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Day 1: Green Scene (See the lesson below) Students learn the benefits of green vegetables and the number of recommended servings

Day 2: Vital Vitamins Students learn about different types of vitamins and how they function in the body

Day 3: Nutritious Choices Students examine their eating habits and learn about a balanced diet

Day 4: International Food Day Students learn the differences in people's diets from around the world

Day 5: Super-size Me Students learn about America's growing obesity and its relationship to portion size

Day 6: Got Greens? Students learn ways foods are marketed towards youth in order to start their own green campaign

Day 7: Getting the Skinny on Obesity Students learn about the New Food Pyramid and how to evaluate their Body Mass Index

Day 8: Action Plan Students evaluate their own activity levels and plan ways to add more movement into their lives

Day 9: Fitting in Fitness Students evaluate how they spend their time and how to include physical activity into their day

Day 10: Green Day Students plant a garden and/or fix up a community space for physical activity

More student resources for this cause are at:
www.dosomething.org/causes/healthy_eating

1. Students will demonstrate an understanding of the importance of choosing from a wide variety of greens/vegetables (from Pyramid) for good nutrition, good health and tasty/interesting daily diet.
2. Students will understand how many servings of greens/vegetables they (individually) need weekly for good health (recommended by the Dietary Guidelines), and be able to list appealing ways to include them in their diet.

1. Nutrition Facts labels from a variety of salad blends (print from www.freshexpress.com)
2. Nutrition Facts labels from a variety of salad dressings and salad toppings (e.g. croutons, nuts)
3. Nutrition information/nutrient analysis for a variety of foods, especially some favorite foods of this age group.
4. Internet access to
   www.healthierus.gov/dietaryguidelines

www.health.gov/dietaryguidelines/dga2005

1. Warm-up: Ask students to draw the body of an average American. Are they in shape? Overweight? Discuss thoughts with students.
2. Do and informal vote by having the students who agree with the statement stand up out of their seat
• I exercise one time a week.
• I eat at least two servings of vegetables a day.
• I eat at least two servings of fruit a day.
• I try and eat healthy.
• I watch over two hours of television everyday.
• I lead a healthy lifestyle.
• I am working to become healthier.
3. Introduce "Teens for Greens" unit to students by explaining that for the next ten days, students will learn about how to stay healthy through diet and exercise. Remind students that issues of weight can be a sensitive topic and that students must be watchful of each other's feelings.
4. Start the unit by identifying all the greens/vegetables students can think of (list on blackboard or flip chart); take a poll: Who eats these (list one by one)--daily? Weekly? Sometimes? Never? Make a quick pie chart of how many in the class eat "how many different types" of greens/vegetables every week. Have a student do the math and make a pie chart of, for example, "X % eat 5-7 different kinds of greens/vegetables (weekly)". Determine categories that are realistic for your class (e.g. "1 or fewer," "2-5", "5-7", etc.).
5. Discuss the "more the merrier" concept of filling a plate with vegetables and greens which will lead to better nutrition and help to get all the nutrients we need. Explain to students that salad blends offer an array of colors, vegetables, greens--more nutritional impact that a solo head of iceberg lettuce. Including a "blend" of already-mixed greens is a good way to try new vegetables and greens.
6. Have students, in small groups, access information on the government website to determine recommendations for eating greens/vegetables. Go to http://ucce.ucdavis.edu/files/datastore/234-104.pdf to learn about why vegetables are important in your daily diet. Have one group report on recommended serving sizes. Ask for informal reporting of why health experts want us to eat greens/vegetables every day (what are the nutritional benefits?). Studying labels from some greens/vegetable packages and salad blend packages, discuss the variety of nutritional needs that are met in different ways with different greens/vegetables.
7. Ask students about ways in which people (people they know, or observe, or themselves and their families) eat greens/vegetables and salads. Always cold or sometimes cooked? Encourage thinking about different cultures and food; what are some cultures (perhaps represented in the classroom or city) that include greens in a daily diet differently than your students do? How are greens/vegetables included in the school foodservice lunch offerings? Have students think about and discuss the most common ways of preparing/eating greens/vegetables; what preparation and presentation methods add interest/make greens/vegetables appealing?
8. Reflect: Have students list favorite foods (could be pizza, burgers, sandwiches, burritos, pasta, French fries, etc.) Brainstorm ways to include greens/vegetables into favorite dishes and favorite meals.

1. Class Discussion: Agree or disagree? A person can eat the same thing every day and still enjoy a healthful diet. Talk about the pros and cons of the "same old" menu every day versus eating a varied menu throughout the week. Can nutritional needs be met by eating the same thing every day? What do health experts recommend? Are there benefits to eating a varied diet?
2. Body Builders: Have students keep a food diary for one week. Analyze their intake against the dietary guidelines. Focus on where greens/vegetables play a part on the menu; have students brainstorm for suggestions/recommendations about where and how they might add greens/vegetables.
3. Recipes Writing: Ask students to share one new way they ate/prepared greens/vegetables for themselves/their families. Have students find and bring a recipe (from home, from a magazine or cookbook in the library) for greens/vegetable dish that includes a variety of colors. Some students might want to research in international cookbooks.
• Have student groups brainstorm ways of adding new greens/vegetables (or ways of preparing & serving them) to the school foodservice lunch menu. Discuss as a class meeting with the foodservice professional staff to discuss suggestions.

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