Background: 

The advertising market has adults confused, so it's hard to think what the impact it has on children. This ranges from health jargon, advertising tricks and the latest trend in food and diets. Students need to know and understand healthy food choices and meal preparation. Obesity levels are on the rise according to multiple sources, such as the Australian Bureau of Statistics (2007), World Health Organisation (2014) and Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (2014). This is linked to a huge variety of factors such as physical activity, food intake, parental knowledge, not understanding how to decide if something is healthy, advertising of foods and access to fast food. 

 

Students these days also need to know how to use the technology behind cooking and serving food. This is because at this age students are able to have the cognitive capacity to be able to safely make decisions and understand the safety of using sharp knives, gas/electric stoves and ovens. With the increase of readily available food, students are missing out on the life skills of how to look after them and cooking is one of those skills (Health Canada, 2013; Graham, 2013).Students at this age are becoming aware of their food decisions, so promotion and education of healthy eating is one of the ways to teach students (Ontario, Ministry of Children and Youth Services, 2015). Research by is showing that as there is an increase in processed, pre-prepared and convenient food, the skills children learn from their parents  of how to cook and food preparation skills and making healthy decisions is diminishing in the home environment. This is due to some factors such as parent’s inadequate knowledge and skills (Weber as cited by Migone, 2012; Health Canada, 2013). This is meaning that as the children grow up into young adults, they do not have the skills either (Teen Ink, N.D; Crandon as cited by Nelson, 2016). The Ottawa Charter (World Health Organisation, 1989) emphasises education to fix the problem before it occurs, rather than wait until it’s too late. For example this system would teach children while they are in school about how make healthy choice, rather than wait until they are older and have problems such as cardiovascular diseases and diabetes from being overweight from making incorrect food choices, life style or did not have the skills. By getting children to plan, prepare and make their own food, they are more likely to eat it (Ontario Ministry of Children and Youth Services, 2015). Therefore, this is a very important topic that needs to be taught to today’s youth while in schools

 

Aim:
 

This sequence of work strives to teach students food literacy and give them skills to cook and serve food through hands on learning. This is to engage students and give them the hands on experience and real world life skills they need. 

 

Purpose of this Resource: I chose to compile a sequence of activities on a webpage because there are a lot of resources online, but it is great to have them in one place. This will also hopefully provide other prospective or current teachers with ideas of how to teach it, or even use.

 

Time Contraints:

The resource covers a 5 week unit of lessons at 3 lessons per week(15 in total).The time for  all lessons should be from 45 to 60 minutes.  Two lessons are theory and is done in the classroom, computer room or supermarket. The other is a practical in the kitchen. The kitchen sequence is not included online as children will be engaged in learning culinary skills. There are reccomended recipies for the sequence linked in. These food lessons have progressed in difficulty of technique and to develop children's understanding of the classroom learning. For example, if they are learning about vegetables, vegie soup has been reccommended for the practical lesson.

 

Structure:

This resource is designed for the teaching and assessment activities. These have been closely linked to the Australian Curriculum. The activities that have been structured for both resources will be laid out so that students will have the skills required for the summative or formative assessment elements. This resource is for a grade five or six class. Students will use range from posing questions, applying logic and reasoning, seek solutions, make decisions and put ideas into action and reflect on processes (ACARA, 2015). This could be cross taught with other subject areas such as home economics or science to expand on past knowledge or teach new knowledge. 

 

Curriculum Links

Learners: Grade 5/6

 

Content Descriptors:

      Design and Technologies - Knowledge and Understanding ; ACTDEK021 ; Investigate how and why food and fiber are produced in         managed environments and prepared to enable people to grow and be healthy.

 

Elaborations

•  Using current food guides and government-endorsed food policies to plan food choices.

• Experimenting with tools, equipment, combining ingredients and techniques to design and make food products or meals for selected groups for healthy eating taking into consideration environmental impacts and nutritional benefits.

