Whenever teaching nutrition, make sure the content is age-appropriate and culturally sensitive.

Use meal times, such as school breakfast, snacks or lunch, to teach students about healthy options.

Make half of your plate fruits and vegetables.

Consume 5 servings of fruits and vegetables each day.

Eating whole fruits is best, but drink 100% juice when choosing fruit juice.

Make at least half of your grains whole grains.

Switch to fat-free or low-fat (1%) dairy.

Consume 3 servings of dairy each day.

Limit soda and other sugar sweetened beverages. Water is the best option!

Teach through online nutrition games. When students have free computer time, provide specific links where they can learn about nutrition.

Offer nutrition education in a systematic way (i.e. monthly, weekly, as a unit) as opposed to one-time or occasional lessons to help kids internalize the information.

Invite local experts such as dietitians to teach a lesson on portion sizes or shopping on a budget.

Recruit a local chef to teach kids about seasonal, local foods.

Include a nutrition-focused worksheet or tip sheet in every parent newsletter that is sent home.

Does your classroom have centers or stations? Include nutrition education activity sheets as part of one of a center or as something students can do after they complete their work.

Integrate nutrition education into math and literacy. For example, select books with a nutrition focus or graph the number of fruits students ate the previous day.

Host a taste test to allow students to sample the foods they learn about in class.

Join the Chefs Move to Schools initiative to bring local chefs to your school to teach kids about healthy eating and local food.

Teach students how to read a food label so they have the skills to make healthy choices at the grocery store and at home.