Smash-Your-Food is an online game that asks kids to make predictions on how much sugar, salt, and oil are in common (junk) foods. After making a prediction, a lever is pulled and the food is smashed! As in real videos of hamburgers, french fries, cans of soda, and bowls of ice cream being smashed into a machine. Then the machine (this part is not literal) extracts the salt, sugar, and oil into separate quantities to show kids how close (or far off) their predictions were. Next to their predictions and the actual amounts are the recommended amounts per day.

This activity gives kids and entry-level ability to conceptualize how much sugar, salt, and oil are in their foods. As a way to question, “I wonder how much unhealthy stuff is in this”?

HBOs
HBO 6. Limit foods and beverages high in added sugars, solid fat, and sodium.
HBO 12. Follow an eating plan for healthy growth and development

NHEs
HE1.5.10 Identify foods that are high in sodium. (HBO 6 & 12)
HE1.5.8 Identify alternate sources of fat (e.g., unsaturated fats and oils). (HBO 6) HE1.5.9 Identify foods that are high in added sugars. (HBO 6 & 12)

Common Core:
CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.4.MD.A.1 Solve problems involving measurement and conversion of measurements.
CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.4.MD.B.4 Represent and interpret data.

Integration:
Science: Give students a beginning understanding of how to come to a group consensus in order to make predictions. Once new evidence is found, help students to use this new evidence in comparison to their initial predictions to change their ideas.

Math: Have students make charts, graphs or other physical representations that show the difference between their prediction, the actual amounts, and the recommended nutritional guidelines for salt, sugar, and oil.

Lesson Implementation:
Students will get in groups of 3-5. The teacher will hold up their lunch and state, “Sometimes I wish I knew how much sugar, salt or, oil is in my food. I wish I just had a machine that would tell me how much of all that stuff there is in my food when I don’t have a nutritional label on my food. So yesterday I found this machine online that does just that!” Direct students to the site: http://www.foodnme.com/smash-your-food/

Each group will be given two junk food items and directed to work as a group to make predictions on how much oil, sugar, and salt are in each item. After they make their predictions they can pull the lever to smash the food and find out how much salt, sugar, and oil are in there food items. Once they have find that out one person in the group needs to record their predictions, the actual amounts, and the daily recommended amount of salt, oil, and sugar. Once they do this they can make predictions on their second food item and follow the same instructions.

Once groups are done with the website they will then create a chart, graph, or another representation that shows their predictions for salt, sugar, and oil, the actual amounts, and the recommended amounts. They will also be asked to identify the food item and category that had the highest difference between their prediction and the actual amount, as well as the food item and category that had the highest difference in the actual amount and the recommended daily nutritional guidelines. Once students complete all of this, they will present their predictions and findings to the class.