Are you a Family and Consumer Science Teacher? Are your looking for curriculum ideas? After reviewing the Ohio Technical Standards for Family and Consumer Science, I came up with a list of possible class objectives and laboratory activity ideas for you. Implement these ideas to boost the food science component of your class. Return to this page regularly to review more suggestions for lessons and labs that falls under Food and Nutrition in the standard. As I develop this page, I will be adding links to lessons that I have created relating to the topics suggested.

Strand 3. Food and Nutrition Develop knowledge of food and nutrition to make informed choices that support safe, affordable, and sustainable food practices.

Outcome 3.2. Nutritional Information: Analyze Nutritional Information to Guide Food Choices

Competences

3.1.1. Describe sources of nutrients and their contributions to dietary needs.

Lecture/Discussion Class Objectives

• Identify types of nutrients (macro and micronutrients)
• Identify the function of each nutrient for the proper functioning of the human body (water, carbohydrates, proteins, vitamins, and minerals)
• Identify common sources of nutrients in each food category

Possible Laboratory Activity: Simple tests to evaluate nutrient content in food (sugar, protein, starch, and total lipids)

3.1.2. Identify the role of the digestive system in nutrient absorption.

Lecture/Discussion Class Objectives

• Identify the parts of the digestive system and their function
• Define enzymes and explain their role in digesting food
• Discuss diseases of the digestive system that may interfere with proper digestion

Possible Laboratory Activity: Digestion study with alpha-amylase to determine which one digests faster – white bread or brown bread?

3.1.3. Identify symptoms of nutrient deficiencies and toxicity.

Lecture/Discussion Class Objectives

• Identify and discuss disorders related to protein intake and metabolism
• Identify and discuss disorders related to carbohydrate metabolism
• Discuss the role of lipids in cardiovascular disease
• Discuss what happens when we consume too little or too much of specific vitamins and minerals  

Possible Laboratory Activity: Identify sugar and protein content in fake urine to determine possible kidney disease  

3.1.4. Calculate nutrient values of meals based on the food labels of products and ingredients.

Lecture/Discussion Class Objectives

• Define calories
• Determine how many calories can be obtained from proteins, lipids, and carbohydrates
• Practice calculation of calories based on food ingredients

Possible Laboratory Activity: Prepare a food product and calculate calories per serving based on serving size

3.1.5. Identify suitable ingredient substitutes to meet special dietary needs.

Lecture/Discussion Class Objectives

• Identify common dietary needs that necessitate the substitution of ingredients including vegetarianism, certain disease conditions, specific food intolerance, and allergies
• Identify common substitutes for the following ingredients and discuss their functionality
  • Gluten
  • Egg
  • Meat  
  • Sugars
  • Dairy products

Possible Laboratory Activity: Make a gluten-free cake

3.1.6. Compensate for nutritional deficiencies.

Lecture/Discussion Class Objectives

• Evaluate foods based on food labels to determine if they meet the nutritional needs of specific target groups
• Identify possible ingredients that could be added to specific food formulations to improve their nutritional properties

Possible Laboratory Activity: Reformulate a food product to improve its nutritional properties e.g., healthier fats, more protein, more dietary fiber, or more of a specific vitamin or mineral  

3.1.7. Evaluate the nutritional effects of fad diets, food addictions, and eating disorders on individual wellness.

Lecture/Discussion Class Objectives

• Define fad diet
• Identify and discuss common fad diets in recent years (10-20 years)
• Identify and discuss examples of food addictions
• Identify and discuss examples of eating disorders

Possible Laboratory Activity: Create a new diet concept that will meet the needs of a specific target group. Create one meal or product that would be a part of that diet plan

Outcome 3.2 Weight Management: Manage Weight Throughout The Lifecycle

Competencies

3.2.1. Identify factors that influence body weight.

• Explain how various factors affect body weight including genes, metabolic, physiologic, cultural, economic, and social factors

Possible Laboratory Activity: Set up an experiment to determine the effect of environment on eating habits. Expose one group to dull or sad music while they eat a snack. Expose a different group, or the same group another time, to upbeat music while they eat the same snack. Collect and weigh all the uneaten food. Did the music affect how much they ate/wasted?

3.2.2. Explain the criteria for determining healthy body weight.

Lecture/Discussion Class Objectives

• Define what is a “healthy body weight”
• Explain how body weight is evaluated including BMI, body composition, and fat distribution patterns

Possible Laboratory Activity: Determine the average BMI of students in your class based on the height and weight of each person.  