• Identifying work practices that show an understanding of nutrition, environmental considerations, hygiene and food safety when designing and making a food product, for example washing fruit and vegetables carefully to remove residues, safe disposal of cooking oils to avoid environmental damage, refrigerated storage of highly perishable food.
  
  Design and Technologies - Processes and Production Skills ; ACTDEP026 ; Select appropriate materials, components, tools, equipment and techniques and apply safe procedures to make designed solution

 

Elaborations

• Manipulating materials with appropriate tools, equipment and techniques, for example when preparing food.

 

Cross Curricula Aspects -This unit can be run alongside the following areas:

• English

•  Science

• Home Economics

• Mathematics 

General Capabilities 

• Literacy

•  Critical and creative thinking

•  Sustainability

 

Differentiation:
There will be choices and ideas on how to step up or down the thinking and processes. For example for the assessment, some students may need more scaffolding and resources easier in literacy or thinking processes, whereas others may choose to do harder culinary techniques.

 

Standards:

Learning in Design and Technologies builds on concepts, skills and processes developed in earlier years, and teachers will revisit, strengthen and extend these as needed.

By the end of Year 6, students will have had the opportunity to create designed solutions to food specialisations and materials and technologies specialisations. Students should have opportunities to experience designing and producing products.

They seek to explore innovation and establish their own design capabilities. Students are given new opportunities for clarifying their thinking, creativity, analysis, problem-solving and decision-making.

Students work individually and collaboratively to identify and sequence steps needed for a design task. They follow plans to complete design tasks safely, making adjustments to plans when necessary. Students identify, plan and maintain safety standards and practices when making designed solutions.(ACARA, 2015)

 

Process:
Students engage in a lesson, three times a week. Two are classroom based, with the other as a cooking lesson.

 

Facilities:
In order to run this unit, as per the template, you will need to have access to a kitchen, or cooking utensils. Possibly the theory could be run without the practical sessions, but it is up to you as the teacher to decide on what will work best for your faacilities and time constraints. It is suggested that for practical lessons and excursions that there is parent helpers or an aid present, in order to maintain safety levels. 

 

References for page 

 

 

ACARA. (2015). Australian Curriculum: Technologies. Sydney: Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority.

              Retrieved 9/3/16. http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/technologies/.

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Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2007). 4829.0.55.001 - Health of Children in Australia: A Snapshot, 2004-05. Retrieved                 9/3/16.
               http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/mf/4829.0.55.001

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Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. (2014). (2016).Could Do Better. Retrieved 9/3/16
                http://www.aihw.gov.au/australias-health/2014/could-do-better/

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Nelson, L. (2016). Youth lack basic life skills on the Gold Coast leading to a growing unemployment rate. Retrieved 9/3/16.  
                http://www.goldcoastbulletin.com.au/news/sun-community/youth-lack-basic-life-skills-on-the-gold-coast-leading-to-a-growing- unemployment-rate/news-story/ff89b7e7117287578ff3fd6a2d2e940d

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World Health Organisation. (2014). World Wide Obesity Levels. Retrieved 9/3/16. http://www.who.int/gho/ncd/risk_factors/overweight/en/
 

 

Health Canada. (2013). Improving Cooking and Food Preparation Skills: A Synthesis of the Evidence to Inform Program and Policy            
               Development. Retrieved 9/3/16. http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/nutrition/child-enfant/cfps-acc-synthes-eng.php  

 

 

Graham,R (2013). Bring back Home Economics. Retrieved 9/3/16.
              http://www.bostonglobe.com/ideas/2013/10/12/bring-back-home/EJJi9yzjgJfNMqxWUIEDgO/story.html?s_campaign=sm_tw

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Ontario Ministry of Children and Youth Services. (2015). Food and Nutrition Toolkit for Residential Care Settings. Retrieved 9/3/16.                    
             http://www.children.gov.on.ca/htdocs/English/topics/specialneeds/healthy_eating.aspx#t10

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Weber, J .(2012). Massey University's Food Nutrition and Human Health. Retrieved 9/3/16.
             http://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/well-good/7794172/Too-much-junk-on-our-plates