Teachers
On-Line Discussion Groups
These lists were originated by USDA and designed for State agency, school food service, and child care personnel to discuss issues about providing healthy meals to children. There is no fee for joining the lists. However, membership may be limited to related personnel. Messages and answers are unedited. The subscriber should assess the accuracy of the responses.
SuccessTalk - Intended as a communication tool to link school health professional, child nutrition educators, principals, teachers, parents, and community members interested in creating a healthy school nutrition environment.
- To subscribe to SuccessTalk: Send a message to: majordomo@nal.usda.gov
In the body of the message, type: Subscribe SuccessTalk your name<your email>
- To unsubscribe from SuccessTalk: Send a message to: majordomo@nal.usda.gov
In the body of the message, type: Unsubscribe SuccessTalk
Feeding Kids Newsletter - an announcement only newsletter.
The Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004 requires that all schools implement Wellness Policies and Councils by July 1, 2006. Visit USDA's link to learn more about this requirement and read best practices.
Food and Nutrition Resource List for Child Care and Professional Staff. A comprehensive resource list for childcare professionals. Childcare Resource
Pennsylvania College of Agriculture Cooperative Extension - resources for early childhood
- Nutrition in Every Theme Activity Booklets
- Preschooler activity pyramids
- Newsletters
Head Start Publication Center. Nutrition curriculum containing over 100 lessons and activities.
I Am Your Child. A wide variety of resources for parents, early childhood professionals, child advocates, health care providers, policymakers and the media.
yourSELF Middle School Nutrition Education Kit a TEAM Nutrition Resource.
yourSELF inspires children to take responsibility for their nutrition and fitness choices and includes, student magazines, student activity guides, the Teacher's Guide, duplicating masters, a video, and a poster, "The Power of Choice."
Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion
The United States Department of Agriculture's Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion contains many valuable resources. Included on this site is Food Guide Pyramid: Downloadable Graphic and Permission Statement; Using the Food Guide Pyramid: A Resource for Nutrition Educators; Expenditures on Children by Families; Official USDA Food Plans: Cost of Food at Home at Four Levels; and Childhood Obesity Symposium Proceedings, among others.
Food and Nutrition Information Center (FNIC) has made it easier for teachers to find nutrition resources for teachers.
Changing the Scene- Improving the School Nutrition Environment Anyone can order a FREE kit if they identify the school or district in which the kit will be used to make changes in the school nutrition environment.
Nutrition and Learning Resources List for Professionals. This resources contains reliable information on the link between nutrition and learning.
TEACHFree
Are you looking for free and low cost nutrition and health education materials? This site offers resources for Pre-K-12th grades to qualified teachers. The National Cattlemen's Beef Association, the Beef Board and 46 state beef councils host TeachFree.
Ask ERIC for lesson plans about:
- Nutrition
- Consumer Health
- Food Safety
- Agriculture in the Classroom: Fruits and Vegetables
- Bugs Aren't all Bad
- Fitness
The National Teachers Enhancement Network (NTEN)
NTEN offers K-12 science teachers teaching resources and professional development opportunities directly through the Internet.
CANFit Program
The California Adolescent Nutrition & Fitness Program's (CANFit) goal is to improve the nutritional well-being and physical fitness of low-income, multi-ethnic youth between 10-14 years of age. CANFit funds and supports local, community-based agencies that provide nutrition and physical activity education to adolescents. The curricula, lesson plans, and other educational materials developed by the CANFit grantees are available for use in your classroom. Check it out.
Fueled for Flight, Video kit
Invite a NASA astronaut and other experts to teach in your math and science classrooms! Fueled for Flight, an education kit, using the space shuttle as the theme to teach math and science skills to 5th and 6th grade students. Nutrition and exercise are used to make analogies between key concepts and the students' everyday lives. FREE to 5th and 6th grade science teachers who write to: Education Department, National Cattlemen's Beef Association on school letterhead specifying how they will use the kit. Other teacher will be charged $14.95. Fueled for Flight, Video kit, National Cattlemen's Beef Association, P.O. Box 670, Bloomingdale, IL 60108, 800-368-3138.
Noteworthy Creations, Inc.
The Noteworthy Creations, Inc. website contains fun activities for children. Each month brings a new topic, so check back frequently.
The Institute of Food Technologists
Do you want to teach your students about careers in the food industry? Teaching materials and videotapes about food science are free from this site. Click on Education & Careers.
Blue Web'n is a searchable database of educational Internet sites that specializes in online learning activities. Subject area, audience, and type categorize the nearly 1000 sites.
Education Index® contains descriptions of superior Web-based education-related sites. To help you find what you are looking for, subject and life stage sort the sites.
Try these sites to evaluate and find accurate nutrition information also.
- NetWellness from the University of Cincinnati, The Ohio State University, and Case Western Reserve University.
- Dr. Stephen Barrett's Quackwatch. Quackwatch, Inc. is a nonprofit corporation whose purpose is to combat health-related frauds, myths, fads, and fallacies.