3.2.3. Describe eating disorder warning signs, prevention methods, and management techniques.

Lecture/Discussion Class Objectives

• Define eating disorder
• Explain common causes of eating disorders including genetic and psychological factors, family, media, and socio-cultural influences

Possible Laboratory Activity: Students work in teams to identify an eating disorder and brainstorm the best intervention strategies for treatment  

3.2.4. Evaluate the effectiveness of weight management programs.

Lecture/Discussion Class Objectives

• Discuss best criteria that should be used to evaluate the effectiveness of a weight management program

Possible Laboratory Activity: Students are asked to review a given weight loss program and to evaluate and provide their estimation of the safety and effectiveness of the plan

3.2.5. Explain the importance of portion control and eating behaviors in weight management.

Lecture/Discussion Class Objectives

• Use MyPlate to demonstrate federal guidelines on the recommended proportion of major food groups that should be on the typical American plate  
• Use recent research on plate size and food intake to demonstrate the relationship between portioning and how much we choose to eat

Possible Laboratory Activity: Set up an experiment to determine if telling students the serving size of cookies will affect how much they eat during a cookie tasting activity

3.2.6. Calculate the energy output needed to balance caloric input.

Lecture/Discussion Class Objectives

• Identify the different ways in which we expend energy, including basal metabolic rate (BMR), thermic effect of food (TEF), and physical activity
• Estimate the total energy expended due to BMR and TEF
• Calculate actual calories burned from physical activity

Possible Laboratory Activity: Ask students to calculate the total energy output of someone (one of his peers perhaps). Provide the subject’s body weight, the type of exercise activity he is engaged in, and the duration of exercise.

3.2.7. Compare the benefits and detriments of nutrient supplements used in weight management.

Lecture/Discussion Class Objectives

• Define food supplements and explain their purpose
• Identify weight management supplements on the market and explain the science behind how they work
• Explain the pros and cons of taking supplements for weight loss

Possible Laboratory Activity: Have students work in groups to critically review a weight-loss supplement and make a recommendation if it is safe and/or effective

Outcome 3.3. Food Selection Analyze safe and affordable foods that promote a healthy lifestyle.

Competencies 3.3.1. Justify the use of prepackaged versus from scratch foods based on cost, time, nutrition, and ease of preparation.

• Define prepackaged food
• Discuss the pros and cons of pre prepackaged or processed foods

Possible Laboratory Activity: Ask students to prepare a product such as a loaf of bread and calculate the cost of making the product compared to buying a similar product from the supermarket. Also, have students evaluate the product they made to determine nutrient content based on the USDA nutrition database. Compare the nutritional quality of the product with the store-bought one

3.3.2. Evaluate challenges that prevent individuals from obtaining nutritious food choices.

Lecture/Discussion Class Objectives

• Discuss possible reasons why some individuals fail to obtain nutritious foods. Include in the discussion, food insecurity issues such as food shortages, inequitable food distribution, overpopulation, local agricultural practices, and climate change

Possible Laboratory Activity: Have the class anonymously complete a food insecurity survey. Provide pooled data to students and have them organize and present the data in a format that can be easily read and reported e.g., using tables and/graphs  

Outcome 3.3. Food Selection: Analyze Safe and Affordable Foods That Promote Healthy Lifestyle

Competencies

3.3.1. Justify the use of prepackaged versus from scratch foods based on cost, time, nutrition, and ease of preparation.

• Define prepackaged food
• Discuss the pros and cons of pre prepackaged or processed foods

Possible Laboratory Activity: Ask students to prepare a product such as a loaf of bread and calculate the cost of making the product compared to buying a similar product from the supermarket. Also, have students evaluate the product they made to determine nutrient content based on the USDA nutrition database. Compare the nutritional quality of the product with the store-bought one

3.3.2. Evaluate challenges that prevent individuals from obtaining nutritious food choices.

Lecture/Discussion Class Objectives

• Discuss possible reasons why some individuals fail to obtain nutritious foods. Include in the discussion, food insecurity issues such as food shortages, inequitable food distribution, overpopulation, local agricultural practices, and climate change

Possible Laboratory Activity: Have the class anonymously complete a food insecurity survey. Return pooled data to students and have them organize and present the data in a format that can be easily read and reported e.g., using tables and/graphs  

3.3.3. Evaluate meat and poultry-based on cuts and grading standards.

• Define grading, and differentiate between grading and inspection
• Discuss the role of the FDA in meat and poultry grading
• Identify wholesale and retail meat cuts
• Differentiate between select, choice, and prime meat cuts
• Differentiate between grades A, B, and C poultry quality

