5-7

Food – a thematic approach

5-7 5-7

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

somethingabout 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.

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

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?

For lesson notes and resources, go to the Food and farming module at www.foodafactoflife.org.uk

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.

ICTFood 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 supermarket or farm) or draw foods;

• Using the Food – a fact of life interactive activities to help children learn about healthy eating and where food comes from. These are available in the Healthy eating module and the Food and farming module at www.foodafactoflife.org.uk Use these on interactive whiteboards or individual computers.

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 website www.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. See the Farm to fork module at www.foodafactoflife.org.uk ;

• Exploring the senses by wearing blindfolds and using taste, smell and/or touch to try to name different foods.

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).

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 dishes, 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;• Evaluating cooking activities – talking about what went well

and what could be done differently in the future, e.g. adjustments to recipes or methods.

Personal, social and health educationFood 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 about safety and hygiene when handling food, e.g. washing hands.

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.

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.