Teacher Name: Michaela Adamec

Date and time lesson will be taught: TBD

Lesson Title: Meals with Appeal
Name of Secondary CTE Course : Food & Nutrition
Curriculum Framework Unit: Unit 2: The Food Consumer
Standard(s): 2.3 List considerations in appealing and nutritious meals

Objectives: The learners will be able to

1. List the five components one should consider when creating an appealing meal.
2. Identify characteristics of an appealing meal when shown visual representations.
3. Create a poster/menu representing an appealing meal that includes all five components.
Content to be presented in lesson:
Appetizers: Include fruit/vegetable juice, raw fruits/vegetables, soup, sea food, etc.
Entre: A main dish can be meat, seafood, poultry, a salad, an omelet, pancakes or a casserole
Dessert: cakes, cookies, pies, puddings, fruit

The Five Components of an Appealing Meal:

1. Color
Color combinations can be appealing or make you lose your appetite
Colors that are nearly the same are dull and boring
When planning meals, we need to be like artists painting a picture and use the elements and principles of line and
design.
2. Shape & Size
Use various sizes and shapes
o Example: Meatballs, peas and olives are the same shape, but have different sizes
3. Flavor/Aroma
Variety is important
Each person has 9,000 taste buds that can taste sweet, bitter, sour, and salt
Smell is also important to tell small differences
Flavor cannot be distinguished without the sense of smell
o Example: Food tastes bland with a cold
4. Texture
What can be seen and can be felt with the tongue

A variety of textures adds interest

o Smooth, rough, lumpy, soft, crisp
Some foods that have similar textures
o Soup, milk, pudding
o Chili, stew, some casseroles, baked beans
o Tacos, chips, crackers

5. Temperature
Meals are more interesting if some hot and some cold foods are used
The temperature outside can be taken into consideration
Introduction to the Lesson/Hook:

Allotted time: 5 minutes

Hello, everyone! To begin todays lesson, I would like for you to imagine that you all are going to be throwing a dinner
party for a friends birthday. What are some important arrangements we need to make for the party? (*Pauses to allow
for open discussion. Main answer we will be looking for is: Food.) Those are all great answers, but food is really
important, so today we need to decide on what food we will be making. However, we want to make sure everyone knows
what the five main components to an appealing meal are before we come up with the menu.
Learning activities/procedures:

Allotted time: 80 minutes

LECTURE/CLASS DISCUSSION (20 minutes)

So, when it comes to preparing the meal for the party, we need to understand what the different parts of the meal are:
appetizer, entre, and dessert. The appetizer is the first part of the meal and can be viewed as a snack before the main
dish arrives. Appetizers tend to be finger foods and they keep people entertained while the entre is being prepared. Can
anyone give me some examples of what an appetizer might consist of? (*Pauses to allow for open discussion. Correct
answer: Fruits, raw vegetables, soup, sea food, etc.)
The second part of the meal is the entre, which is the main course. An entre can be a salad or casserole, as well a piece
of meat, seafood, or poultry. When it comes to breakfast, some examples would be pancakes, French toast, and omelets.
Finally, the third part of the meal is the dessert. Some examples would be cakes, cookies, pies, puddings, and fruit. With
dessert, you often want to serve coffee, tea, or dessert wine.
Now that we all understand the parts of a meal, we need to understand what the five components of an appealing meal
are. Does anyone in here want to guess what these components might be? (*Pauses for open response(s). The correct
answer will be: Color, Shape and Size, Flavor/Aroma, Texture, Temperature.)
(*Shows a picture of a meal with all white foods) _____, when you look at this picture, what do you notice about the
meal? (*Pauses to allow for response. Correct answer will be: The foods are all white.) Yes, that is correct, everything
in this meal is white. (*Holds up a picture of a meal with various colors next to the white meal) So, when looking at
these two meals side-by-side, who thinks the first meal looks more appetizing? (*Pauses to allow for response) Who
thinks the second picture looks more appetizing? (*Pauses to allow for response) Why do you think it looks more
appetizing than the first picture? (*Pauses to allow for response. Correct answer will be: Its more colorful.) So, with
that being said, the first component that we must consider when creating a meal is COLOR. Some of the most beautiful
objects in nature are foods. (*Shows pictures of colorful fruits, vegetables, etc.) Many, many colors of food are
available. Color combinations can be appealing or make you lose your appetite. Colors that are nearly the same are dull
and boring. Therefore, when planning meals, we need to be like artists painting a picture and use the elements and
principles of line and design. If the foods you are serving arent naturally colorful, find ways to brighten them.

