Content???+I'm+just+gonna+post+this+here!

This the Content Portion of Integrating in the Classroom. I think that it is right, but it hasn't gone through the mighty test that she gives. :)  The Food Pyramid is both an essential point and easily integrated topic into any elementary grade level classroom. The necessary content information is easily applicable to the lives of students and can provide for engaging and relevant experiences for them to participate in. Each grade level on the K-6 spectrum can be introduced to the concepts of the food pyramid in interactive and skill based formats. They should build on knowledge and skills from year to year, but can also be introduced without previous exposure. The topic of the Food Pyramid can be integrated into the curriculum areas of math, science, language arts, and health. Some recommendations for integration are broken down by grade level and explained in further detail.  - __Kindergarten__ : Exploring the MyPyramid for Kids - Students can notice the colors represented on the chart and their corresponding foods represented. They can start beginning to distinguish between which foods belong to which groups and that we need lots of some, with less of others. Getting Children to Think About Exercise - Students can brainstorm together and have class discussions that focus around identifying physical activities and sharing which ones they participate in and enjoy.

__-First Grade:__ Cards of Exercise - Students are to write down a physical activity on a card. Then they are to all as a class act out what each card says as it is drawn from a stack. Distinguishing Between Groups - Students should be able to more accurately and in-depth categorize the food groups corresponding with the pyramid. They can be responsible for categorizing their school lunches accordingly.

- __Second Grade__ : Pyramid Go Fish - Students can be given foods that they must identify into their proper group. An educational game that is based on the common Go Fish card game allows for students to have fun while strengthening their science process skill of classification. MyPyramid for Kids Grocery Store Treasure Hunt - The website [|__http://www.fns.usda.gov__] provides a number of lessons and ideas for integrating the Food Pyramid into the elementary curriculum. One such activity is called the Grocery Store Treasure Hunt and allows for students to check off their necessary food groups with a parent as they buy them.

__-Third Grade__ : Food Group Diary - At this age, students can begin to track their nutrition consumption and record daily their approximate level of each food group intake. Graphing Their Consumption - As an integration into a math lesson, students can then learn to graph their diary postings into a more readable and comprehensible graph format.

__-Fourth Grade__ : Where About Mixed Foods? - Here, students can learn to work with mixed foods such as hamburgers, sandwiches, casseroles, etc. They can begin to understand foods do not always fit neatly into the characteristics of each group. Creating Their Own Pyramid - Students can compare the food pyramid to a life pyramid for themselves and create their own groups for what they should increase and limit in their daily lives, such as reading versus picking on their siblings.

- __Fifth Grade__ : Creating Menus - Students can now use the food pyramid as a tool to create possible meal plans and menus for simulated restaurants they have created or to call for a reform on school lunches. -Writing Healthy Hip-Hop - As an integration into the language arts curriculum, students can create and perform raps that center around the food pyramid and being healthy.

__-Sixth Grade__ : Calculating Caloric Intake - At this level, student can take their food diaries a step further and calculate the caloric intake that they are consuming. They can begin to monitor their essential calories and become aware of how much fat, sodium, etc different foods contain. PSA - Students can write, create and produce a PSA about using the food pyramid. These productions can be played for the entire school and used to motivate other students.

-Many of these integration ideas and concepts were found at the Resource Library of the My Pyramid for Kids website. [|__http://www.fns.usda.gov/tn/Resources/mypyramidclassroom.html__] This site can be given to parents in the beginning of the year as a valuable resource to get them involved with their children and their child’s school.