Food – a thematic approach 5-7

1. Food – a thematic approach 5-7

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 8-11 age phase, which you might find useful for more lesson ideas.

3. History Food work could be integrated into this subject by: • Looking at what family members ate in the past, e.g. what mum or grandad had for breakfast, lunch or a snack when they were children; • Investigating traditional events and associated foods, e.g. Burn’s night, St. David’s Day; • Finding out when some foods were discovered and by whom, e.g. sandwiches – Earl of Sandwich 1762, potatoes – Sir Walter Raleigh around 1589; • Making foods from the past using traditional recipes, e.g. bread. • Looking at historical kitchen artefacts, identifying them and describing their purpose. A Victorian apple peeler

4. Geography Food work could be integrated into this subject by: • Finding out about foods that are grown in this country or local area and about the seasons and environmental conditions needed to grow different types of food, e.g. apples, potatoes, carrots; • Visiting local producers or crop farmers and looking at how and where foods grow; • Finding out what children in other countries enjoy eating; • Looking at where some of the foods we eat come from, e.g. olives, rice, pineapples. What is the environment like in these places? What conditions do the foods need in order to grow?

5. Art Food work could be integrated into this subject by: • Drawing and painting displays of foods, e.g. fruits and vegetables; • Using foods to make prints on paper or material, e.g. potatoes, peppers, broccoli; • Making sculptures of foods or meals from different materials, e.g. clay, home made play dough or papier maché; • Using dried foods to make pictures and collages, e.g. lentils, split peas, pasta; • Looking at how other artists have used the subject of food in their work, e.g. Cezanne.

6. ICT Food work could be integrated into this subject by: • Using the internet or CD-ROMS to find out about food for work in other subjects, e.g. food origins, recipes; • Using data bases or graph programs to record findings, e.g. maths – most popular types of fruit in the class; • Using different ICT tools to design a poster about healthy eating, write about experiences (like a visit to a local food producer) or draw foods; • Using the Food – a fact of life interactive activities to learn about the Balance of Good Health and Making a Healthier Lunchbox. Use these on interactive whiteboards or individual computers.

7. Science Food work could be integrated into this subject by: • Growing foods to understand where they come from and the conditions they need in order to grow, e.g. water, light; • Learning about where foods come from, why we need food and how foods are grouped. See the Food – a fact of life websitewww.foodafactoflife.org.uk; • Learning the different names of plant parts and which plant parts we eat, e.g. carrots - roots, lettuce – leaves, celery – stem, broccoli – flowers, tomato - fruit; • Exploring the senses by wearing blindfolds and using taste, smell and/or touch to try to name different foods. Grow cress, mustard seeds or beans.

8. Religious Education Food work could be integrated into this subject by: • Finding out what people in the class eat on special occasions, e.g. weddings, birthdays, Chinese New Year; • Learning about a food related thanks giving festivals, e.g. Harvest; • Making or trying some of the foods eaten at special or religious occasions, e.g. plaited bread (Shabbat), sweet rice (Eid).

9. Design and Technology Food work could be integrated into this subject by: • Tasting a range of familiar and new foods and expressing preferences; • Designing and making simple snacks, e.g. fruit kebabs/salads; • Using simple equipment to prepare food safely and hygienically, e.g. colanders, chopping boards, small butter knives; • Teaching basic skills such as peeling, chopping, slicing; • Talking about what went well and what they would do differently in the future, e.g. adjustments to recipes or methods.

10. Personal, Social, Health Education Food work could be integrated into this subject by: • Tasting and discussing foods - identifying what they like and dislike, e.g. fruit, vegetables, breads, cheeses; • Learning about healthy eating and making healthy choices. See the Food – a fact of life website for lesson notes and resources www.foodafactoflife.org.uk ; • Learning about what people from different cultural backgrounds like to eat and respecting the differences and similarities; • Learning aboutsafety and hygiene when handling food, e.g. washing hands.

11. Physical Education Food work could be integrated into this subject by: • Discussing the importance of eating food in order to be active; • Using food as a stimulus for dance work, e.g. moving about like a large bag of potatoes, a pan of food coming to the boil, custard being poured from a jug; • Creating food related sports events, e.g. Egg and Spoon race.

12. Music Food work could be integrated into this subject by: • Singing songs, rhymes and chants about foods, e.g. Pat-A- Cake, Little Miss Muffet, 5 Currant Buns, Simple Simon, One Potato, Two Potato…; • Playing simple instruments made with food, e.g. rice/pasta/seed shakers, coconut clappers; • Composing and performing a piece of music based on the preparation of a meal, e.g. ‘Making Soup’ - scrapping, chopping, splashing, boiling, pouring.