Grade 1

Updated March 2024

HPE Curriculum Health Eating Strand

D1.1 Explain why people need food to have healthy bodies and minds

D2.1 Describe how Canada’s Food Guide can help them develop healthy eating habits

D2.2 Know and recognize cues to hunger, thirst, and the feeling of fullness, and explain how they can use these cues to develop healthy eating habits


NOTE: Educators should be aware that food guide messages may not be appropriate for all students including those who are neurodivergent and/or have health, sensory or other exceptional needs that impact their relationship with food and eating. SMHO Resource on Mental Health Promotion at Schools: Classroom Considerations – Supporting Mental Wellness Amongst Students with Special Education Needs offers tips that can be applied to support learning about food and eating at school.

Key Concepts for Student Learning:

Why do we eat? 

  • Our bodies and minds do a lot for us during the day. We grow, we learn, play, and heal. One of the things our body needs for this to happen is food and water. Food gives us energy.
  • Food connects to self, family, history, culture, tradition, nature and community
  • Water refreshes us and helps us grow, learn, and play

Canada’s Food Guide messages that can support eating habits:

  • Enjoy a variety of foods because different foods help our body to do all the things it needs to do (think, walk, grow, move, play, etc.) and makes eating more interesting and enjoyable. Food comes in all shapes, sizes, colours, smells and flavours. Learning to like new foods takes time. 
  • Learn to cook because it is an important skill to have as a grown-up, helps you save money and allows you to have fun and experiment with food. 
  • Eat meals with others because it is a good way to spend time together, allows you to share food traditions and culture with others, and gives the opportunity to explore new foods you might not have tried before. 
  • Enjoy the food you eat.

Recognizing hunger, fullness and thirst cues:

  • We are born with hunger cues which tell us when we need to eat and when we need to stop. We feel hungry before eating and full after eating. It’s important to listen to our body. Not all of us experience hunger and fullness in the same way.
  • We know we need to eat when our body (stomach) lets us know, or if we start to think more about food. 
  • We know we have had enough to eat when your body starts feeling full. A few hours later, we will probably feel hungry (or thirsty) all over again. 
  • Sometimes we eat when we are not physically hungry, and that is ok