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Building a Balanced Plate

Sixth graders learn to build a balanced plate using the five food groups — fruits, vegetables, grains, protein, and dairy. Variety and balance give the body the fuel it needs. They match foods to their groups, then plan a balanced meal.

Grade 6Building a Balanced Plate45 minutes1 class periodSHAPEExplicit teaching4 StandardsSHAPE
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Lesson at a Glance

Everything you need before the bell rings

Learning Objectives

Students will be able to…

  • ✓Name the food groups.
  • ✓Match foods to their group.
  • ✓Build a balanced plate.
  • ✓Plan a meal.
Essential Question

What makes a meal balanced and healthy?

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Lesson Phases
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Vocabulary Terms
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Standards Aligned
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Interactive Task
Match It · Interactive

Match the Food to Its Group

Project this and match each food to its food group — tap the food, then tap the group.

🍽️ Match each food to its food groupTry it
Food
Food group
Now tap the group!
The Lesson · Health & PE Flow (Warm-Up · Learn · Practice · Apply · Cool-Down)

45 minutes, five moves

Tap any phase to open the teacher moves and student actions.

1

Warm-Up — On Your Plate

5 min

What did you eat for lunch — how many food groups?

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Name a food you ate.
  • Invite a few.
  • Set the goal.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Think.
  • Share.
  • Get ready.
2

Learn — Balanced Plate

11 min

Students learn.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Send students to Match the Food to Its Group.
  • Match each one.
  • Note the 5 food groups.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Match.
  • Say.
  • Note it.
3

Practice — Practice

13 min

Students practice.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Name a food in each group.
  • Spot a missing group on a plate.
  • Add variety.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Name.
  • Spot.
  • Add.
4

Apply — Apply

11 min

Students apply.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Design a balanced plate.
  • Include all 5 groups.
  • Add a water drink.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Design.
  • Include.
  • Add.
5

Cool-Down — Cool-Down

5 min

Students close.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Name the food groups.
  • Say what balance means.
  • Complete the exit ticket.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Name them.
  • Say it.
  • Complete the exit ticket.
Standards Alignment

Built to the standards you report on

Aligned to the SHAPE America National Standards for Health Education and Physical Education.

SHAPE
HE.1

Identify the food groups and a balanced plate.

SHAPE
HE.7

Practice choosing balanced meals.

SHAPE
HE.5

Make healthy food choices.

SHAPE
HE.6

Set a healthy-eating goal.

Differentiation

One lesson, every learner

Multilingual Learners

ELL / EMERGING READERS
  • Food-group picture cards.
  • Frame: “___ is in the ___ group.”
  • Sort real food pictures.

Support & Access

IEP / 504
  • Use 3 foods.
  • Match one pair at a time.
  • Use a MyPlate chart.

Stretch & Extend

GIFTED / EARLY FINISHERS
  • Plan a day of balanced meals.
  • Include every group.
  • Read a plate for balance.
Materials

What to gather

  • 📽️Screen / board
  • 🍽️Food cards
  • 💻Match the Food to Its Group
  • 🥗A MyPlate chart
  • 📓Notebooks
  • 🎫Exit-ticket slips
Vocabulary

Key terms — hover for a quick definition

balanced platea meal with variety from the food groupsfood groupa category of similar foodsfruitsa food group (apples, berries)vegetablesa food group (broccoli, carrots)grainsa food group (rice, bread)proteina food group (chicken, beans)dairya food group (milk, yogurt)varietyeating from all the groups
Evaluate

Exit Ticket

Preview the three formative checks. Tap “Sample answer” to see what mastery looks like — hide them before you print for students.

QUESTION 1
Name the five food groups.
Fruits, vegetables, grains, protein, dairy.
QUESTION 2
Which group is broccoli in?
Vegetables.
QUESTION 3
What makes a plate balanced?
Variety from all the food groups.

Cool-down: building a balanced plate.

Have students design a balanced plate with all five groups. A printable MyPlate worksheet is in the PE & Health library.

Study · Flashcards

Study the key terms

Tap a card to flip it, then rate whether you knew it. Built from this lesson’s vocabulary.

🃏 Building a Balanced PlateFlip
Card 1
Term
Tap to flip →
Meaning
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Nice work!

Practice · Quiz

Check your understanding

A quick self-check with instant feedback, drawn from this lesson’s key terms.

📝 Building a Balanced PlateQuiz
Score: 0
1 / 6
Question 1
0%

Nice work!

Practice · Worksheet

Printable worksheet

A print-and-go review sheet with a built-in answer key. Tap “Show answer key” to reveal answers, or print the clean version for students.

🖨️ Building a Balanced PlatePrint
Name: ________________________
Date: ____________

Part A · Write the word that matches each meaning

Word bank: balanced plate, dairy, food group, fruits, grains, protein, variety, vegetables
  1. a food group (apples, berries)
  2. eating from all the groups
  3. a food group (rice, bread)
  4. a meal with variety from the food groups
  5. a food group (chicken, beans)
  6. a food group (broccoli, carrots)
  7. a food group (milk, yogurt)
  8. a category of similar foods

Part B · Show what you learned

  1. Name the five food groups.
  2. Which group is broccoli in?
  3. What makes a plate balanced?
Answer key — Part A: 1) fruits · 2) variety · 3) grains · 4) balanced plate · 5) protein · 6) vegetables · 7) dairy · 8) food group
Part B: 1) Fruits, vegetables, grains, protein, dairy. 2) Vegetables. 3) Variety from all the food groups.