Food in the Australian Curriculum: an educational unit for ... · ii So You Think You Know Where Your Food Comes From? Food in the Australian Curriculum Programme Introduction Food

Food in the Australian Curriculum: an educational unit for the Year 6 curriculum

So You Think You Know Where Your Food Comes From?

TEACHER GUIDE

Year 6

This resource was produced by AgriFood Skills Australia with funding from the Australian Government through the Department of Agriculture.

CC BY-NC-SA

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution - NonCommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Australia Licence. (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/au/).

This licence lets you copy and redistribute work under the Creative Commons licence, so long as the original creator (and any nominated parties) are credited and the source linked to. It also lets others copy, distribute, display and perform the work for noncommercial purposes only. It allows others to remix, adapt and build on the work, but only if they distribute the derivative works under the same license terms that govern the original work.

The copyright of any adaptations and/or modifications to this material remains with the Commonwealth of Australia. Adapted and/or modified materials must have the AgriFood Skills Australia and Australian Government logos removed from the work.

As far as is practicable, material for which the copyright is owned by a third party has been clearly labeled. AgriFood Skills Australia has made all reasonable efforts to ensure that this material has been reproduced with the full consent of the copyright owners.

AgriFood Skills Australia does not accept any liability to any person for the information or advice (or the use of such advice) that is provided in this material or incorporated into it by reference. The information is provided on the basis that all persons accessing this material undertake responsibility for assessing the relevance and accuracy of its content. No liability is accepted for any information or services that may appear in any other format. No responsibility is taken for any information or services that may appear on any linked websites.

The views expressed in this publication do not necessarily represent the views of AgriFood Skills Australia. In addition, AgriFood Skills Australia does not give any warranty nor accept any liability in relation to the contents of this work.

First published: May 2014

Developed by: SAVA ideas2outcomes – Sheridan van Asch

Designed by: Tim Welch

Advice provided by: Mrs Laurie Steel, Primary School Teacher, Childers Primary School, Queensland James Elkerton – Year 6 Student, Tasmania

© Commonwealth of Australia 2014

AgriFood Skills Australia

General inquiries:

Phone: 02 6163 7200 Fax: 02 6162 0610 Email: [email protected]

Location:

Level 3, 10-12 Brisbane Avenue Barton ACT 2600

Postal address:

PO Box 5450 Kingston ACT 2604

Web: www.agrifoodskills.net.au

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/au/

mailto:?subject=

www.agrifoodskills.net.au

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/au/

Table of contentsFood in the Australian Curriculum Programme – Introduction ii

So You Think You Know Where Your Food Comes From – Overview iii

Learning Topic 1 – So Let’s Talk About The Food You Eat 1

Description 2

Learning outcomes 2

Activity 1: So what do you eat? 3

Setting the scene 3Student activity – Work task 1: What are the most common foods eaten in your class? 4

Activity 2: So where does the food you eat come from? 7

Setting the scene 7Student activity – Work task 1: Create glossary 8Student activity – Work task 2: Explain key agricultural words/phrases 8Student activity – Work task 3: So what is free-range and what is organic farming? 9Resources 10

Activity 3: So what is needed to make food grow? 11

Setting the scene 11Student activity – Work task 1: Let’s summarise what you have learnt 12Student activity – Work task 2: Loaves of bread and sustainability 12Resources 12

Activity 4: Australian cuisine – the food you eat – a result of a diverse and connected world 13

Setting the scene 14Student activity – Work task 1: Australian food before European settlement – did it exist? 14Student activity – Work task 2: The introduction of foods from other places 15Student activity – Work task 3: Major project 16Resources 17

Learning Topic 2 – So How Is The Food You Eat Produced? 19

Description 20Learning outcomes 20

Activity 1: How and by who is some of the food you eat produced? 21

Student activity – Work task 1: Farming animals to produce the food you eat 21Student activity – Work task 2: Making butter – is the change irreversible or reversible? 22Resources 23

Activity 2: So how about growing your own garden 24

Student activity – Work task 1: Growing a garden 25Student activity – Work task 2: Garden in a box 25Student activity – Work task 3: Growing a garden and selling the produce 25Student activity – Work task 4: The kitchen garden 27

Appendix 1: Additional teacher support resources 28

Appendix 2: Links to the Australian Curriculum 28

List of websites 31

ii So You Think You Know Where Your Food Comes From?

