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The Serving Size Trap on the Snack Bag

6th grade nonfiction passage about reading food labels: 263 words, seven questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

6th grade nonfiction reading food labels 263 words

The Serving Size Trap on the Snack Bag

Flip over a bag of crackers or chips and you will find a box of facts called the nutrition label. It lists calories, fat, sugar, salt, and more. These numbers help people make choices, but they are easy to misread, and the most common mistake happens at the very top of the label.

Right under the title, the label tells you the serving size and how many servings are in the package. A serving is a set amount of food chosen so that products can be compared. Every number below it, including the calories, belongs to one serving, not to the whole bag.

Suppose a bag of pretzels lists 100 calories per serving and says the package holds three servings. If you eat the entire bag, you have eaten three servings, so you have taken in three times the numbers on the label. The calories, salt, and sugar all triple. Nothing on the label is false. It is simply describing a smaller amount than many people actually eat.

Here are some habits that make labels easier to use. Look at the servings per package before anything else. Compare two similar foods by looking at the same amount of each. Check the ingredient list, which names the contents in order from the largest amount to the smallest. If sugar is near the top, the food has a lot of it.

A label is a tool, not a rule. It will not tell you how a food tastes or whether you are hungry. But reading it carefully lets you decide with real information instead of guesses.

Questions

  1. What facts does a nutrition label list? in the text

  2. Where does the label tell you the serving size? in the text

  3. In the example, how many servings are in the bag of pretzels? in the text

  4. In what order does the ingredient list name the contents? in the text

  5. If you eat the whole bag in the example, what happens to the numbers on the label? think about it

  6. Why is the label not false when people eat more than one serving? think about it

  7. Why should you look at the same amount of two foods when you compare them? think about it

Words to know

nutrition
the food substances that your body needs to grow and work
calories
units that measure the energy in food
serving
a set amount of food counted as one portion
package
a box, bag, or wrapper that holds a product
ingredient
one of the foods that a recipe or product is made from
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One passage, three levels

The same topic and facts written three ways, so a mixed class can read and talk about one text. Each group’s sheet shows only a shape; the key says which is which.

● Easier · 223 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.6

Turn over a bag of chips and you will see a box of facts. It is the nutrition label. It lists calories, fat, sugar, salt, and more. The numbers help you choose. But they are easy to read the wrong way. The most common mistake is at the top.

Right under the title, the label tells you the serving size. It also tells you how many servings are in the package. A serving is a set amount of food. It lets us compare foods. Every number on the label, including calories, is for one serving. It is not for the whole bag.

Say a bag of pretzels has 100 calories per serving. It holds three servings. If you eat the whole bag, you ate three servings. So the calories, salt, and sugar are three times as much. The label is not false. It just shows a smaller amount than many people eat.

Here are some tips. Look at the servings in the package first. When you compare two foods, look at the same amount of each. Read the ingredient list. It names the contents from most to least. If sugar is near the top, the food has a lot of sugar.

A label is a tool. It will not tell you if you are hungry. But it gives you real facts to choose with.

▲ This passage · 263 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 6.4

Flip over a bag of crackers or chips and you will find a box of facts called the nutrition label. It lists calories, fat, sugar, salt, and more. These numbers help people make choices, but they are easy to misread, and the most common mistake happens at the very top of the label.

Right under the title, the label tells you the serving size and how many servings are in the package. A serving is a set amount of food chosen so that products can be compared. Every number below it, including the calories, belongs to one serving, not to the whole bag.

Suppose a bag of pretzels lists 100 calories per serving and says the package holds three servings. If you eat the entire bag, you have eaten three servings, so you have taken in three times the numbers on the label. The calories, salt, and sugar all triple. Nothing on the label is false. It is simply describing a smaller amount than many people actually eat.

Here are some habits that make labels easier to use. Look at the servings per package before anything else. Compare two similar foods by looking at the same amount of each. Check the ingredient list, which names the contents in order from the largest amount to the smallest. If sugar is near the top, the food has a lot of it.

A label is a tool, not a rule. It will not tell you how a food tastes or whether you are hungry. But reading it carefully lets you decide with real information instead of guesses.

■ Harder · 279 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 9.2

Turn over a bag of crackers or chips and you will discover a rectangle of information known as the nutrition label. It itemizes the calories, fat, sugar, salt, and other contents. These figures can help people make sensible decisions, but they are surprisingly easy to misinterpret, and the most frequent error occurs at the very top of the label.

Immediately beneath the heading, the label states the serving size and the number of servings that the package contains. A serving is a standard amount of food, selected so that different products can be compared fairly. Every figure listed below it, the calories included, applies to a single serving rather than to the entire bag.

Suppose a bag of pretzels lists 100 calories per serving and indicates that the package holds three servings. If you finish the whole bag, you have consumed three servings, which means that you have taken in three times the amounts printed on the label. The calories, salt, and sugar all triple. Nothing on the label is untrue; it merely describes a smaller portion than many people actually eat.

Several habits make labels much easier to use. Check the number of servings in the package before anything else. When comparing two similar foods, examine the same quantity of each. Study the ingredient list, which names the contents in order from the greatest amount to the least. If sugar appears near the top, the food contains a great deal of it.

A label is a tool rather than a rule. It cannot reveal how a food tastes or whether you happen to be hungry. Nevertheless, reading it carefully allows you to decide with genuine information instead of guesswork.

Download as one PDF

How to use it

  1. Press Read it big (or B) to put the text on the projector, or Full screen (F) to fill the whole screen.
  2. Ask the questions one at a time and use Show answer when the class has decided. A shows or hides every answer.
  3. Print student copy for the class, or Print with answers for yourself.

Ideas for class

  • Before reading, put nutrition, calories, serving, package and ingredient on the board with their meanings from the Words to know section and have students predict what the text will be about.
  • Read it aloud once while students follow along, then have them reread it alone or with a partner. At a calm 100 words a minute it takes about 3 minutes to read aloud.
  • Use the Read it big button (or B) to put the text on the projector, and Show answer on one question at a time so the class commits to an answer first.
  • Question 5 asks the reader to infer. Ask students to point to the words in the passage that led them to their answer.
  • Ask students to write one question the passage did not answer, then look for the answer in a book or on a classroom screen.
  • Print the student copy for independent work and keep the answer-key copy for yourself.

Related

Questions

What reading level is "The Serving Size Trap on the Snack Bag"?

It was written for 6th grade. It has 263 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 6.4. That is a formula's estimate from sentence length and syllables, and it is not a Lexile or a guided reading level, so check it against your students.

What do the questions ask?

There are seven. 4 ask for something the text says directly and 3 ask the reader to work something out from clues. Each has an answer in the key, and the answers are written as a teacher would accept them, not as the only possible wording.

How long does it take to read?

About 3 minutes read aloud at 100 words a minute. For a one-minute fluency check, paste it into the fluency timer and use the word count.

Can I print it?

Yes. Print student copy gives the passage, the questions with lines to write on, and the word meanings. Print with answers gives the same page with the answers filled in. Both are made in your browser.

Is this passage from a published book?

No. It was written for Peabody Teach, so there is no book to buy and no login to read it.

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