The Conversation Starter Videos (Why and When do We Eat for grades 1 to 3 and Let’s get Cooking for grades 4 to 6) along with the Discussion Guides for each video are designed to initiate conversations about mindful eating with elementary students to foster their food literacy at different stages of their development.
Engaging students in conversations about mindful eating helps them develop the health knowledge and the social emotional learning skills to make informed choices that contribute to the development of healthier eating habits and patterns to benefit their overall health and wellbeing.
The content for each of these scenario-based videos is derived from the Healthy Eating expectations in the elementary Health and Physical Education curriculum, 2019, and aligns with the division expectations for which the video is intended for use.
Video: Why and When do We Eat (Grades 1-3)
The intent of the video, Why and When do We Eat, is to help students develop their food literacy by understanding the role of food in nurturing their body and mind and their ability to learn, recognize body cues, and develop their understanding and application of mindful eating behaviours for overall health and well-being. Students will learn about the role of food in nurturing their body and mind and their ability to learn about factors that affect their food choices.
Video Description: It is a typical morning in a primary classroom, where students are actively working on projects or reading together. The teacher encourages students to practice what they are learning about mindful eating by accessing the snack table located in their classroom whenever they want, encouraging them to pay attention to their hunger and thirst cues, and selecting from the variety of foods.
Discussion Guide
The Discussion Guide includes Conversation Starter Questions and Themes to Reinforce the Learning that may be used alone or in combination with the video to promote dialogue about mindful eating behaviours. Also, within the guides are optional School to Home Connection activities that may be used with students to provide them with an opportunity to consolidate their learning by sharing what they have learned about mindful eating behaviours beyond the classroom setting.
Video: Let’s get Cooking (Grades 4-6)
The intent of the video, Let’s get Cooking, is to help students develop their food literacy by focusing on aspects of healthy eating beyond our attention to food consumption. When students understand the factors that influence their eating habits and food choices, such as the benefits of helping with food shopping or meal preparation at home, and learning to cook and eat with others, they are better equipped to develop healthier eating patterns to support their overall health and wellbeing.
Video Description: Three friends are invited over to their friend’s house for a cooking lesson with their parent who is a chef. They are learning to make easy snacks and meals that they can make and share with others. They learn about the importance of knowing how to cook as they grow older for health, food allergies, sensitivities, diseases, eating with others, and when on a budget. The friends learn about safe food handling, preparation, and storage, along with how cooking and eating together can be a social event and part of developing healthy eating habits.
Discussion Guide
The Discussion Guide includes Conversation Starter Questions and Themes to Reinforce the Learning that may be used alone or in combination with the video to promote dialogue about mindful eating behaviours. Also, within the guides are optional School to Home Connection activities that may be used with students to provide them with an opportunity to consolidate their learning by sharing what they have learned about mindful eating behaviours beyond the classroom setting.