Decode My Nutrition Label

Subject: Health | Grade Level: High School | Duration: ~45 minutes

Objective

Students will learn how to read and interpret a nutrition label, understand key nutrition terms (serving size, calories, cholesterol, sodium, fiber, sugar, added sugar, vitamins/minerals, daily value, ingredient list), and recognize differences between older and newer nutrition label formats to make healthier food choices.

Materials

• This resource (worksheets, slide presentation, or printed nutrition label images)
• A piece of fruit AND a fruit-flavored food item/label (or pictures of each) — e.g., a strawberry and strawberry ice cream, an apple and apple-flavored cereal
• An extra-large nutrition label (as a slide, poster, or drawn on the board)
• An image comparing older vs. newer nutrition labels (slide, poster, or drawn on board)
• 18 blank cards (6x9 or larger) prepared ahead of time with matching terms (side "a") and definitions (side "b") — see vocabulary list below
• 8 food items or printed labels/pictures of packaged foods
• Paper for student notes/worksheets

Vocabulary list to use for cards/labels: Nutrition, Serving Size, Calorie, Cholesterol, Sodium, Fiber, Sugar, Added Sugar, Vitamins/Minerals, Daily Value, Ingredient List

Warm-up (~5 min)

1. Have students answer this question on paper or share aloud:

"Pretend you just won the lottery. What would you do with all that money?"

1. Take a few volunteer responses.
2. Read this connecting statement aloud to the class:

"Even if we bought a lottery ticket every day for the rest of our lives, we still have no control over whether or not our number is chosen as the winner. Although we do not have control over everything in our lives, we do have some control over our health. Forming healthy habits today helps us maintain those habits moving forward."

Main Activity (~25 min)

Part 1: Why Do Foods Have Labels? (7 min)

1. Hold up (or show a picture of) a piece of fruit and a fruit-flavored food item (e.g., a strawberry and strawberry ice cream).
2. Ask the class: "Why do some foods have labels while others do not?"
3. Explain: Whole foods like fruits and vegetables don't need labels because they have only one ingredient (themselves, in their natural state). Other foods have labels because they are packaged and/or processed/altered from their natural state.
4. Ask students to name other examples of whole foods (examples provided in resource: broccoli, cabbage, lettuce, banana, orange, egg, unprocessed pork meat, salmon).

Part 2: Decoding the Nutrition Label (10 min)

1. Display the extra-large nutrition label (poster, slide, or drawn on board).
2. Walk through the label section by section, labeling each part as follows:
3. "Start here" → next to Serving Size
4. "Check calories" → next to Calories
5. "Limit these nutrients" → box around Trans Fat, Cholesterol, and Sodium. Ask: "Should % Daily Value be lower or higher for these?" (Answer: Lower)
6. "Get enough of these nutrients" → box around Fiber, Vitamins, and Minerals. Ask: "Should % Daily Value be lower or higher for these?" (Answer: Higher)
7. "5% or less is low and 20% or more is high" → next to % Daily Value
8. "Greatest to least" → next to Ingredient List
9. Display the image comparing older vs. newer nutrition labels. Ask students: "What are some differences between the older and newer nutrition labels?" Guide discussion using these points from the resource:
10. Serving size and calorie information are now bolded/larger font (brings more attention)
11. Serving sizes updated to reflect what people actually eat/drink today
12. "Calories from fat" removed (type of fat matters more than amount)
13. New "Added Sugars" line added (in grams and % daily value)
14. Vitamin D and potassium are now required (Americans often don't get enough); Vitamins A and C no longer required (deficiencies are rare today)
15. Actual amounts of vitamins/minerals now shown, not just % daily value
16. New footnote added to better explain % Daily Value

Part 3: Matching Card Activity (8 min)

1. Distribute (or have students retrieve) the prepared 18 cards, split between "term" cards (a-side) and "definition" cards (b-side).
2. Students holding cards must find their matching partner (e.g., student with "1a - Serving Size" finds student with "1b - definition").
3. Once paired, have each pair read their term and definition aloud to the class.
4. Continue until all pairs have been read.

Wrap-up / Exit Ticket (~10 min)

Have students answer the following on paper individually:

1. Name three things you should "limit" on a nutrition label (Answer: Trans Fat, Cholesterol, Sodium).
2. Name three things you should "get enough of" on a nutrition label (Answer: Fiber, Vitamins, Minerals).
3. What does it mean if a nutrient's % Daily Value is 5% or less? What about 20% or more? (Answer: 5% or less = low; 20% or more = high)
4. In your own words, define one nutrition term from today's lesson (choose from: Serving Size, Calorie, Sodium, Fiber, Sugar, Added Sugar, Daily Value, Ingredient List).

Collect exit tickets as students leave, or have them turn in to a designated bin/tray.

If Time Remains

Hold up one of the 8 food items or printed food labels brought for class. Ask students to practice applying what they learned by identifying, from that label:

• The serving size
• The calorie count
• One nutrient to limit and its % Daily Value
• One nutrient to get enough of and its % Daily Value
• The first ingredient listed (reminding students ingredients are listed greatest to least by weight)