Food in the Australian Curriculum Programme

IntroductionFood in the Australian Curriculum is an initiative of the Australian Government funded by the Department of Agriculture. It aims to raise awareness and enhance the teaching and learning of the agribusiness industry in Australian schools.

The programme supports teachers in the implementation of the English, Maths, Science, History, Geography and Technologies curricula.

Implemented by AgriFood Skills Australia, the programme provides free:

• in-school presentations for students in years 4-10 on the agrifood industry that are aligned to the curricula;

• teacher professional development workshops on the industry, curricula and classroom resources; and

• teaching materials to support the implementation of the English, Maths, History, Science, Geography and Technologies curricula.

The Teacher Guide offers tips and sample activities, tasks, resources and assessment options.

The Student Activities and Tasks is in powerpoint format to allow for direct use with smartboards and the functionality to enable you to adapt the activities to meet the needs of your students. The text that are in grey directly links to the PowerPoint.

discuss

learnLearning outcomes

webWebsite resource link

PowerPoint resource link

movieInternet movie resource link

PowerPoint resource linkwork task

Assessment resource linkassess

A+

Navigation

Teacher Guide Student Activities and Tasks

The “kit” comprises:

The icons below are used to help identify activities and navigate the document.

What is included in the resource

This Year 6 Unit has been developed as one of the teaching materials to support this programme.

Note about the cover: This is a photo of a young girl on her farm in NSW. They grow corn, cotton and sunflowers and raise beef cattle.

iiiSo You Think You Know Where Your Food Comes From?

Overview This Unit, So You Think You Know Where Your Food Comes From is divided into two standalone key learning topics: So Let’s Talk About The Food You Eat and So How Is The Food You Eat Produced. Together they provide students with the skills to answer the key inquiry question: So you think you know where your food comes from?, during the course of which students will develop an understanding of both where their food comes from and the processes involved to get it from the paddock/garden to the plate.

Students will also gain an appreciation of the importance of food in their daily lives as well as the impact food has had on shaping our history and culture, and the way it reflects our diverse and connected world.1 At the same time they will gain an appreciation of the role farmers play in sustaining our way of life by ensuring that we have food on our tables, as well as gaining a fresh perspective on our agricultural sector and the important role it plays in our nation.

The purpose of this Unit is to provide you with a guide for integrating agricultural concepts and ideas in the delivery of the Australian Curriculum in a practical way, in this case for Year 6. The suggested activities and tasks contained within this Unit aim to build a deep understanding of where our food comes from, as well as building skills in the areas of English, Science, Mathematics, History and Geography.

Links to the Australian Curriculum

This Unit supports a cross-curricula approach to the delivery of the Year 6 Australian Curriculum within an agricultural context. It focuses on the key learning areas of English, Mathematics, Science, History and Geography. It does not cover all aspects of the content descriptors for the Year 6 curriculum.

The sample activities and tasks have been mapped to the relevant Year 6 Content Descriptor - http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/Year6 - for each of the key learning areas. Further details of the relevant content descriptors can be found in the Appendix.

This Unit also aims to assist teachers in meeting those achievement standards of key learning areas that can most effectively be supported by the activities and resources focussed on agriculture.

The relevant achievement standards are linked to each learning area and can also be found in the Appendix.

Timeframe

The timeframe for delivering this Unit will depend on whether you use all or only part of the activities and tasks.

Teaching and Learning Activities

The Unit is divided into two standalone key learning topics, namely:

1. So Let’s Talk About The Food You Eat; and

2. So How Is The Food You Eat Produced?

Each Learning Topic includes:

• description (purpose)

• learning outcomes

• relevant Australian Curriculum achievement standards

• Activities with:

– relevant Australian Curriculum Descriptors – specific learning outcome/s – suggested work tasks – assessment options – suggested teacher support resources

1 Australian curriculum: Year 6 geography level description.

http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/Year6


iv So You Think You Know Where Your Food Comes From?

Key Inquiry Questions

The key inquiry questions for Year 6 are:

1. How important is the physical environment to ensuring the growth and production of food in Australia? (Science)

2. How has food contributed to Australia’s global connections between people and places? (Geography)

3. What contribution does agriculture (food) make to understanding how Australian society changed, particularly throughout the twentieth century? (History)

Learning Outcomes

Following this Unit, students should be able to:

• describe the role agriculture plays in where our food comes from and how it gets to our plate;

• explain the different farming practices and processes involved in producing familiar food products;

• demonstrate an understanding of and explain reasons for the diversity of food that has become part of Australia’s cuisine;

• assess the importance agriculture has played in shaping Australia’s history; and

• explain the importance of the physical environment in food production.

