FACS Portion Sizing Lab

In my classroom "DIET" is always a noun.  It is a normal thing that everyone has.  It can never be a verb: dietING goING on a diet, etc.  I encourage all students to adapt to a healthy diet, and understanding portion sizing is a very important part of that.

Students rotate between each of five stations, recording their portion size at each one.

• Pasta: I boil a pot of pasta.  Students choose from a variety of plates and bowls to measure their serving by weight.
• Steak: Using scratch paper, students cut out the size of what a "normal" steak looks like. When we go through the presentation I have the students estimate the size of their portion by tracing a playing card on their paper.
• Soda: Students choose from a variety of take-out cups to fill with water.  They record their serving in fluid ounces.
• Cheese: Students choose how many "dice" worth of cheese they would eat.
• Cereal: Students choose from a variety of bowls to measure popcorn by cups.  I use popcorn instead of cereal because it is easiest to measure.

After all students have recorded their portion sizes we go through the presentation of nutrition labels.  Students record the serving size and calories of each food presented.

Then, using algebra, students calculate how much smaller or larger their portion size was.

For example,

One 12-oz can of soda has 160 calories.  A student measured a 22 oz portion.

160/12 = ?/22

160/12 = 13.33

13.33*22 = 293

So my student found out that their serving of soda had 293 calories!

It's always a big eye-opener for my students and a great reminder for me!

Follow my portion sizes Pinterest board!