Year 3 Science · Food and nutrition · Lesson 5.2

Year 3 Science: The five food groups

Part of the Year 3 Science food and nutrition chapter. Chapter overview · whole chapter on one page

5.2

The five food groups

Year 3
Identify that animals, including humans, need the right types of nutrition, by sorting foods into the five food groups

Story. Class 3C makes a poster about lunch. Ruby says, “We should have some of everything.” Mr Patel says, “Let’s sort all the foods into groups, so we can see what each group does.”

Foods can be sorted into food groups. A food group is a group of foods that have similar nutrients, and that do similar jobs in the body. Our bodies need foods from every group, but not the same amount from each one.

In this chapter we use short names for the groups: fruit and vegetables, starchy foods, protein foods, dairy foods and oils and spreads.

Food group	Examples	Short name in this chapter
Fruit and vegetables	apples, bananas, carrots, peas, broccoli	fruit and vegetables
Potatoes, bread, rice, pasta and other starchy foods	potatoes, bread, rice, pasta, oats	starchy foods
Beans, pulses, fish, eggs, meat and other proteins	beans, lentils, fish, eggs, chicken	protein foods
Dairy and alternatives	milk, yoghurt, cheese	dairy foods
Oils and spreads	olive oil, sunflower oil, rapeseed oil	oils and spreads

Some foods, such as crisps, sweets, cakes and biscuits, are high in fat, sugar or salt. They are not in any food group. We eat them only sometimes, and in small amounts.

The five food groups, each with a simple picture of foods from that group.

Key ideas

A food group is a group of foods with similar nutrients that do similar jobs in the body.
The five food groups are: fruit and vegetables; starchy foods; protein foods; dairy foods; oils and spreads.
Foods high in fat, sugar or salt are not in a food group. We eat them only sometimes.
Our bodies need foods from every group, in the right amounts.

Worked example 5.2.1

Which food group are apples in? Write the short name.

Method. Think about which group fruit belongs to.

Find the apple. An apple is a fruit.
apple = fruit
Name the group. Fruit goes in the fruit and vegetables group.
fruit and vegetables
Write the answer.
fruit and vegetables

Check. Apples are in the fruit and vegetables group. ✓

Watch out. Fruit and vegetables are one group, not two.

Worked example 5.2.2

Which food group are eggs in? Write the short name.

Method. Find the food group that has meat, fish and beans in it.

Find eggs in the table. Eggs are in the group called beans, pulses, fish, eggs, meat and other proteins.
eggs in the protein group
Use the short name. In this chapter that group is called protein foods.
protein foods
Write the answer.
protein foods

Check. Eggs, fish and beans are protein foods. ✓

Worked example 5.2.3

Which food is not in any of the five food groups: apple, bread or crisps? Write the food.

Method. Check each food against the five groups.

Check the apple. An apple is in the fruit and vegetables group.
apple: in a group
Check the bread. Bread is a starchy food, so it is in a group.
bread: in a group
Check the crisps. Crisps are high in fat, sugar or salt, so they are not in a food group.
crisps: not in a group
Write the answer.
crisps

Check. Apples and bread are in groups, but crisps are not. ✓

Watch out

Watch out: a food group is not the same as a meal. A meal can have foods from several groups. Also, foods high in fat, sugar or salt are not a sixth food group.

Try it at home or school (with a grown-up). With a grown-up, look in a kitchen cupboard or a fridge. Sort five foods into the five food groups, or into the group “foods high in fat, sugar or salt” if they are not in a group. Wash your hands before you touch any food.

Exam tip

Grown-up tip. Ask: “Which group does this food belong in? Is it something we eat every day, or only sometimes?” Let your child place each food in a group.