The food pyramid revisited with a mind map

I revisit with this article the food pyramid with a creative mind map. I extended it to a new piece of educational content that you will be able to use for informing or teaching kids, students or patients. I offer you all the resources and explanations so that you can operate in the classroom or at home in the best conditions, with the maximum of efficiency and return. I propose to revisit with this article the food pyramid with a creative mind map. I extended it to a new piece of educational content that you will be able to use for informing or teaching kids, students or patients. As usual, I offer you all the resources and explanations so that you can operate in the classroom or at home in the best conditions, with the maximum of efficiency and return.

About the food pyramid

This triangle-shaped nutrition guide is divided into sections to show the recommended intake for each food group. The most known food pyramid was introduced by the Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion, an organization of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). It was established in 1994 to improve the nutrition and well-being of Americans, by developing and promoting dietary guidance that links scientific research to the nutrition needs of consumers. It was updated in 2005 with a program called MyPyramid, and then replaced in 2011 by MyPlate.

Many other countries and organizations have also published food pyramids with different purposes and alternatives (or controversy) in the sections and for different target audiences. Food pyramids are commonly used to teach individuals how to eat a healthy, balanced diet. It’s also widely used in schools under various formats (game, poster, etc) to inform and educate kids.

Although water is typically recommended in plentiful amounts, it is treated in very different ways by different food guides. Some exclude the category, others list it separately from other food groups, and yet others make it the centre or foundation.

Escape from the pyramid
Starting from the food pyramid illustration - the most widely used version of it, excluding water - I have imagined and designed a new creative mind map. Each portion is shaped by a freeform branch radiating from the centre and representing one of the food groups. Sub-branches provide additional information about the importance of a group, the products that belong to it and the role it plays in our daily diet.

The food pyramid revisited with a mind map

Beyond the nice and innovative representation of the pyramid, I have created a true digital mind map file which comes with the following benefits:

• Access, store and share easily
• Edit, modify and customize according to the needs and the audiences
• Ready-to use resource for interactive devices (whiteboard, tablet, projector)

The mind map, along the branches, lets you escape the pyramid while staying connected. As soon as you have this access to the white space, it’s an open door for generating more ideas and connecting more information.

You can download the mind map file for iMindMap from the Biggerplate platform.

Suggestions for home or classroom workshops
I’m offering to you a digital resource that you will be able to operate in various ways, according to your objectives and your target audience (age, business activity ...). Here are a couple of suggestions how to use it in workshops:

#1 - GUESS THE PYRAMID
From an empty picture (only the pyramid outline where all keywords and images are deleted), invite students to guess what are the food groups, what are examples of associated products and what could be the role of each group in the diet. If participants don’t know, you can propose to use the mind map for brainstorming for a while, generating ideas, presenting their findings, dialoguing with the rest of the group, completing the mind map. As a facilitator, your role is to guide them toward the right answers and to ensure they leave the exercise with the expected knowledge and interest. According to the technology installed in your classroom, you may ask the participants to work on the mind map with an interactive or smart device (whiteboard, iPad, laptop, etc), using iMindMap software. If it is not (yet) possible, I hope you will be inspired by the approach for proposing the same kind of exercise on paper. Your audience will remember this moment of collaborative research, interactive content creation and creative learning with a new type of education material.

#2 - THE PYRAMID PUZZLE

For younger audience, organise a puzzle activity that consists to place each food products in the correct food group. I designed the pyramid with a set of product images (all coming from the public domain and royalty free, mainly downloaded from the openclipart.org). Place all the images outside the pyramid and remove the sub-branches. Ask the participants to drag and drop the products on the appropriate section (branch) of the pyramid (map). If you have a projector and a magnetic board in your classroom, you can prepare magnets that can be placed on the projected pyramid (for your paper cut, you can download the collection of images here). If you can project on a table, it’s even better. Ask the kids to bring samples of food or empty package from home. Then ask the participants to place them on the pyramid. You can also use fake products usually coming with a grocery toy. Throughout the game, you will provide additional information about the different food groups and their role. This unique experience will have a higher impact on your participants thanks to the support used (both hardware and software), the visual and kinesthetic learning offered by the approach and the collaborative dimension of the activity.

#3 - PRESENT THE PYRAMID

Another possibility is to use the creative mind map as a support for your lesson or explanation. With projection facilities in your classroom and the presentation mode offered by the iMindMap application, you audience will benefit from a rich content with an engaging support. You may present and discuss the pyramid step by step (branch by branch) without revealing the whole content at once. The creative and artistic side of the pyramid should trigger more interest and arousal than a usual material, which will stimulate the acquisition, the retention and the recall of the lesson.

The future of digital curriculum
I was not surprise and even pleased to hear last week that the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has received $1.5 million to support a new centre seeking to integrate the arts into university curriculum and research. It matches pretty well my vision of the future of educational and entrepreneurial worlds. I’m using this triangle of art, science and technology in each piece of work I’m delivering throughout this blog.

From an artistic point of view, I’m always adding a creative dimension to the mind maps, as a vehicle for the expression or communication of emotions and ideas, offering you a mean for exploring and appreciating the material. From a scientific point of view, I will more and more explain the mental processes behind the mind mapping activity and how it relates specifically to pedagogy science. Finally, from a technology point of view, I always put my work in perspective with the world of software (e.g. iMindMap) and hardware (e.g. interactive devices), offering opportunities to use the material with the latest technologies with a minimum of investment. 

My goal (and challenge) is to invite you to consume a new, innovative and creative educational curriculum, made of ready-to-use mind map resources that you will be able to operate within this revolutionary digital world and create unique experience with your audience. Do not hesitate to share some of your success stories and feedback with me and the community. Your ideas about topics that I could revisit are also welcome.