- Find reliable consumer health and human services information at the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Service's Healthfinder®
American Dairy Association & Dairy Council Mid East includes resources and materials for schools, and it's easy to use. Educators can find the latest nutrition news, as well as order classroom materials and lesson plans from National Dairy Council®. In addition, school food service personnel can find valuable tools to use in the lunchroom. Take a few minutes to explore all this Web site has to offer.
National Dairy Council's® Nutrition Explorations offers nutrition activities, classroom resources, and teaching tips to educators. This site was judged one of the best sites by Tufts Nutrition Navigator.
The Washington State Dairy Council launched an online catalog. New materials include Healthy Habits for Life, Contemplate Your Plate, and Disordered Eating Tear Pads.
HEALTHteacher.com with WebMD™ offers K-12 teachers a free Health Education Curriculum. Three hundred (300) lessons, which meet the National Health Education Standards are included in the curriculum. The lessons also provide skills-based assessment tools. Click on Alcohol & Drugs, Nutrition, Community & Environmental Health, Personal and Consumer Health, and Physical Activity content areas to view lessons with references to healthy eating and promoting physical activity in youth. ***Note: The Dietary Guidelines lesson references the 1995 Dietary Guidelines. Visit: http://www.usda.gov/cnpp/ for more information on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2005.
Nutrition.gov is a comprehensive source of information on nutrition and dietary guidance from multiple government agencies and supports the President's HealthierUS Initiative and includes information provided by USDA, the Department of Health and Human Services and others.
Pennsylvania Advocates for Nutrition and Activity (PANA) is a statewide coalition of more than 500 public, private, academic, professional, and volunteer groups working to promote policies and environments that support healthy eating and activity. Established by the Pennsylvania Department of Health and funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, PANA has been operating since February, 2003, to empower schools, communities and healthcare providers to improve the opportunities for better nutrition and physical activity in Pennsylvania.
Nourish preschool children with books with this 1999 publication from Virginia Cooperative Extension Service, Publication 348-950, Nourishing Children With Books from Ann Hertzler.
Roberta Duyff offers a multicultural curriculum for preschool children in "The Foods I Eat: The Food You Eat." Contact Many Hands Media, 113 Broadway, Suite 1123, NY, NY 10010.
The Healthy Choices for Kids, funded in part by the Washington Apple Education Foundation, Tree Top, Inc., and other industry sponsors consists of four separate volumes, each comprising a complete, ready to use nutrition education program curriculum guide. All materials are copyrighted; educators may freely copy and distribute all content for use in a classroom setting.
Sanitation and Food Safety Teaching Resources
FoodSafety.gov This site links 500 frequently asked questions about food safety from federal, state, and local food safety web sites.
"Healthy Kids: Germ Free" An educational kit for daycare providers and school-aged children. Contains 5 food safety fact sheets, 9 colorful mini-posters, a leader's guide, a program evaluation sheet, and 2 activity booklets for 6-8 year olds, and 9-11 year olds. The cost is $7.00 from Ohio State University Extension, Wood County, 440 E. Poe Road, Bowling Green, OH 43402.
Fight BAC! For Kids The
Partnership for Food Safety Education’s Fight BAC!® for Kids webpage is where
you can find kids’ food safety information, including resources for parents and
educators with programming, and ideas and fun activities for kids that
teach them about the basics of safe food handling. This page provides links to
kids’ food safety curricula for all ages from pre-K through high school.
Sci4Kids Designed for children 8-13 years old, this site allows children to discover what Agricultural scientists do. Click on the pumpkin for nutrition information. Choose Teacher's Desk from the drop down box to find a variety of teacher-ready activities that accompany the stories and other features on the web site.
Journey to Planet Earth Take a trip around the globe to explore the health of our planet, including the future of its food supplies. A teacher's guide and video segment is FREE to middle school teachers on the website, by calling your local PBS station, or from Michele Reap, South Carolina Educational Television, (803) 737-3394. Teacher materials were designed for both the classroom and after-school programs.
Nutrition Online at UMass offers family and consumer science teachers, science, and health teachers Internet-based, distance learning opportunities. Several courses and seminars are offered. Nutrition Education Online is targeted to teachers and Cooperative Extension educators with experience in lesson plan design. Nutrition for a Healthy Lifestyle will teach students about nutrition, diet and health.
The Eat Smart. Play Hard™ Kids web page encourages and motivates kids to make better lifestyle choices using kid-friendly entertaining techniques. The Power Panther leads kids in exploring the Town Library, Theater, Fitness Center, Power Tunes Store, Post Office, Eat Smart Grill, Fun Times Arcade, and Travel Center.
The Eat Smart. Play Hard™ Healthy Lifestyle web page provides parents and other caregivers with tools for healthy living. The web page has a Calorie Burner Chart, the MyPyramid Tracker, and the ESPH Tracking Card.