Next, the second component that we must consider is SHAPE & SIZE. Contrasting shapes within a meal make it fun and
appealing. We want to make sure to add variety. We can keep the same serving amount, but create different effects from a
single food. For example, a carrot can be cut into sticks, circles, or diced. (*Shows picture of different carrots)
Tomatoes can be sliced vertically to form wedges or horizontally to show a wagon wheel pattern. (*Shows picture of
different tomatoes) And a whole ear of corn has a different impact than a scoop of corn kernels. (*Shows picture of
corn) If you need to use different foods that are all the same shape, you want to make sure that they at least are different
in their size. For example, meatballs, olives, and peas are the same shape, but they at least are all going to have different
sizes, which can still make your meal look appealing.
The third component that needs to be considered is FLAVOR/AROMA. With this component, variety is very important!
Each person has 9,000 taste buds that can taste sweet, bitter, sour, and salt. We want to make sure that we use foods that
have a variety of flavor, but make sure that they dont clash, or be too alike. For example, you dont want to pair spicy
chili with garlic bread, or an egg salad sandwich with potato salad. When it comes to flavor, we also need to consider the
aroma/smell. Who has ever held their nose when eating something? (*Pauses for response) And what did the food taste
like? (*Pauses for response. Correct answer: Bland. Couldnt taste anything.) That is correct. Smell is also important
when it comes to flavor because it can affect the way things taste.
The fourth component is TEXTURE. Texture is what can be seen and can be felt with the tongue. Again, you want to
make sure that you use a variety of textures within your meal because it will help add interest to your meal. Can you all
give me some examples of textures that a food may have? (*Pauses for response(s). Correct answer: Hard, chewy, crispy,
soft, etc.) Yes, those are some great examples. So, there are several ways to add texture to a meal. One example would be
to serve carrots raw rather than cooked, or toast Italian bread slices to serve with a creamy tomato soup to add crunch.
Finally, the last component to an appealing meal is TEMPERATURE. Meals are more interesting if some hot and some
cold foods are used. Adding a cool side salad with a warm meal, or hot fudge to a bowl of ice cream are some ways to
vary the temperature. In the case of the side salad with the warm meal, you want to make sure that you serve the salad in a
separate bowl away from the warm meal to help keep it cool. What are some other ways that you can make a meal more
appealing by varying the temperature? (*Pauses for response(s). There are several correct answers.) Yes, those are some
great examples.
GROUP ACTIVITY (60 minutes)
So, now that we have learned about the five components to an appealing meal, we are going to plan what we are going to
serve for the dinner party! I am going to number you off into groups. Each group will receive three paper plates. You will
need to come up with an appetizer, an entre, and a dessert that each show the components of an appealing meal. On each
plate you will draw these foods that you chose (one plate for the appetizer, one plate for the entre, and one plate for the
dessert). On the back of each plate you will write how you will use the items you chose to represent the five components
of an appealing meal. For example, if you choose to add a tomato to your dish, you can write how it represents added
color, texture, and shape/size. Does anyone have any questions? (*Pauses to allow time for questions) I will be readily
available to assist you all if you have any questions while working in your groups. You all will have 40 minutes to plan
your part of the meal and then will present it to the class. Be prepared for everyone in your group to present, as well as for
me to ask you questions about why you chose the items that you did and how they show the components of an appealing
meal. You may begin.
(*When complete, the groups will share their part of the meal. Each group will have 5 minutes to present.)

Closure/Review of Content:

Allotted time: 5 minutes

I want to end the day by first saying how proud I am to see how creative you all were with your menus! You all did such
a wonderful job! Please take your guided notes and place them into your interactive notebooks. These will be very useful
to have for the Unit 2 test you will be having soon. Come prepared next class to learn more about food and proper
shopping strategies you can use at the grocery store. Have a great day!
Evaluation/assessment of student learning:

Allotted time: (N/A)

The assessment of student learning will be informal. At the end of the lesson, the students will be placed into groups and
will create a menu for a dinner party. They will use their knowledge of the five components of an appealing meal to create
each part of the dinner. They will then present this to the class, which will all me to see if they students are able to
properly distinguish between the five components.

Modifications for exceptional learners:

ESL students will be able to use Google Translate when needed during the lesson. They may use an electronic device of
their choice to help them with this. (Laptop or cell phone)
Plan groups ahead of time to include different learners in each group.
References:
http://www.uen.org/Lessonplan/preview.cgi?LPid=17716
www4.smsd.org/.../docs/Doc-55823.ppt
*All images used in lesson are from Google Images
Materials and equipment needed for lesson:
(Enough for entire class) Information and activity pages stapled together
Pictures of food
(3) Large pieces of paper
(3) Zip-Lock bags
(3) Scissors
(3) Tape/glue