Teach Food Groups with Newspaper Ads

Every week, the mailbox and newspapers are full of ads from local stores. Use those grocery store ads to teach food groups to children.

Create food cards with grocery store ads.

Go through the weekly flyer and cut out the best pictures that represent the major food groups. Mount the pictures on colored cards that match up to the food pyramid. Grains are orange. Vegetables are green. Fruits are red. Oils are yellow. Milk is blue. Meat and beans (protein) are purple. Also create control cards that are labeled as each group.

Incorporate a large variety of examples from each food group. Avoid using pictures that have multiple foods in them, especially if they are two different categories.

How to use the cards of the food groups.

Obtain two identical copies of a weekly grocery store ad. Make two identical sets of cards for matching activities. Keep them color-coded, and introduce one food group at a time.

Make flashcards by gluing the picture at the top of the colored card, and by printing either the food name or the food group name on the bottom. Use two sets as three-part matching cards.

When children become comfortable with the foods and their groups, mix a single set of cards for them to sort by group. If the set of cards is color-coded, this will be a natural control of error. For older children, place all pictures from the grocery store ads on the same color background. Write the appropriate food group on the back for self-checking.
Have children practice making up meals for the day that follow the dietary guidelines of the food pyramid. Use a set of cards that are color-coded and labeled for each food group, along with the daily serving recommendations. Challenge children to make meals that fit into these guidelines by arranging the food cards.

Let children cut up the ads.

Ask parents to donate their grocery store ads for a few weeks in advance of the nutrition unit. As a follow-up to the activities with the cards, children can make their own cards or meal plans. They can also cut out the pictures to place into a book or on a large poster as a special project. As an alternative, this could be an activity for children to do with their parents, as a way to encourage discussions about nutrition at home.

Advanced activities for older children could also include creating a budget and using the newspaper ads to plan a grocery shopping list.