Five a day on a plate

Activity

This activity looks at how eating five fruit or vegetables a day is good for your health and creates a display to persuade others to do the same.

  • Estimated time: 30 minutes
  • Location: Outdoors & Indoors
  • School term: All year round
  • Level of experience: No experience needed
  • Subject(s): Science, PSHE

Learning objectives

  • List five to ten fruits or vegetables.
  • Learn how fruits and vegetables can count as part of a healthy eating diet.

Preparation

Food products from home can be brought in for this activity or you could harvest crops from the garden.

Equipment

  • A selection of fruit and vegetables
  • White paper plates
  • Pencils and coloured pens
  • Old seed catalogues
  • A large piece of paper for listing reasons why we should eat Five a Day

Step by step

  1. Review with the class what the word ‘healthy’ means and whether they have heard of the 'Five a Day' government recommendations.
  2. Discuss which foods are included as part of 'Five a Day' and ask if the children have eaten fruit or vegetables for breakfast.
  3. Make a list of reasons to explain why it is good to eat produce grown in the garden or locally.
  4. Design a 'Five a Day' plate to persuade others to eat more fresh fruits and vegetables.

Hints & tips

  • Remember pulses such as baked beans and lentils are included as one of your five a day but potatoes are not.
  • Use this activity as part of Supermarket Sweep class growing topic.