Key Supporting Teacher-Specific Resources

In preparation for delivering this Unit and the associated activities it is recommended that you review the following resources, which have been chosen to provide you with an understanding of the importance of agriculture in Australia and how key concepts can be delivered in a classroom setting:

1. Australian Agriculture – The Greatest Story Never Told – You Tube Video (5:08)

2. Bill Bailey’s – F.A.C.E (1:49)

3. Splash – ABC – From paddock to plate

(this resource supports many of the activities contained within this Unit)

Many of the resources contained within this work unit are available on the Scootle website. To make access easier, teachers and students should be logged onto Scootle before accessing resources. Resources identified by a TLF-ID, can be accessed on the Scootle search engine via the reference number.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFUZ_j2cCe0&feature=player_embedded

http://youtu.be/CKyHH2eNkrg

http://splash.abc.net.au/media/-/m/38190/from-paddock-to-plate?source=search

TEACHER GUIDE

Year 6


Learning topic 1: So Let’s Talk About The Food You Eat

2 So You Think You Know Where Your Food Comes From?

Learning topic 1: So Let’s Talk About The Food You Eat

DescriptionThis is an introductory learning topic where students explore the food they currently eat: whether it is fresh or processed, and its place in our culture.

Students will interact with others through class discussions and presentations, represent data in different formats, use a range of communication techniques, express and develop ideas, and create texts including note taking and persuasive texts, by undertaking guided inquiry.

Learning Outcomes By the end of this learning topic students should be able to:

1. explain key agricultural concepts such as fresh, processed, free-range, organic, sustainable, etc.

2. understand the importance of physical conditions in creating an environment conducive to growing food.

3. write a persuasive text and prepare a report and a presentation about the food they eat.

4. explain how Australian cuisine has contributed to an understanding of the diverse and connected world we live in.

Relevant parts of the achievement standards:

Students will be able to:

English:

• compare and analyse information from different texts, including digital texts. They will be able to listen to discussions, clarify content and challenge others’ ideas in relation to ‘Where your food comes from’.

• create detailed texts elaborating on key ideas for a range of purposes and audiences. Make presentations and contribute actively to class and group discussions using a variety of strategies for effect.

• create informative texts encompassing reports, reviews, explanations and discussions.

Mathematics:

• interpret and compare a variety of data displays and evaluate secondary data displayed in the media.

Science:

• describe and predict the effect of environmental changes on individual living things.

• explain how scientific knowledge is used in decision making and identify contributions to the development of science by people from a range of cultures.

History:

• sequence events and people (their lifetime) in chronological order and represent time by creating timelines.

• identify a range of sources and locate and compare information to answer inquiries.

Geography:

• explain the characteristics of diverse places in different locations at different scales from local to global.

• describe the interconnection between people and places.

• develop geographical questions to frame an inquiry.

• locate information from a range of sources to answer inquiry questions, and represent data and location of places and their characteristics in different graphic forms, e.g. large-scale and small-scale maps.

LT1 > Overview So Let’s Talk About The Food You Eat

3So You Think You Know Where Your Food Comes From?

Activity 1: So What Do You Eat?

Content Descriptor:

Maths Statistics and probability: describe probabilities using fractions, decimals and percentages.

ACMSP144

English Identify and explain how analytical images like figures, tables, diagrams, maps and graphs contribute to our understanding of verbal information in factual and persuasive texts.

ACELA1524

Learning Outcome Understand percentages and how to create graphs, and interpret a range of data displays to explain what are the most common foods that are consumed in their class.

Description

This activity aims to engage students by discussing what they already know about the food they eat, as well as introducing them to key concepts such as growing food, fresh vs processed foods, types of farming and production. Students are also introduced to the mathematical concept of percentages and how this can be applied to determining the percentage of the food they eat in terms of what is fresh or processed.

1. Setting the scene

Begin by getting students to think about the food they eat. This could be done by asking initial focus questions, such as:

a). What are your favourite foods?

– write down your favourite foods

– which ones do you think are fresh and which are processed?

– what ingredients do you think have been used to create the foods you have chosen; and

– where do you think the ingredients have come from?, e.g. sugar comes from sugarcane.