Lecture/Discussion Class Objectives

Possible Laboratory Activity: Take students on a field trip to a meat shop or grocery store to observe how wholesale meat cuts are converted to retail cuts  

3.3.4. Identify quality standards used to select food products.

Lecture/Discussion Class Objectives

• Identify the FDA code of federal regulations (CFR) as an important go-to location to find food standards
• Demonstrate how to effectively navigate and use the CFR to find federal food standards

Possible Laboratory Activity: Design a specific food product such as a standardized bread or acidified product based on the CFR

3.3.5. Select nutritious food choices at home and when dining out.

Lecture/Discussion Class Objectives

• Discuss important considerations when designing a healthy meal at home
• Discuss unhealthy traps to avoid when eating out

Possible Laboratory Activity: Have students design and create a healthy meal or food product for a target population based on their dietary needs

3.3.6. Describe the impact of social and cultural influences on dietary patterns.

• Discuss the role of culture in food choices
• Identify social triggers that may cause us to make poor food choices

Lecture/Discussion Class Objectives

Possible Laboratory Activity: Design a healthy and tasty dairy-free ice cream or low-calorie for someone who loves ice cream but is also trying to lose weight

3.3.7. Create daily food plans that meet current United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) dietary guidelines and contribute to healthy eating habits.

Lecture/Discussion Class Objectives

• Explain what a food plan is
• Outline the key principles in the USDA dietary guidelines that contribute to healthy eating habits
• Explain how to create a food plan based on your unique dietary needs

Possible Laboratory Activity: Create a 1-week menu plan for yourself that reflects your knowledge of your dietary needs

3.3.8. Create menus for special occasions and events that reflect knowledge of special dietary and nutritional needs

Possible Laboratory Activity: Have students select a special holiday of their choice and design a healthier but tasty version of a meal that is traditionally eaten on that holiday

Outcome 3.4. Food Safety and Sanitation: Promote Food Safety and Sanitation using Proper Food Handling and Storage

Competencies

3.4.1. Identify major foodborne illnesses, causes, preventions, and entrances into the food supply.

Lecture/Discussion Class Objectives

• Define foodborne illness
• Identify and differentiate major categories of foodborne illnesses (infection and intoxication)
• Identify routes of food contamination and strategies that can be implemented to prevent contamination

Possible Laboratory Activity: Quantification of bacteria on hands before and after handwashing and sanitizing  

3.4.2. Prevent food safety risks by controlling conditions under which bacteria grow.

Lecture/Discussion Class Objectives

• Discuss factors affecting bacteria growth including food, pH, time, temperature, oxygen, and moisture

Possible Laboratory Activity: Effect of pH on bacterial growth in apple sauce  

3.4.3. Compare the effects of food labeling, preservation, packaging, and storage on food safety, freshness, and longevity.

Lecture/Discussion Class Objectives

• Discuss the role of date-marking in food quality assessment
• Explain the function of food packaging in food storage and preservation
• Identify factors that can be controlled during processing to preserve food quality and safety

Possible Laboratory Activity: Effect of temperature on mold growth on strawberries  

3.4.4. Compare food preservation methods (e.g., freezing, drying, canning) used to optimize shelf life.

Lecture/Discussion Class Objectives

• Discuss principles and methods of food preservation by freezing
• Discuss principles and methods of food preservation by drying  
• Discuss principles and methods of food preservation by canning

Possible Laboratory Activity: Make delicious, dehydrated apple slices using a kitchen dehydrator   

3.4.5. Regulate food temperatures throughout purchase, storage, handling, cooking, and serving.

Lecture/Discussion Class Objectives

• Discuss the potential economic impact if proper temperatures controls are not implemented throughout the value chain
• Discuss appropriate temperature limits needed to keep food safe at various steps in the value chain   

Possible Laboratory Activity: Provide students opportunities to take accurate measurements of food temperature using appropriate procedures   

3.4.6. Apply personal, food safety, and sanitation processes and procedures to prevent contamination and cross-contamination at home and in the workplace.

Lecture/Discussion Class Objectives

• Discuss personal hygiene protocols needed to keep food safe, including handwashing, wearing personal protective equipment, and other personal sanitary practices
• Differentiate between cleaning and sanitation
• Discuss protocols for effective cleaning and sanitation of food contact surfaces in the food industry

Possible Laboratory Activity: Conduct a rapid test of cutting board to determine proper cleaning and sanitation after use.