Lesson Plan Prepared by: Evgeniya Nozdrina

Title: Eat Smart, Live Strong.

Identifying information:
The lecture will be held at Chandler Residential Care, on April 12, 2011 at 2:00 PM, and has
been designed for 50 minutes duration. The participants are residents of that facility, and they are
independent adults 60 years of age and older. There will be 12 elders participating in this class.

Teaching Resources:
Handouts (Participant Feedback Sheet, Water: Signs of Dehydration and Tips for Adding Water
to Your Daily Routine, Water in Common Foods and Drinks, Set Your Goals, How Did I Do
Yesterday?).
Pens or pencils
Samples of fruits and vegetables
Samples of water, apple juice, and lemonade
1 cup and 1 cup measures
Two quarters container
Paper board
Plates

Standards Addressed:
California Career Technical Education Model Curriculum Standards.
A4.2 Analyze appropriate nutrient intake, diet, and energy expenditure for individuals of
different ages and with different dietary and health needs.
A4.3 Understand the relationship of emotional, psychological, and physiological needs to
food intake and natural hunger cues.
A4.4 Understand the concept of recommended diets for different dietary and health needs.
A5.4 Understand nutrient density as it relates to food quality and dietary choices for individual
nutrition, fitness, and wellness goals.
A5.5 Understand how social and cultural norms and barriers relate to the implementation of
nutrition, fitness, and wellness changes.

Learning Objectives:
1. Understand benefits of eating at least 1 cups of fruits and 2 cups of vegetables every
day.
2. State the goal for eating more fruits and vegetables and understand how to plan to
meet the goal.
3. Understand the role water has in the body.
4. Understand the importance of getting enough water each day.
5. Recognize the risks and signs of dehydration.
6. Identify foods with high water content.
7. Identify practical ways to add water to their daily routine.

Opening Strategy (Anticipation Set):
Introduce the session. Get to know each other. Set a warm and relaxed tone for the session. State
the purpose of todays session. Share the length of the session. Ask participants to name some of
the benefits of eating 3cups of fruits and vegetables every day. Record the answers on the
board. Ask participant how many of them drank a glass of water today. This will serve to
introduce the topic of the lecture.

Learning Activities:

1. Explain the benefits of eating 3cups of fruits and vegetables every day. Show the list of
those benefits on the board. Make sure the following are mentioned:
Get some of the vitamins, minerals, and fiber needed to maintain good health
Maintain regularity
Help prevent or delay the effects of chronic conditions such as obesity, diabetes,
hypertension, and heart disease
Add color, taste, and variety to the diet
Maintain strong, healthy bones
Mention that the amount of fruits and vegetables for any person depends on activity level, age,
and gender. Point out that older adult should eat at least 3 cups each day. One and a half cups
should be fruit. Two cups should be vegetables.

2. Invite participants to talk about the recommendations to eat more fruits and vegetables.
Ask:
Is this something that you think you can do? Why or why not?
What makes it hard for you to eat more fruits and vegetables?

3. Acknowledge that these recommendations can be a bit overwhelming. Stress that every
little bit helps. Making small changes like eating a serving of fruits or vegetables as a
snack instead of sweets or taking a walk around the block every afternoon can make a
difference.

4. Skills-building Activity How Did I Do Yesterday? Display the fruit and vegetable
samples that were measured out ahead of time to help participants visualize what 1 cup of
various fruits and vegetables looks like. Pass these samples around.

5. Help participants to fill out the handout How Did I Do Yesterday? Remind people to
think about:
Fresh, frozen, dried, or canned fruit
Fruits that were ingredients in salads, desserts, smoothies, or other mixed dishes
Fruits they ate at meals or as snacks
100% fruit juice
Check peoples handouts to ensure they understand how to complete them. Have them write in
the total number of cups of fruits they ate yesterday. Have participants continue to fill in the
handout, recording the number of cups of vegetables they ate yesterday. Remind people to think
about:
Fresh, frozen, or canned vegetables
Vegetables that were ingredients in sandwiches, salads, soups, casseroles, or other mixed
dishes
Vegetables they ate at meals or as snacks
100% vegetable juice
Show participants where to fill in the total cups of fruits and vegetables. Make sure everyone has
filled in a total.

6. Have participants share how many cups of fruits and vegetables they reported.

7. Explain handout Set Your Goals. Talk about how they will set a personal goal for
eating more fruits and vegetables every day over the next week. Talk about how they will set a
personal goal for eating more fruits and vegetables every day over the next week. Consider: The
goal should be just a bit more than what they did in the handout How Did I Do Yesterday
suggest an extra half cup of both fruits and vegetables for each day. At the top of the handout,
have them fill in the total number of cups that is their daily goal.

8. Briefly discuss the importance of variety. One way to encourage a wide range of fruits
and vegetables is to eat a variety of colors such as orange, dark green, red, blue-purple, and
white. Encourage participants to try new fruits and vegetables regularly to get many of the
vitamins and minerals their bodies need.

9. Explain how to Use the Set Your Goals Sheet to track progress. Encourage
participants to take the weekly log with them to track their progress for the week (Handout Set
Your Goals). Help them understand how they can use it to write in the number of cups of fruits
and vegetables they eat each day, and the number of minutes they are physically active each day.
Have participants write in yesterdays counts on the weekly log, so they practice using the log.
Encourage them to keep it in a visible place in their home, such as the refrigerator so that they
remember to record their progress.

