Activity Purpose
Kids play a game where they practice using a stoplight to classify different foods and beverages according to their nutritional value.
Objectives
- Identify "food" as fuel for your body and brain.
- Use a stoplight as a tool to make nutritional food and beverage choices: green-light (eat more), yellow-light (eat some), and red-light (eat less).
Preparation
- Talk Time: Kids sit and stretch or stand and march in place. Be sure they are a safe distance (arm’s length) apart.
- Activity: Designate a starting line at one end of the activity space. On the opposite side of the start line, tape to the floor a green, yellow, and red piece of paper for the green-light (eat more), yellow-light (eat some), and red-light (eat less) food choices. When reading the card information to the kids, the color of the food word's text indicates whether the food is a green-light, yellow-light, or red-light food choice.
- Wrap Up: Kids partner with someone sitting near them for discussion.
Talk Time
Introduction
Q: Did you know that a bunch of bananas is called a hand?
Q: What can you tell me about making nutritious food choices?
A: Stop and think before you make food or beverage choices. Think of your foods like a stoplight:
- Green-light foods are “Eat More” foods: great fuel for your body.
- Yellow-light foods are “Eat Some” foods: a little/not often foods.
- Red-light foods are “Eat Less” foods: stop and think before you eat.
- And don't forget to make healthy beverage choices! Choose water or milk.
This activity will help you learn more about green-light, yellow-light, and red-light foods.
Do The Activity
Activity Instructions
- Divide the kids into small groups (3-4 kids per group); each group forms a line behind the starting line.
- Leader picks a Food Activity Card and calls out the name of the food on the card.
- First kid in line for each team runs to the line that they think the food on the card belongs to–red-light, yellow-light, or green-light.
- After each team has a player standing on a line, read the information on the card aloud to help kids understand why the food is classified as green-light, yellow-light, or red-light.
- Each team gets a point if their team member says the correct answer.
- Kids run back to their team line.
- Repeat the activity to see if each team can improve their score from the first round.
Wrap Up
Reflections
Turn and talk with a neighbor. One is a talker and the other a listener. When I say go, the talker names as many green-light foods as they can in 30 seconds. The listener counts.
Next, switch roles and repeat.
How many green-light food choices did each partner name in 30 seconds? How many did they name together?
Challenge
Instead of grabbing that soda or sports drink, jazz up a glass of ice water with pieces of fruit. Or mix it up and add a vegetable—like a cucumber!
Time: 10 Minutes
What You'll Need
Resources
Materials
- Cones or Place Markers
- Colored Paper
- Tape
- Timer
Helpful Tips
- If using a smaller space, choose different motor skills to do across the activity space such as bear crawl, crab walk, and inch worm.