning Objectives
Students will be able to:
• Describe the five food groups
and explain how foods are
grouped based on the
nutrients they contain.

• Explain the benefits of

eating a healthy breakfast.
• Describe different examples

of a balanced breakfast.
• Identify small shifts that

could ensure that breakfast
meals include multiple food
groups.
• Understand that differences

in culture and geography
influence what people eat for
breakfast.

Enduring
Understandings
• Eating a balanced breakfast

gives you the nutrients you
need to start the day.
• Eating a well-balanced

breakfast contributes to your
daily food group needs.
• Many schools in the U.S.

provide a convenient, quick,
and healthy breakfast each
day.

choices?
• Why is it important to eat

breakfast?
• What are the breakfast customs

of people around the world?
• What is a healthy breakfast?

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6TH GRADE | LESSON PLAN 

Warm Up (10 minutes)
1. THINK-PAIR-SHARE: Ask students to turn to a partner and discuss: What influences my breakfast

choices? How do I decide if and what to eat for breakfast? Then ask for volunteers to report back to
the whole group and record key ideas from student responses on a whiteboard or chart paper.
Students may be tempted to simply say, “I don't eat breakfast because I don’t have time.”
Prompt them to think about the whole range of influences on their breakfast choices: personal
preferences, social influences like peer pressure, family and cultural influences, structural
constraints like when school starts and when they have to leave the house, environmental
factors like passing a fast food restaurant on the way to school or having access to school
breakfast.
Optional: Create “If… Then…” statements from the brainstorm as a way to summarize key
themes. For example, “If my friends eat breakfast, then I eat breakfast too” or “If I wake up late,
I don’t have time to make breakfast.”

Breakfast and My Body (45 minutes)
1. DISCUSS breakfast myths. Conduct a “Human Barometer” activity

exploring students’ attitudes about breakfast. Label one side of the room
“Agree” and the other side “Disagree.” Ask students to gather in the center
of the room, read the statements on the Breakfast Myths Guide (p.5) , and
instruct them to walk to the side of the room that represents their opinion.
Choose a volunteer or two from each side to explain their point of view before moving on.
2. WATCH “Start Smart with Breakfast” video (90 seconds). The video serves as an introduction

to the entire lesson by showing students why eating a healthy breakfast is important, and
providing quick, easy, and budget-friendly breakfast ideas. Discuss: What does the video show us
about the differences between nutritious and less nutritious breakfasts?
3. INVESTIGATE. Students will use the USDA’s SuperTracker Challenges tool to explore their

eating habits, deepen their understanding of MyPlate, and see how to eat a balanced, nutrientdense meal that includes 3-5 food groups. Refer to the SuperTracker Groups & Challenges User
Guide (https://www.supertracker.usda.gov/Documents/SuperTracker%20Groups%20And%20
Challenges%20User%20Guide.pdf ) for instructions on setting up a custom challenge.
SuperTracker Challenge: After setting up your account and creating
your private group, create a custom challenge for a 2-day period. Select
all five food groups for your challenge (Fruits, Vegetables, Protein
Foods, Grains, and Dairy). After setting up the challenge, invite students
to join. Assign students to enter the foods they eat for breakfast for a
2-day period. At the end, the following reports can be printed: Food
Groups, Calories, and Nutrients. You can also run a group report to
see on average what food groups were consumed for breakfast. You
also have the option to see how individual students did and ensure all
students participated in the challenge.
4. At the end of the week, instruct students to fill out the SuperTracker Reflection Handout (p.6)

to reflect on what kinds of breakfasts they ate.
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6TH GRADE | LESSON PLAN 

MyPlate and Balanced Breakfasts (45 minutes)
1. READ: “Healthy Eating with MyPlate” informational text article.

(30 minutes)
Answer reading comprehension questions, and discuss as a class.
2. ANALYZE your breakfasts using MyPlate as a guide. (15 minutes)

Preparation Note: Prior to the activity, obtain a copy of the school
breakfast menu from the cafeteria or assign students to note what
is offered in the 2-3 days before the activity.
Distribute the MyPlate Handout (p. 7) (or display the handout
where students can see) and the Breakfast at My School
Worksheet (p. 8). Have your class analyze one week of meals
offered through your school’s breakfast program. Allow the
students to work in small groups to discuss the meals and fill in the
worksheet. After they have completed the worksheet, discuss their responses as a class, and ask
each group to write their two ideas for school breakfast changes they would like to see on the
board. See p. 4 for a hands-on extension to this activity.

Breakfast Around the World (45 minutes)
1. READ: “Breakfast Around the World” informational text article.

(30 minutes)
Answer reading comprehension questions, and discuss as a class.
2. EXPLORE: “Let’s Break Breakfast” interactive application.

(15 minutes)
Explore the interactive as a class or set students up on individual
computers or tablets to work on their own. Students will examine
breakfast in different countries around the world and identify
which food groups are present. The goal of the activity is to visit
all 8 countries.
Once students have finished, discuss as a group: Which meals
looked the tastiest? If you could pick and choose foods from the
different breakfasts, what would be your ideal breakfast? Does
it include at least three food groups? As an optional homework
extension, consider assigning a deeper research project on one
country's breakfast customs.

