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Mastering Servings

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Lesson Plan

Mastering Servings Plan

Students will learn to read nutrition labels, calculate serving sizes, and determine total calories for multiple servings. Through interactive activities and practice problems, they will build skills to choose appropriate portion sizes and create a personal portion-control promise.

Understanding serving sizes and calories empowers students to make healthier choices and prevents overeating. This foundational skill supports lifelong nutrition literacy and applies math in everyday contexts.

Audience

6th Grade Students

Time

45 minutes

Approach

Interactive teaching, collaborative puzzles, and practice problems link label math to real-life portions.

Materials

Prep

Preparation

5 minutes

Step 1

Hook & Objective Overview

5 minutes

  • Present two plates: one with correct portions and one oversized; ask which looks healthier.
  • Display lesson objective: mastering servings and calories.
  • Invite students to share why understanding serving sizes matters.

Step 2

Exploring Serving Sizes

10 minutes

  • Show a real food label and identify the serving size, servings per container, and calories per serving.
  • Demonstrate how eating multiple servings multiplies calories: e.g., 2 servings × 150 calories.
  • Ask students to calculate calories for different serving counts aloud.

Step 3

Guided Practice with Slide Deck

10 minutes

  • Navigate key slides on the Serving Size Math Slide Deck.
  • Work through 2–3 examples as a class, calculating total calories for varying serving amounts.
  • Encourage students to ask questions and solve small problems on whiteboards.

Step 4

Portion Puzzle Collaborative Activity

10 minutes

  • Divide students into small groups and distribute the Portion Puzzle Activity.
  • Instruct each group to match food cards with portion visuals and label calculations.
  • Have groups present one match and explain their calculation process.

Step 5

Independent Practice Worksheet

5 minutes

  • Hand out the Serving Math Practice Worksheet.
  • Students complete problems independently, calculating calories for different serving scenarios.
  • Teacher circulates to provide support and check work.

Step 6

Cool-Down & Commitment

5 minutes

  • Distribute the My Portion Promise Cool-Down.
  • Students reflect on what they’ve learned and write one personal goal to practice proper portion control.
  • Optionally, invite volunteers to share their portion promises with the class.
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Slide Deck

Serving Size Math

Calculating calories for multiple servings

Let’s get started!

Welcome, everyone! Today we're diving into Serving Size Math. We'll learn how to read nutrition labels and calculate total calories based on servings eaten.

What Is a Serving Size?

• A serving size tells you the amount of food that the nutrition info refers to.
• Found at the top of the Nutrition Facts label.
• Helps you track how much you eat.

Explain that a serving size is the standardized amount used on nutrition labels to make comparing foods easier. Emphasize it’s not necessarily what we eat.

Reading a Nutrition Label

  1. Serving Size (e.g., 1 cup, 50 g)
  2. Servings Per Container (e.g., 2.5)
  3. Calories Per Serving (e.g., 120 cal)

Display a sample Nutrition Facts label. Point out the three key pieces of information we need.

Why Serving Sizes Matter

• Prevents overeating by knowing your portions
• Helps you track total calorie intake
• Allows fair comparisons between similar foods

Engage students: ask them why paying attention to serving sizes might help with staying healthy.

Calculating Total Calories

Total Calories = Number of Servings × Calories Per Serving

Use this formula whenever you eat more or fewer servings than the label’s serving size.

Introduce the multiplication formula for total calories.

Example Calculations

• 2 servings × 150 cal per serving = 300 cal total
• 3.5 servings × 120 cal per serving = 420 cal total

Work through these two quick examples step by step. Ask students to follow along on whiteboards.

Practice Problem 1

A nutrition bar lists 1 bar (50 g) as 1 serving and 200 cal per serving.
If you eat 2 bars, how many total calories do you consume?

Pose the problem, then give students 1–2 minutes to compute. Call on a volunteer for the answer.

Practice Problem 2

A 12 oz soda lists 1 can = 1.5 servings and 100 cal per serving.
If you drink the entire can, how many calories do you drink?

Let students work in pairs. After a minute, discuss the answer as a class.

Key Takeaways

• Always check the serving size on the label.
• Multiply servings eaten by calories per serving.
• Accurate portions = better health choices.

Summarize the most important points. Encourage students to ask any final questions.

Next Up: Portion Puzzle Activity

Get ready to match food cards with portion visuals and calculate calories together!

Transition to the next hands-on activity. Explain that they’ll now apply these skills in groups.

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Activity

Portion Puzzle Activity

Objective: Apply serving-size calculations by matching real food items to portion visuals and calculating total calories in a collaborative puzzle challenge.

Materials:

  • Puzzle Card Sets: Food item cards with serving info and calories per serving
  • Portion Visual Cards: Photos or illustrations of portion sizes (cups, handfuls, slices, etc.)
  • Recording Sheet: one per group (Portion Puzzle Recording Sheet)
  • Calculators, markers, tape or sticky tack
  • Chart paper or whiteboard space for group presentations

Setup (5 minutes):

  • Divide students into small groups of 3–4.
  • Distribute one set of Puzzle Cards and Portion Visual Cards to each group.
  • Hand out the Recording Sheet, calculators, and markers.

Instructions (10 minutes):

  1. Match It (5 minutes)
    Each group matches each food card to the correct Portion Visual Card (e.g., ½ cup of cereal, 1 handful of grapes).

    2. Calculate It (5 minutes)
    On the Recording Sheet, groups write:
    • Food item name
    • Serving size (from card)
    • Calories per serving
    • Number of servings shown in visual
    • Total calories (use Total Calories = Servings × Calories per Serving)

    3. Check & Prepare to Share
    Groups confirm calculations with calculators and select one match to explain to the class.

Group Presentation (5 minutes):

  • Each group briefly shares:
    • Their food–visual match
    • How they determined the number of servings
    • Their total calorie calculation and reasoning

Extension Questions (for early finishers or follow-up):

  • How would your calculations change if you ate half of the portion shown?


  • If you share that portion equally with a friend, how many calories does each person get?


  • How can you use what you learned today when choosing snacks or meals at home?
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Worksheet

Name: ________________________ Date: ________________

Serving Math Practice Worksheet

Use the formula: Total Calories = Number of Servings × Calories per Serving

  1. A cereal box lists 1 serving = 30 g and 120 calories per serving. You eat 2 servings. How many calories did you consume?


  2. A pack of crackers lists 5 crackers = 1 serving and 80 calories per serving. If you eat 12 crackers:
    a) How many servings did you eat?



    b) How many calories did you consume?


  3. A soda can says 1 can = 1.5 servings and 100 calories per serving. If you drink the entire can, how many calories did you drink?


  4. A chocolate bar’s label shows 1 bar = 2 servings and 250 calories per serving. If you eat only ¾ of the bar, how many calories did you consume?


  5. A bag of trail mix states 50 g = 1 serving and 200 calories per serving. The bag contains 200 g in total. If you want to eat no more than 300 calories of this trail mix, how many grams can you eat? Show your calculation.





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Cool Down

My Portion Promise Cool-Down

Reflect & Commit

Today you practiced reading nutrition labels and calculating servings. Use the prompts below to set a personal portion-control goal.

  1. One important thing I learned about portion sizes today is:






  2. My personal portion-control goal for this week is:






  3. I will remind myself to stick to this goal by:




  4. On a scale of 1–5, how confident am I that I will keep this promise? Circle one:
    1 2 3 4 5

Optionally, share your promise with a partner or the class to stay accountable!

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