Grade 3 · Health Education
Quarter 3 · Week 1 · TEKS
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This lesson for Grade 3 students focuses on understanding risk and protective factors related to healthy eating and physical activity. Students will identify common food allergens found on food packaging, describe how healthy and unhealthy behaviors affect body systems, and practice refusal skills to handle unhealthy eating situations. The lesson is aligned with TEKS standards and includes direct teaching, guided practice, and reflection to promote safe and healthy choices.
Students should understand basic concepts of food and nutrition, and have some experience recognizing healthy and unhealthy foods or activities.
Food allergens are substances in food that can cause allergic reactions in some people. Common food allergens include milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, soy, wheat, fish, and shellfish. These allergens are often listed on food packaging to help people avoid them if they have allergies. Teaching students to identify these allergens on labels helps them make safe food choices and avoid allergic reactions.
Healthy behaviors such as eating fruits and vegetables, drinking water, and being physically active support the proper functioning of body systems like the digestive, respiratory, and circulatory systems. Unhealthy behaviors like eating too much junk food, consuming too much sugar, or being inactive can harm these systems, leading to problems like stomach aches, low energy, or poor heart health. Understanding these effects helps students make better choices.
Refusal skills are ways to say no to unhealthy foods or activities in a respectful and confident manner. For example, if a friend offers candy when you want to eat a healthy snack, you can say, "No thanks, I want to eat something healthy to keep my body strong." Practicing refusal skills helps students resist peer pressure and make choices that protect their health.
Risk factors are things that increase the chance of unhealthy outcomes, such as eating too many sweets or not exercising. Protective factors are things that help keep us healthy, like choosing fruits over candy or playing outside regularly. Identifying these factors helps students understand how their choices affect their health and encourages positive habits.
Look at this food label that says 'Contains peanuts and milk.' What should someone with a peanut allergy do when they see this label?
Since peanuts are a common allergen, someone with a peanut allergy should avoid eating this food to prevent an allergic reaction. Reading the label helps them stay safe.
They should not eat the food because it contains peanuts, which can cause an allergic reaction.
If a friend offers you candy but you want to stay healthy, how can you use refusal skills to say no?
You can say something polite but firm like, 'No thanks, I want to eat something healthy to keep my body strong.' This shows you are making a healthy choice and can say no respectfully.
Say, 'No thanks, I want to eat something healthy to keep my body strong.'
Begin by showing students several food packages and asking if they notice any special labels or warnings on them. Introduce the term 'food allergen' and explain why some people need to avoid certain foods.
Observe the food packages and share any labels or warnings they notice. Discuss if they or someone they know has food allergies.
This activity introduces students to the concept of food allergens and the importance of reading food labels to stay safe.
Guide students to sort a list of foods into those that commonly cause allergies and those that do not. Then discuss healthy and unhealthy behaviors related to eating and physical activity.
Participate in sorting foods and discuss examples of healthy and unhealthy behaviors they know.
Sorting helps students recognize common allergens and connect behaviors to health outcomes.
Explain how healthy behaviors support body systems and how unhealthy behaviors can harm them. Introduce refusal skills and model how to say no to unhealthy foods or activities.
Listen and ask questions. Practice refusal skills with teacher modeling.
Direct explanation clarifies the impact of behaviors and builds refusal skills to empower students.
Lead role-play activities where students practice refusal skills in different scenarios involving unhealthy eating or inactivity.
Act out scenarios using refusal skills to handle peer pressure or unhealthy situations.
Role-play provides a safe environment to practice and reinforce refusal skills and healthy decision-making.
Ask students to identify common food allergens from sample labels and explain one way healthy or unhealthy behaviors affect their body. Have them demonstrate refusal skills in a short role-play or written reflection.
Identify allergens, explain behavior effects on body systems, and demonstrate refusal skills.
Assessment confirms students' understanding of allergens, behavior impacts, and refusal skills.
Participate in sorting foods and discuss examples of healthy and unhealthy behaviors they know.
Name two common food allergens you might find on a food package.
Milk and peanuts are two common food allergens found on food packages.
Explain one way eating healthy foods helps your body.
Eating healthy foods gives your body the nutrients it needs to grow strong and stay healthy.
Describe how you would say no if someone offers you unhealthy food you don’t want to eat.
I would say, 'No thank you, I’m choosing to eat something healthy instead.'
Compare how your body feels after eating healthy foods versus unhealthy foods.
After eating healthy foods, my body feels energized and strong. After eating unhealthy foods, I might feel tired or have a stomach ache.
Identify a risk factor and a protective factor related to physical activity and explain how each affects your health.
A risk factor is not exercising, which can make my body weak. A protective factor is playing outside regularly, which helps keep my body strong and healthy.
Provide visual aids showing common allergens and healthy foods. Use simple language and repeat key vocabulary. Offer sentence starters for refusal skills practice.
Use pictures and real objects to explain allergens and healthy behaviors. Pair ELL students with peers for role-play activities. Use gestures and demonstrations to support understanding.
Have students research less common allergens and present findings. Encourage students to create their own refusal scenarios. Discuss how different body systems benefit from various healthy behaviors.
Send a note home encouraging families to read food labels together and discuss common allergens. Suggest families practice refusal skills at home with children to reinforce healthy decision-making.
In this lesson, students learned to identify common food allergens on packaging and understand how healthy and unhealthy behaviors affect their body systems. They practiced refusal skills to confidently say no to unhealthy eating situations. Recognizing risk and protective factors helps students make choices that keep their bodies safe and strong.
Use the exact standards alignment and retrieved-source provenance stored with this enrichment.