Grade 1 Classroom Activities and Lesson Ideas

• Class discussion:  Foods come in many different colours, tastes, textures and smells and how it’s good to learn about and try different foods. Talk about different foods, asking questions like: What does it smell like? Sound like? Have you tried this before? What does it taste like? What colour is it? How does it grow? Young children may need to learn new vocabulary to describe food.
• Play “Guess the Food” by putting food items in a box or bag and having students use their senses to guess what the food is. The What am I? Food literacy activity from Northern Health and Vancouver Coastal Health can be used as a guide.
• Song: I just found a kiwi in my lunch (Teach Nutrition): View the song and brainstorm additional verses describing other foods using the activity sheet available.
• Think of and draw a picture of a food for every letter of the alphabet 
• Food Spotting Activity from Dietitians4Teachers
• Alphabet Foods from Nutrition Education and Consulting
• Fun food sorting activity from Nutrition Education and Consulting
• Exploring Our Drinks from Teach Food First 
• Food Bingo from Teach Nutrition
• Explore foods together through reading books about food. For example, “Eating the Alphabet” by Lois Elhert, Frankies Favourite Food by Kelsey Garrity-Riley and A to Z with Veggies and Fruit by Arielle Dani Lebovitz

Cook more often

• Books: What’s Cooking at 10 Garden Street by Felicita Sala, Bilal Cooks Dahl by Anoosha Syed and Our Little Kitchen by Jillian Tamasi
• Prepare a simple recipe as a class, such as yogurt parfaits or cereal trail mix. Try these picture recipes from Teach Nutrition. 
• Talk about foods that are cooked at home