10. Go over suggestions for overcoming the challenges that participants might face in
reaching their goals. Ask participants to talk about the challenges they might face in reaching
their goals. Other participants may offer suggestions for overcoming the challenges. Depending
on the challenges mentioned, briefly discuss some of the obstacles that older adults face.

11. Explain the Role of Water in human body.
Ask participants: How many of you drank a glass of water today? Explain that on average, over
half of the body weight is water? Water plays a very important role in helping the body to work
at its best, but not drinking enough water is a very common problem for older adults.
Ask participants: Can you think of any reasons that keep you from drinking as much water as
you should? Have participants name some personal barriers to drinking water through the day.
Today we are going to talk about ways you can overcome some of these barriers to get plenty of
water every day. Well also find out why its so important that your body get enough water.
Role of Water
What are some important jobs water has in your body? Is its primary role to satisfy your thirst?
That is important, but its not waters most important job. Water is the most important nutrient
to help keep your bodys cells, tissues, and organs running smoothly. Some of the ways water
keeps your body working are by helping it to keep a constant internal temperature, preventing
constipation, cushioning your joints, and protecting your body organs. Fluids are also important
when you are sick and may be losing more water, such as when you have a fever, diarrhea, or are
vomiting.

12. Explain the importance of getting enough water.
Your body needs a continuous supply of water. If you always wait until your mouth is dry to
drink some water, then you may be waiting too long. Thats why we should try to drink water
throughout the day, even if we arent thirsty. If you do feel thirsty, you should drink until your
thirst is satisfied.

13. Show participants an example of an 8-ounce glass of water and a 64-ounce water
bottle.
Do you know how much water we should try to drink every day? Wait for responses. Thats
right at least eight 8-ounce glasses (2 quarts) of fluid every day is a good rule to go by. Show
participants an example of an 8-ounce glass of water and an 8-ounce water bottle. After our
lesson today, it may be helpful to find some 8-ounce glasses or cups at home, and start using
those to make sure youre getting at least 64-ounces (2 quarts) of fluid a day.
Keep in mind, however, that water needs can vary widely among individuals, depending on how
active you are and the climate that you live in. If you do any kind of physical activity, or if you
are outside in the heat or cold for a long time during the day, your body may need even more
water. In the summertime when its hot and often humid outside, your body will sweat more to
keep your body temperature within a normal range. In the winter, having enough water helps to
keep your body insulated.

14. Review the signs of dehydration with participants using handout Signs of
Dehydration. Remember that thirst is often a slow, weak signal to get more fluids. Your body
may also become dehydrated before you know it in hot or cold weather. Thats why we should
try to drink plenty of fluids throughout the day. What are some ways that we can know were
getting enough water?

15. Explain some ways that we can know we are getting enough water.
One way is by checking the color of your urine. Hold up the glass of apple juice. Darker
urine thats a deep yellow or the color of apple juice may mean that youre not getting
enough water. Hold up the glass of lemonade. Its better for it to be a light lemonade
color. Be aware, though, that some vitamin supplements or medications can darken your
urine even if you are hydrated.
Another way to tell whether you are getting enough water is by paying attention to how
often you need to go to the bathroom or how much urine you make. If you only have
small amounts of urine, this could be a signal to get more fluids.
Try to make it a habit to drink at least eight 8-ounce glasses of fluid a day, and more if the
situation calls for it, so youll know that you are helping your body to work at its best!

16. Demonstrate the handout titled Water in Common Foods and Drinks.
Weve talked about how important water is to your bodys functioning, and its important to
remember that water comes packaged in many different forms. For example, did you know that
when you drink a glass of milk or a serving of juice, youre actually drinking about 90% water?
Some other foods that have high water content are fruits, vegetables, yogurt, and soups.
Enjoying these foods regularly can contribute to your water intake, and provide you with many
vitamins and minerals your body needs.

Assessment:
Using the Participant Feedback Sheet Handout and/or through discussion, ask some of these
questions:
What new thing did you learn?
Which part of the session was most important to you?
Do you think goal setting will help you eat at least 3cups of fruits and vegetables every day?
Do you think goal setting will help you drink enough water each day?

Lead a group discussion by having participants refer to the handout with the Tips for Adding
Water to your Daily Routine box. Have participants discuss additional ways that theyve added
water to their daily routine.

Independent Practice:
Remind participants to complete their weekly logs so they can see their progress.

Summary Closure:
Recap the main points of the lecture.

Reflection: See critique












References
California State Board of Education, (2005). California career technical education model
curriculum standards ( I SBN 0- 8011- 1609- 0) . Retrieved from
http://www.cde.ca.gov/ci/ct/sf/documents/ctestandards.pdf
Coffman, K. (2007), Water/Hydration. Nutrition for Older Adults Health. Retrieved from
http://www.fcs.uga.edu/noahnet/lp/waterandhydration.doc
United States Department of Agriculture. Last updated: 23 June, 2009. Retrieved from
http://snap.nal.usda.gov/nal_display/index.php?info_center=15&tax_level=3&tax_subjec
t=261&topic_id=1941&level3_id=6326&level4_id=0&level5_id=0&placement_default=