The start of the school year is a great time to get high school students thinking about the nutrition and physical activity choices they make. USDA’s Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion (CNPP) and Team Nutrition have a variety of resources available to support high school educators as they guide students on their path to good health.
SuperTracker Lesson Plans for High School Students
CNPP has just released updated SuperTracker Nutrition Lesson Plans for High School Students. This free nutrition education resource for teachers, schools, and health educators helps students grades 9-12 learn how to build a healthy diet using MyPlate and SuperTracker, an interactive food and physical activity tracking tool. Originally released in 2014, the lesson plans have been updated to reflect the 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, and two new lessons have been added.
SuperTracker is an engaging, interactive tool that can help students think critically about their food and physical activity choices. SuperTracker offers personalized recommendations for what and how much to eat; tracking of food, physical activity, and weight; goal setting; and a new group challenge feature that encourages healthy lifestyle choices through friendly competition. The online application is available on desktop and mobile devices.
The SuperTracker Nutrition Lesson Plans for High School Students were created to support teachers in using SuperTracker in the classroom. In addition to the two new lessons mentioned above, the lesson plans also include a variety of topics such as healthy snacking, finding personal dietary recommendations, evaluating food selections, building healthy meals, physical activity, and calorie balance. Each lesson plan includes learning objectives, detailed instructions, and an accompanying handout. To download the SuperTracker lesson plans or find other resources for the classroom, visit http://www.choosemyplate.gov/teachers.
Toolkit for Back to School Events
Help families get off to a healthy start this school year! USDA Team Nutrition has just released a Toolkit for Back to School Events featuring posters, flyers, event ideas, taste test ballots, and more. Incorporate these fun activities and resources into your school's back to school night or open house. Consider asking your school nurse, health and physical education teacher(s), Family and Consumer Sciences teacher, school nutrition director, and/or school wellness coordinator to join in.
What You Can Do To Prevent Wasted Food Booklet
What You Can Do To Prevent Wasted Food is an easy-to-use booklet from Team Nutrition that provides tips for school nutrition professionals, teachers, parents, students, and school administrators on many ways that everyone can help reduce, recover, and recycle food before it goes to waste.
A Guide to Smart Snacks in School Brochure
Help make the healthy choice the easy choice for kids at school. The Guide to Smart Snacks in Schools from Team Nutrition provides an overview of Smart Snacks Standards and how to tell if a food or beverage meets the requirements. This is a ready-to-go resource for anyone who oversees the sale of foods or beverages to students on the school campus during the school day.
You can make a difference in the nutrition and physical activity choices high school students make! Get the school year off to a great start by incorporating the lessons and tips from these valuable resources. Visit https://www.choosemyplate.gov and http://teamnutrition.usda.gov to learn more.
