Running Head: MY PLATE ASSIGNMENT

My Plate Assignment
Nicole Van Iwaarden
Arizona State University
PPE 310
Professor Jessica Skipper
October 25, 2015

My Plate Screenshot

My Plate Evaluation
Madison Meadows meets the requirements for the National Standards for School Meals
which include specific calories based on age and grade level and an increased availability of
fruits and vegetables. Though Madison Meadows meets these standards, only eighteen percent of
Madison Meadows 830 students qualify for free and reduced lunch which is well below the state
average of forty-seven percent and the district average of thirty-eight percent (2015, 1).
Madison Meadows has to meet the requirements for the National Standards for School
Meals; however, that does not guarantee that students are eating what they pick out and put on
their plate. Anyone can walk into a school cafeteria and find uneaten food in the trash. Students
are forced to grab fruits and vegetables; however, they are not necessarily going to eat what they
are forced to grab. Instead, this food often ends up in the trash meaning that students are not
always getting the requirements based on calorie limits and increased availability of fruits and
vegetables. Consequently, food being thrown away can be problematic because Madison
Meadows is actually under the daily food group targets for grains, dairy and protein. In fact, the
data shows that Madison Meadows has both fruit and vegetables above seventy-five percent of
the target daily food groups. This does not mean that students are actually eating seventy-five
percent or above of those target daily food groups. Additionally, grains show around sixty
percent, proteins are at twenty-five percent, and dairy is lowest at five percent. Thus, students
need to eat every part of their meal to get as much as they can from what is being offered.
I would not change what the cafeteria was serving because I feel the choices are diverse
enough and do meet the National Standards for School Meals requirements. What I would do, is
eat the same types of foods in front of my students and discuss the benefits of healthy eating. By

eating healthy foods in front of my students, I am serving as a role model. Moreover, I would
encourage my students to eat all the food provided with their school lunches. I would do this by
teaching a lesson on scarcity to talk about the consequences of throwing away perfectly good
food. Lastly, I would have students complete a daily food log and then have students graph their
daily food group intake at the end of each the week. We would do this for a month and then
discuss how the food they eat, both in school and outside of school, effects how active they are
and how much they sleep.
Thus, as a teacher, there are many ways to use this activity to impact students inside and
outside of the classroom. For instance, in having students complete a daily food log, they will
most likely be compelled to eat healthier food. This will then help them to see the connection
between being healthy and feeling healthy. In having the students begin to make this connection
outside of school, it will help to supplement the health lessons that I integrate into my math
lessons. In fact, I could even take the daily food log one step further and have students complete
a daily physical activity log as well. This would ensure that students understand that eating
healthy and physical activity are both huge components of living a healthy lifestyle.
Furthermore, in addition to completing daily logs, graphing the information is a vital
visual in helping students to understand how important their daily food intake and the amount of
physical activity they get daily are. For example, students who eat healthier will have a more
balanced graph whereas students who do eat healthily will not. This will most likely cause
students who do not eat healthily to strive to have a more balanced graph. The same motivation
should happen with daily physical activity logs.

Another way to use this information to benefit students, is to have them complete the my
plate activity at home. In having students analyze the food they are eating, they can begin to
understand the importance of meeting the daily food groups targets. They can also begin to
understand more about calories and how calories relate to the food they eat most often.

Reference
(2015). Madison Meadows School. Retrieved from http://projects.propublica.org/schools/
schools/40450000354

7
Criteria

Points (5) Exemplary

Points (3) Proficient

Introduction
SCORE:x1

Introduction was well organized

and created a plan for the paper

Introduction was somewhat organized

and created a plan for the paper

ChooseMyPlate
Analysis

One breakfast and one lunch (or 2

restaurant options) were evaluated
Results reflect a hypothetical
student
Screen shot was included

Only one breakfast or lunch (or 1

restaurant option) was evaluated
Results reflected a hypothetical student,
but not enough information was provided
Screen shot was included, but incomplete

Contained a very detailed

application of National Standards
for School Meals
Contains very detailed applications
of Dietary Guidelines for
Americans
Contains very detailed discussions
for 3 changes to improve nutrition

A summary of the current state of

the schools nutrition was included
Summary of changes were included
A detailed reflection regarding how
this teacher knowledge of students
impacts your students inside and
outside your classroom
Proper grammar and punctuation is
used throughout the proposal
All sentences are clear &
developed
Paper was at least 3 pages with
standard margins, font, & text size

APA style referencing used

throughout paper and on the
reference sheet
The file document name contains
Lastname.firstname.assign#.course
#
This rubric was attached

SCORE: x1

Application of results
and proposed changes

SCORE:x1

Summary/Reflection
SCORE: x1

Writing

SCORE: x1

Referencing Style

SCORE:
x1

Contained a somewhat detailed

application of National Standards for
School Meals
Contained somewhat detailed
applications of Dietary Guidelines for
Americans
Contains somewhat detailed discussions
only 2 changes to improve nutrition
A summary of the current state of the
school in terms of nutrition was included
but did not align with paper
A summary of the proposed changes was
included but did not align with paper
A general reflection of how this data
impacts your students
Most grammar and correct punctuation is
used throughout the proposal
Most sentences are clear & developed
Paper was 1-3 pages with standard
margins, font, and size of text
APA style referencing mostly used
throughout the paper and on the
reference sheet with some errors
The file name somewhat contains the
Lastname.firstname.assignment#.course#
This rubric was added but not at the end