You will need to create a sense of difference between those foods that are fresh and those that are processed. Students should look up the following words:

– Fresh

– Processed

– Ingredients

You could provide them with a copy of the table What are Your Favourite Foods which can be found at the end of this activity. They can also use this table for Work task 1.

b). Bring in a range of food types such as potatoes, bread, cauliflower, basil, spaghetti, peanuts, avocados, apples, oranges, milk, bacon, cheese, butter, tuna, frozen chips, sauce and eggs, and also a few tricky items like broccoli (which is a flower).

To guide the discussion ask your students the following:

The food in the shopping bag:

– Do you think it is fresh or processed?

– Is it grown in the ground or above the ground? Or not in the ground at all? If not, where might it come from?

OR

c). Have students look at what they have in their lunch boxes and discuss with them:

Where do you think the food in your lunch box comes from?

– Is the food from a plant or an animal?

– Is it fresh or processed?

– How do you think it gets to your lunch box? Make a list of the steps.

LT1 > Activity 1 > Overview

So Let’s Talk About The Food You Eat > So What Do You Eat?

discuss

learn

AgriFood Year 6 Unit Student Activities and Tasks.pptx














2. Investigation and analysis

Work task 1: What are the most common foods eaten in your class?

Students should work in pairs or groups (no more than four in a group2) to identify the most common foods eaten in their group and whether most food eaten is fresh or processed. Working together they should establish the percentage of fresh and processed food eaten by their group, and then explain the findings/results of their group by using graphs.

Before undertaking this task you may need to either introduce or revise the concept of percentages with students.

Teacher support resource:

Educational Services Australia: Supporting Australian mathematics project - Year 6 percentages. [opens web site]

Work task 1: What are the most common foods eaten in your class?

You are to:

• Select a spokesperson for your group.

• Make a list of all the foods that are the most common in your group.

• Why do you think they are the most common foods?

• Make a list of those that are fresh and those that are processed.

• Where do you think most of the food that you eat comes from? The supermarket? Is it grown in Australia? If not, where is it grown?

• Collate the group’s findings in a table (your teacher will provide the sample table What are your favourite foods?.

• Construct a column graph and/or pie chart to display your findings, demonstrating the range of foods from the most common to the least common.

• What percentage of the food eaten by your group is fresh and what percentage processed?

• Write a short piece explaining your group’s graphs. Your spokesperson will share this with the class.

Students should use computers to create the relevant graphs and columns.

Teacher support resources:

Constructing graphs [opens website]

SCOOTLE:

Maths Years 5 and 6: chance and data: data [opens Scootle]

2 Four is considered to be the optimum number for conducting effective group work

work task

web

LT1 > Activity 1 > Work task 1So Let’s Talk About The Food You Eat > So What Do You Eat?

web

web

http://www.amsi.org.au/ESA_middle_years/Year6/Year6_md/Year6_1e.html#intro

http://www.amsi.org.au/ESA_middle_years/Year6/Year6_md/Year6_1e.html#intro















http://www.powertolearn.com/articles/teaching_with_technology/how_to_make_graphs_with_excel.shtml

https://www.scootle.edu.au/ec/resolve/view/S4441



Favo

urit

e fo

odM

ain

ingr

edie

nts

Fres

h Pr

oces

sed

Ham

burg

erM

eat,

che

ese,

lett

uce,

bre

ad,

pick

les

Lett

uce

Mea

t, b

read

, ch

eese

, pi

ckle

s

LT1 > Activity 1 > Work task 1

So Let’s Talk About The Food You Eat > So What Do You Eat?

Wha

t ar

e yo

ur f

avou

rite

foo

ds


LT1 > Activity 1> Work task 1So Let’s Talk About The Food You Eat > So What Do You Eat?

Favo

urit

e fo

odM

ain

ingr

edie

nts

Fres

h Pr

oces

sed

Tally

McD

onal

d’s

ham

burg

erM

eat,

che

ese,

lett

uce,

bre

ad,

pick

les

Lett

uce

Mea

t, b

read

, ch

eese

, pi

ckle

s3

peo

ple

Wha

t ar

e th

e gr

oup’

s fa

vour

ite

food

s

(f

rom

the

mos

t com

mon

to th

e le

ast c

omm

on

3 2 1 0B

urge

rPi

zza

Noo

dles


ACTIVITY 2: So Where Does The Food You Eat Come From?

Content Descriptor:

English: Literacy: reread and edit student’s work. ACELY 1714

Literacy: use comprehension strategies to interpret and analyse information and ideas, comparing content from a variety of textual sources including media and digital texts.

