Grade 4: Understanding Serving Sizes

ACTIVITY 1

Objectives:

  1. Identify the difference between portion size and serving size
  2. Understand the serving sizes of different foods by using familiar objects
  3. Understand portion distortion
  4. Compare the differences between restaurant servings and appropriate serving sizes

Bench Marks:

PE.4.L.2.13: Understand appropriate serving sizes.

PE.4.M.1.1: Apply movement concepts to performance of locomotor skills in a variety of movement settings.

PE.4.L.1.2: Demonstrate involvement in physical activity both during and after the school day.

PE.4. 4.R.2.1: Recognize physical activity as a positive opportunity for social and group interactions.

HE.4.C.1.1: Identify the relationship between healthy behaviors and personal health.

HE.4.B.3.1: Identify circumstances that can help or hinder healthy decision making.

HE.4.B.3.5: Choose healthy options when making decisions for yourself and/or others.

Materials Needed

  • Objects to show serving sizes:
  • Tennis ball
  • Computer mouse
  • Hockey puck
  • Golf ball
  • Four dice

Activity 1 Introduction (15-20 Minutes):

  1. Discuss portions and serving sizes. Explain the differences between the two.
  2. A portion is the amount of food you choose to eat (e.g., A portion is what you serve yourself or what a restaurant might give you. You may also think of a portion as a helping).
  3. A serving is a standard amount that is used to guide the amount of food that we should eat. A serving helps to identify how many calories and nutrients are in a food. The nutrition facts labels on food packages helps to see how many servings there are in a package (e.g., you may eat a whole bag of chips which is your portion, but the serving size may be only 6 chips).
  4. Fruit and vegetables serving sizes.
  5. One serving of fruit or vegetables is ½ cup to 1 cup. The following are all examples that equal ½ cup portions for fruits or vegetables:
  6. ½ cup for fresh or cooked fruits or vegetables
  7. 1 cup of leafy lettuces
  8. 1/4 cup dried fruits
  9. A tennis ball or a computer mouse is about the same size as 1 cup of leafy lettuce.
  10. A light bulb is about the same size as ½ cup of fresh/cooked fruits or vegetables.
  11. A golf ball is about the same size as ¼ cup of dried fruits.
  12. Grain serving sizes.
  13. One serving of grains is equal to 1 ounce. One slice of bread, one small biscuit, 1/2 of an English muffin and 3 cups of popped popcorn are all equivalent to 1 ounce.
  14. A hockey puck is approximately the size of 1 ounce of grains.
  15. Dairy serving sizes.
  16. One serving of cheese is about the size of 4 small dice.
  17. For milk, one 8 oz. serving is equal to a school-size carton of milk or one carton of yogurt.
  18. Protein.
  19. One serving of protein is 3 ounces.
  20. One serving of meat/poultry/fish is about the size of one deck of cards.
  21. One serving of nuts is a small handful.
  22. One serving of peanut butter is equal to two tablespoons. This is approximately the size of one golf ball.
  23. Explain how portions sizes have changed over the years.
  24. Restaurants now serve meals which contain multiple servings in one plate compared to 30 years ago when restaurants served a single serving.
  25. Eating more than the recommended servings can lead to weight gain.
  26. Discuss as a class specific restaurants that have large portion sizes (e.g. one serving of cooked pasta is equal to one cup. Olive garden serves multiple cups of pasta per dish).
  27. Explain that a standard serving size of a food or beverage looks small compared to the portions served in restaurants or in food packages.
  28. We call this portion distortion.
  29. Discuss ways to cut down on portions sizes at home or in restaurants:
  30. Use smaller size plates, which can make it appear like you have more food.
  31. Portion foods to plates before sitting down. Having the container of food in front of you will cause you to eat more.
  32. At restaurants, box half of your meal to take home.
  33. Encourage students to keep potion distortion in mind when eating.

Activity 1 (20 minutes)

Match-up game:

  1. Have objects used to show serving sizes and the pictures of the food items corresponding to the objects.

(Example)

Tennis ball- Apple (Fruit)

Mouse-Broccoli (Vegetable)

Hockey Puck- ½ Bagel (Grain)

4 dice- Cheese (Dairy)

Golf ball- Peanut Butter (Protein)

Deck of cards- Meat (Protein)

  1. Have the students arrange themselves in a circle.
  2. The teacher will pass around the objects and pictures in random order to students in the circle. Not everyone needs to have a picture or an object.
  3. Explain the rules of the activity (e.g., the students will pass objects and pictures around while music is on).
  4. Explain safety rules (e.g., the students will be mindful of personal space).
  5. The teacher will play music and instruct the students to begin passing their object or picture to the right.
  6. When the music stops, the students holding a picture must match up with the student holding the corresponding object (e.g., the student holding a picture of peanut butter will find the student holding the golf ball and vice versa).
  7. While the students who have an object or a picture are matching up, the students who do not have an object or picture must do jumping jacks or jog in place.

Resources

  1. NIH Portion Distortion:
  2. MyPlate:
  3. Is It a Portion or a Serving?

Created by:

Brittany Pond and Julie Rankin

Dietetic Interns

Division of Food, Nutrition and Wellness

Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services

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