Paint Your Plate Lesson Plan Grade 8 – Taking Action

Minds on
Initiate a classroom discussion to get students thinking about how we can enjoy eating more
vegetables and fruit at home, school and in the community.
Note to teachers
The goal of this lesson is to increase students’ awareness and understanding of strategies to
increase access to and enjoyment of vegetables and fruit.
Key messages to share with students

 School is a great place to put into practice what is taught in the classroom about healthy eating
and the importance of vegetables and fruit. There are many opportunities to add vegetables
and fruit into the school environment.
 Students can help increase vegetable and fruit consumption at home by helping with the
grocery list, grocery shopping and food preparation.
 Communities can encourage the consumption of vegetables and fruit by enhancing and
promoting programs like community kitchens, cooking classes, Good Food Box programs,
local farmer’s markets, etc.

Dig deeper

 Registered Dietitians at your local public health unit can provide examples of programs,
activities or policies within your community that encourage consumption of vegetables and
fruit.
 Cooking and food.
 Promote, highlight and/or serve vegetables and fruit at school with the Paint Your Plate badge.

Teacher prompts
“What do you and your family do to increase the amount of vegetables and fruit you eat at home? Is
there anything else you could do at home that would help your family enjoy more vegetables and
fruit? Do you help your parents prepare vegetables and fruit?”
“How does the school encourage students to choose more vegetables and fruit? What else could the
school do to help students choose vegetables and fruit more often?”
“Would it be helpful to have cooking classes or cooking demons at school? What could you do to help
make this possible?”
Activities
Option 1: Ask students to search for local programs in their community that help increase
access to vegetables and fruit.

 How does the program work? When and where does it take place? How often?
 Have students develop a promotional flyer or poster to promote this program at school or in
their community

Option 2: Ask students to develop a school policy that would promote increased intake of
vegetables and fruit. For example:

 Food fundraising with vegetables and/or fruit only. See the Show Me the Money badge page.
  Ensuring vegetables and/or fruit are on the menu for special events such as school BBQs,
classroom parties, etc. See the The Big Day badge page.
 Make school celebrations not only fun but healthy with vegetable and fruit options. See
the Reason to Celebrate badge page.
 Add a serving of fruit or vegetable to your hot lunch options (e.g. sell a bag of carrots along
with your main meal). See the Menu Makeover badge page.

Curriculum connections
Grade 8: C3. Making Connections for Healthy Living. C3.1 Healthy Eating.
C3.1 identify strategies for promoting healthy eating within the school, home, and community (e.g.
implementing school healthy food policies, launching healthy-eating campaigns, choosing healthy
food items to sell in fundraising campaigns, getting involved in family meal planning, learning food
preparation skills, urging local restaurants to highlight healthy food choices).
Reference: The Ontario Curriculum, Grades 1-8, Health and Physical Education (Re-issued 2018)
ACTION PLAN FOR GRADE 9

Talk to your guidance counselor (or teachers, if you don’t have access to a guidance counselor)
about the following:

Attending a four-year college or university

Establishing your college preparatory classes; and a schedule which should consist of at least four
college preparatory classes per year, including:

– 4 years of English

– 4 years of Math (through Algebra II or Trigonometry)

– 2 years of Foreign Language, minimum

– 3 to 4 years of Natural Science (two lab sciences such as Chemistry and Biology; Physical
Science or Physics)

– 3 years of History/Social Studies (World and United States History, Economics/Government)

– 1 elective of Art

– 1 year of electives from the list above

– Physical Education/Health

Each student should check with their State Department of Education to verify college preparatory
course requirements.

Create a file of the following documents and notes:

– Copies of report cards

– List of awards and honors

– List of school and community activities in which you are involved, including both paid and
volunteer work, and descriptions of tasks or activities.

Start thinking about the colleges you want to attend. Search for additional campus facts using the
Department of Education School Search Tool — College Navigator

“Remember, you will have more options if you start planning now for college and keep your grades
up.”