How to Teach Nutrition Labels at Home

Teaching your child how to read nutrition labels is a practical life skill that connects naturally to cooking, grocery shopping, and everyday decision-making. When students understand what’s on a food label, they gain confidence choosing snacks, planning meals, and thinking critically about what fuels their bodies.

For middle and high school students, learning to break down a nutrition label helps them recognize ingredients in familiar foods, understand portion sizes, and compare nutrients across products. These skills support long-term healthy habits and encourage independence, especially important as teens begin making more of their own food choices.

In this lesson, your student will explore nutrition labels through engaging worksheets and hands-on activities designed to make the topic approachable and meaningful, even in a home learning environment.

Nutrition Labels Lesson Objective

By the end of this lesson, your student will be able to:

Understand the Purpose of Nutrition Labels
Explain why nutrition labels exist and identify key parts such as serving size, calories, fats, sugars, and essential nutrients.

Analyze and Interpret Nutrition Labels
Use real or sample food labels to compare nutritional information and recognize nutrients that should be limited.

Apply Math Skills to Nutrition Label Information
Practice calculating serving sizes and percentages of daily values to better understand portion control and nutrient intake.

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Downloadable Lesson Plan Elements Linked Below

• Nutrition Label Whodidit Mystery Activity
• Nutrition Label Digital Escape Room (Google Forms)

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Materials Needed

• Nutrition label Whodidit mystery worksheet
• Nutrition label escape room (digital or printable)
• Scissors and paper
• Highlighters
• Dry-erase sleeves and markers (optional, for reuse)
• A device with internet access (for the digital escape room)

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How to Teach This Lesson at Home

1. Begin by working through the food labels worksheet together. Read the label carefully and have your teen highlight or circle the most important information, such as serving size, calories, and key nutrients.
2. As your child completes the worksheet questions, pause to talk through their thinking. Please encourage them to connect the information on the label to foods they recognize or eat regularly. These real-life connections help the lesson stick.
3. Next, print and cut out the Nutrition Label Mystery clues. Hide or place the clues around your learning space, on a table, bookshelf, or counter, to create an interactive experience.
4. Give your child a record sheet to collect information as they move from clue to clue. This can be done independently or together, depending on your homeschool routine and your child’s confidence level.
5. To wrap up the lesson, assign the Nutrition Label Digital Escape Room or the printable version as a low-pressure assessment. This final activity allows your child to apply what they’ve learned in a fun, engaging way while showing their understanding.

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Understanding nutrition labels is an important first step. To go even deeper, consider pairing this lesson with a follow-up nutrition unit that focuses on dietary needs and essential nutrition vocabulary, helping your student build a strong foundation for lifelong healthy choices.

If you’d like, I can also adapt this lesson for multi-age siblings or suggest ways to tie it into meal planning or grocery shopping at home.

Teaching nutrition at home doesn’t have to feel intimidating or overly technical. With simple routines, real-world connections, and engaging activities, you can help your child understand what’s in their food, and why it matters.

One label at a time.