It is becoming increasingly popular for teachers to use games to teach scientific concepts in the classroom. The use of card games for teaching nutrition concepts to grade three students is rare. Therefore, a nutrition-based card game called Food Mission was developed and modified to help teach grade three students basic nutrition concepts. Two elementary science teachers and 128 grade three students from two elementary schools in Nakhon Pathom Province, Thailand, participated in the study. Classroom observations and interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim. Results showed that the Food Mission card game was engaging and fun. It was effective to some extent in helping students acquire simple food vocabulary and learning about the five food groups. The teachers became more confident in using card games in the classroom. This article discusses the implementation of Food Mission card game in the classrooms. It also provides guidelines for further enhancement of Food Mission card game in the teaching of basic nutrition concepts for grade three students.
Key words: Game-based learning, nutrition education, elementary science teachers, grade 3
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