Wrap Up (10 minutes)
REFLECT: Instruct students to write a reflection: How will what you have learned about breakfast
affect your breakfast choices? If you were to share one message from these activities with a friend, what
would it be? After students have reflected individually, ask for volunteers to share their responses
with the class. Discuss as a group and record key ideas from student responses on a whiteboard or
chart paper.
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6TH GRADE | LESSON PLAN 

Changing My School Breakfast
Building off of the school breakfast analysis activity on p. 3, ask students
to vote on their top 3 ideas for changes they would like to see in their
school breakfasts. Decide who will present each of the top 3 ideas to your
school nutrition manager and brainstorm as a class on effective ways to
deliver specific and constructive feedback. Invite your school nutrition
manager to the class to discuss the school breakfast program and to hear
a short 5 minute presentation on your students' suggestions for making
school breakfast even better for the students at your school. If time
allows, facilitate a Q&A session between your students and your school
nutrition manager.

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Persuasive Writing
Students will write a persuasive essay encouraging a friend who doesn't
usually eat breakfast to eat breakfast and/or to try out their school
breakfasts options. In the essay, the students will explain the reasons
breakfast is important, describe the benefits of various food groups, and
give balanced breakfast ideas.

Breakfast Skits
Students will act out a skit showing how they would avoid unhealthy
breakfast options and make healthier breakfast choices. Ask small
groups of students to rehearse two scenes. The first scene shows why
a student chooses an unhealthy breakfast option (this could be due to
peer-pressure or to advertising or any other force that they can think of
that sometimes causes them to choose less-healthy choices). The second
scene shows an alternative ending to the skit. Small groups can rehearse
the scenes in private and then present the scenes to the group. After
each small group presents the first scene, the class discusses whether
or not this is a common experience. Next, the group presents the second
scene showing the solution and a positive outcome- a child enjoying a
healthy breakfast. Teacher can debrief by asking groups to explain how
they made healthier breakfast choices.

Breakfast Club
Students will create social media posts featuring their #MyPlateBreakfast
(a breakfast with healthy choices from at least three MyPlate food groups)
to share their healthy breakfast ideas and their positive reviews of healthy
school breakfasts. This will encourage students to eat healthy breakfasts
as a community, and allow them to share their ideas with other students
across the country. It also will help them get new ideas for healthy
breakfasts as they see what their peers are sharing.
Food and Nutrition Service • FNS-XXX • Month 2018 • USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer. • http://teamnutrition.usda.gov

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6TH GRADE | LESSON PLAN 

Breakfast Myths Guide
Conduct a “Human Barometer” activity exploring students’ attitudes
about breakfast. Label one side of the room “Agree” and the other side
“Disagree.” Ask students to gather in the center of the room, read the
statements below, and instruct them to walk to the side of the room that
represents their opinion. Choose a volunteer or two from each side to
explain their point of view before moving on.

It is hard to find time to eat breakfast.
Agree or disagree.
T
 here are many ways to eat a quick breakfast, as we’ll see in
the video we’re going to watch next.

Eating breakfast helps me focus in class.
Agree or disagree.
E
 ating a balanced, nutritious breakfast can help you
concentrate in class (it’s hard to pay attention when
you’re hungry!).

Eating breakfast gives me energy to be active.
Agree or disagree.
E
 ating a balanced, nutrient-dense breakfast can help you
have energy (which allows you to move and be active).

Breakfast is a good time to eat fruits and vegetables.
Agree or disagree.
F
 ruit and vegetables can be important components of a
balanced breakfast. Most middle school students in the United
States don’t eat enough fruits and vegetables, and breakfast
provides a way to include more of these foods in your diet.

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6TH GRADE | LESSON PLAN 

SuperTracker Reflection
Follow your teacher's instructions to sign up for SuperTracker and join
your class’s group, either by email or with an access code. Enter all the
foods you eat for breakfast into SuperTracker for 2 days. You may want to
write down what you eat on a piece of paper and enter it on the computer
later. Make sure to save your entries. When the challenge period is over,
answer the questions below to see what you learned.

1. Were you able to eat at least three food groups for breakfast for 2 days?

YES

NO

2. Look at the Food Groups, Calories, and Nutrients Report. What food groups did you eat most

frequently?

3. What did you learn about your breakfast eating pattern after using SuperTracker for 2 days?

4. How do you feel when you eat breakfast and when you don’t?

5. Will this activity affect your breakfast choices in the future? How?

?

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6TH GRADE | LESSON PLAN 

MyPlate Handout

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6TH GRADE | LESSON PLAN 

Breakfast at My School W O R K S H E E T
What are your top 2 favorite breakfast meals from the menu? Why are these your favorites?

Breakfast Meal 1

Breakfast Meal 2

Reason for choosing:

Reason for choosing:

Fruits

Fruits

Vegetables

Vegetables

Grains

MEAL 2

MEAL 1

Take a closer look at meal 1 and meal 2 and match the foods in the meal with the MyPlate food groups.

Grains

Dairy

Dairy

Protein Foods

Protein Foods

What are 2 changes that could be made to the meals that are offered at your school that might
make you or other students choose school breakfast more often? Be specific in your feedback.
For example, instead of saying “We just don’t like the food” use a more specific statement like
“The eggs are often cold and would taste better if they were served warm.”
1.

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2.

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