Food – a thematic approach 8-11

1. Food – a thematic approach 8-11

2. Food – a thematic approach This resource has been designed to help you plan and teach food, across the curriculum. You can use this resource to develop a ‘food’ themed block of work over a period of time or simply dip into the PowerPoint for ideas. Food is an excellent theme for teaching because it is something about which all children will have experience, opinions and enthusiasm. There is also a PowerPoint for the 5-7 age phase, which you might find useful for more lesson ideas.

3. History Ancient Egyptian agriculture Food work could be integrated into this subject by: • Investigating and tasting food eaten by different societies in the past, e.g. Romans, Aztecs. Comparing what was eaten at different times with the Balance of Good Health; • Looking at how food was produced in past societies, e.g. Egyptian farming – crops, ploughing tools, seasons; • Researching how food was prepared, preserved and stored in the past, e.g. Tudors – salted and pickled foods, fridges in the 1950s; • Considering health problems related to diets in the past, e.g. Tudors – scurvy; • Looking at the impact of events or social class on food availability in the past, e.g. the Victorian period (rich and poor), World War ll (food rationing); • Looking at kitchen inventions (equipment and appliances) over time, e.g. early utensils, cookers, canned food.

4. Geography Food work could be integrated into this subject by: • Finding out how the food trade impacts on the lives of people in other countries, e.g. banana trade in St. Lucia; • Finding out about food transportation, e.g. how food is stored, how it travels to different countries - mapping routes; • Visiting a local supermarket to find out where different foods have come from and drawing maps to record the information or collecting food labels and making a display; • Finding out what foods grow in different countries and what environmental features make these places suitable for growing a particular food, e.g. rice, coffee beans.

5. Art Food work could be integrated into this subject by: • Arranging and recording an interesting or themed display of foods, e.g. foods that grow in the Caribbean; • Collecting pictures of foods from magazines or photographing foods as a starting point for art work, e.g. collage, colour mixing/blending task; • Observing foods under a magnifying glass and recording the textures through work in clay or textiles; • Looking at artists who have used food in their work, e.g. Arcimboldo – faces made with fruits and vegetables; • Making sculptures with food, e.g. fruit/vegetable animals or people.

6. ICT Food work could be integrated into this subject by: • Using the interactive activities based on the Balance of Good Health and Making a Healthier Lunchbox www.foodafactoflife.org.uk ; • Using spreadsheets to modify recipe quantities and calculate the cost of food; • Creating PowerPoint presentations, perhaps for other pupils, about important food messages; • Using text, tables and images to write articles, e.g. about foods in other countries.

7. Science Food work could be integrated into this subject by: • Growing foods in school and studying what they need in order to grow and their stages of growth, e.g. runner beans, potatoes (grown in a bucket); • Learning about the Balance of Good Health, and the need for food so we can be active. For lesson notes and resources, see www.foodafactoflife.org.uk ; • Looking at how micro-organisms in food can be helpful (yogurt and blue cheese) and harmful (mouldy bread), and how to prevent harmful micro-organisms spreading by working hygienically and storing food correctly; • Learning about how food is digested; • Using cooking activities to teach about what happens to materials when they are mixed, heated and cooled, and whether changes are reversible or irreversible, e.g. custard, egg, ice.

8. Religious Education Food work could be integrated into this subject by: • Finding out about food eaten at religious/special festivals, e.g. Diwali, Shrove Tuesday, Rosh Hashanah; • Making some of the foods eaten at special or religious festivals; • Learning about special preparation involved in some meals, e.g. separate areas of the kitchen for different foods – Judaism.

9. Design and Technology Food work could be integrated into this subject by: • Researching and tasting food products to inform cooking work, e.g. sandwiches, biscuits and bread; • Teaching skills such as kneading, shaping and decorating; • Designing and making a food product based on a specification, e.g. a healthy balanced packed lunch for a 6 year old to take to school; • Tasting and evaluating food made using star profiles and rating or ranking techniques;

10. Personal, Social, Health Education Food work could be integrated into this subject by: • Learning about healthy eating and making choices; • Investigating the energy provided by different foods and the energy used in different activities; • Learning about food safety and simple routines that can prevent the spread of bacteria, e.g. hand washing; • Learning about foods traditionally eaten in other cultures and respecting the choices and beliefs of others. Lesson notes and resources for all the ideas above can be found on the Food – a fact of life website at www.foodafactoflife.org.uk

11. Physical Education Food work could be integrated into this subject by: • Warming up by playing the ‘Bean’ game – moving in different ‘bean’ styles on command, e.g. butter bean, chilli bean, broad bean; • Finding out what athletes and sports players eat and drink in preparation for competitions; • Looking at how different cultures might use forms of dance to give thanks for food or ask for a good harvest. Use these movements and ideas as stimuli to create new dance performances; • Creating a series of food related sports events, e.g. Watermelon Weight Lifting, Pancake Race, Sack Race.

12. Music Food work could be integrated into this subject by: • Singing songs with food themes, in unison and with two parts; • Growing some food such as a runner beans or cress and keeping a photographic record with a digital camera. Putting these photographs into a PowerPoint and running it as a slide show. Composing a sound track to accompany it; • Using instruments to play songs and tunes with food themes, e.g. Oranges and Lemons.