Judy Blum from Willowbrook, Illinois submitted this great game for grades 3-5.
Do you need an exciting game to reinforce nutritional concepts that will have your students physically active and mentally challenged? Have I got a game for you! Your students will love “Fat Be Gone.”
- Homemade food pyramid tarp
- 3 traffic cones
- Food cards
- Hula hoops and food group signs
- Calorie cards
Class Formation: Divide your class into six even groups. Give each group the name of a section of the food guide pyramid, number each person in the group (1, 2, 3, etc.) and sit them around a hoop. Place a sign in each hoop on the floor reminding students which section of the food pyramid they represent.
Giant Food Pyramid: I bought a large tarp from a local store and took a thick black permanent marker and outlined a very large food pyramid and its sections on the tarp. I then taped it in the middle of the playing area and put three large cones at the points of the pyramid to make it more visible to the players. I did not write the name of each section on the tarp because I expected my students to know that through other activities we have done. I have several hundred pictures of different food cards that I placed on the floor all around the outskirts of the playing area and especially out of the path of the runners.
How to Play: The basic educational concept of the game is simple: the more calories from fat you consume, the more work it will take to exercise those calories off. The teacher needs to have cards in her hand to represent calories from fat consumption. For example, 450; the teacher would hold up the card that said 450 and then relate a scenario. For instance,
Tom’s parents took him out to dinner at MacDonald’s on the way home from his baseball game last night. Tom pitched a no-hitter and this was cause for celebration. Tom ordered a Big Mac, an order of fries, and a large Coke. He consumed 450 calories from fat and now it’s time to exercise those calories off by doing push-ups.
After you hold the card up, read the scenario out loud, and prescribe the exercise; call out a number. Example: #4′s. Everyone in your group (including the number 4′s) begin to do the prescribed exercise. When a whistle is blown, all the number 4′s break away from the group and jog through the playing area looking for a picture of their food group (the other members continue to exercise).
When they find that picture, they run to the giant food pyramid and place it in the proper section and return to their group. When that person returns to their group, the entire group shouts out “Fat be gone!,” and everyone sits down. When all six groups are sitting, the teacher checks for accuracy and gives each group 1 point if they are correct. Repeat this procedure until everyone gets several turns, after which sit everyone around the now full giant pyramid. This is a great culminating time to discuss the food pyramid and the importance of eating nutritious foods and the relationship between fat calories and exercise.
Note: We usually have the first card as a high number to correspond with a hard exercise (push-ups); have the next card as a medium number to correspond with a less strenuous activity (skipping), and the third card as a low number to correspond with a mild activity (stretching), thus reinforcing the concept of the game.
This also gives your students a chance to recover throughout the activity. Adjust your exercises and numbers relating to calories from fat to your students’ needs and abilities.
Active games that reinforce nutrition knowledge will lead to happier, healthier children who will feel better and learn more. Be creative with your scenarios. I used names of my students to personalize the scenarios. The kids really thought that was cool! For scenarios I used a MacDonald’s menu, a family picnic, a birthday menu, and a holiday menu.
Content Integration Ideas: Here are two follow-up activities for your consideration.
#1: Have your students write a scenario for a high-fat calorie item, a medium-fat calorie item, and a low-fat calorie item. Some of them will put you in stitches! Kids can be very creative. Use those scenarios the next time you play this game or use them for the next class. Kids love being involved in their games, and you will keep their attention longer.
#2: Give each child a blank food guide pyramid worksheet. Have them label each section and draw two food items for each section. This is now something they can place in their portfolios.