Food Groups Categorizing Activity

In this Remarkable Idea, students learn about or review the food groups, and the types of foods that fit into each group. Students cut out pictures of foods from magazines, then select the food group that the food fits in. Students glue the food picture on a poster labeled with the corresponding food group name and/or picture/symbol.

This activity addresses:

  • Turn taking
  • Fine motor skills
  • Health
  • Language arts
  • Food and nutrition
  • Alternative methods of access

What you need:

Preparation:

1. Prepare the following food group pictures/symbols:

  • Protein
  • Dairy
  • Fruit
  • Vegetables
  • Grains

2. On the top of each large sheet of construction paper, write the name of one of the five food groups. Add a matching picture/symbol of the food group if your students need picture/symbol support.
3. Using the QuickTalker, create an overlay, using the AbleNet Symbol Overlay Maker app, with the five food group pictures/symbols, and record the names of each of the food groups into each message location.

What to do:

1. Show students each of the food group pictures/symbols, and students give examples of food from that category.
2. Students use battery-operated scissors to cut out pictures of different kinds of food, from magazines and newspapers.
3. Place an assortment of the food pictures on the All-Turn-It Spinner.
4. Using a switch,sStudents take turns spinning the All-Turn-It Spinner for a food picture. The teacher immediately programs the name of the food item into a BIG or LITTLEmack. The student uses the BIG or LITTLEmack to tell the others the name of the food item.
5. The student selects the food group the item belongs in by activating a message location on a QuickTalker. When the correct food group is selected, the student identifies the construction paper with the matching food group word/picture symbol and glues the food picture on that sheet.