ACELY1713

Language: understand the use of objective and subjective language and bias. ACELA1517

English: Creating texts: plan, draft and publish informative and persuasive texts. ACELY1715

Science: Science understanding: the growth and survival of living things affected by the physical conditions of their environment, and scientific knowledge is used to inform personal and community decisions.

ACSHE220

Learning Outcome

Students will gain an understanding of the key concepts associated with the food they eat and be able to review each other’s work in terms of discussing and editing each other’s level of understanding.

Students will begin to develop the skills to discuss, research and write persuasively.

Description

This activity introduces students to key agricultural concepts, some of which could be considered to be controversial. Thereby the idea of objective and subjective language and bias can be introduced.

The students will also reflect on what they have learnt to date about fresh vs processed foods etc. and can be encouraged to prepare notes and work together.


Have on your board the following terms and explain to students that during the course of this unit they will be exploring these key concepts in relation to the food they eat.

KEY TERMS

Paddock to plate

Farm to factory

Fresh or processed

Free-range/organic farming

Sustainable/unsustainable

Building on what has been considered earlier, and what students have learnt previously in other classes, discuss with students where food comes from based on the following focus questions:

Student focussed discussion activity

Ask the students:

Let’s discuss where you think your food comes from:

• Where do you think your food comes from? (Make a list of their ideas).

• How do you think potatoes are grown and how do you think they become chips; what goes into making bread or spaghetti; do you know avocados grow on trees and that peanuts are flowers and grow above the ground? (Again capture their ideas).


So Let’s Talk About The Food You Eat > So Where Does The Food You Eat Come From?

discuss

learn





















• Have you ever grown something in a garden? If not why not? Where might you or can you grow a garden? And what could you grow and why? (The aim is for students to think about how they could grow a garden, even if they live in an apartment/unit).

• What do you think is needed to grow food?

• Have you ever visited or lived on a farm? What did it grow? (If students haven’t visited a farm get them to talk about what they think a farmer does and why it might be important in terms of the food they eat.)

• What is a crop? What crops do you think are grown in your community, region or state?

• Have you heard of terms like free-range and organic farming? What do you think they mean?

• Why do you think farming/agriculture needs to be sustainable? If it isn’t sustainable, will you be able to continue to eat the food you currently eat?

It will be important to discuss with students concepts such as free-range, organic and sustainable.

These discussions can also be used to introduce the idea of the use of subjective, objective and biased language.

Work task 1: Create a glossary

Have students create a glossary of terms by researching the meanings of: fresh, processed, garden, sustainable, free-range, organic, farming, crop etc. They should add to this glossary as they continue working through the unit.


Work task 2: Explain key agricultural terms

Student focussed activities

Following the class discussion have students reflect on what they have learnt.

Students are to explain the following key agricultural terms.

• Write down one or two key points about what you have learnt under each of the key headings:

– paddock – plate;

– farm – factory;

– fresh or processed;

– free-range – organic farming; and

– sustainable - unsustainable.

• Follow up (research) and find two (2) more key points that you can add to each idea or concept. (Ask students where they might find more information to help them add some more ideas).

• What is the difference between a garden and a farm, and fresh or processed? What is a crop and what do free-range and organic mean?

• In pairs, share and look at each other’s notes and edit each other’s work. Students may wish to share information they have discovered.

Let students know that this information will be important for their next work task, where they will be asked to prepare a persuasive piece of writing.

LT1 > Activity 2 > Work task 1&2So Let’s Talk About The Food You Eat > So Where Does The Food You Eat Come From?

discuss

work task

work task







































Work task 3: So what is free-range and what is organic farming?

Have students research the meaning of free-range and organic farming and discuss the concepts with them. They should consider using a variety of textual sources, including media and digital text. Have them refer to the notes they made previously.

Student focussed activity

Students to research the ideas of free range and organic farming.

So what is free-range and what is organic farming?

Write down the different meanings/types of free-range farming.

• What might be the link between free-range and organic farming?

• Where might you find free-range products? Which do you think are the most popular? Make a list.

• Why do you think this type of farming is popular amongst some people and not others?

OR

You may wish to replace Task 3 with Topic 10- Lessons – Farm to Fork from the Australian Organic Schools Teaching Resource. The Topic introduces students to the concept of organic farming.

Assessment Options

Persuasive text – To free-range or not to free-range.

Students should have had an introduction to the structure and language of persuasive texts and discussed the topic To free-range or not to free-range.

This resource may help your students in understanding the elements of persuasive writing:

The Art Of Persuasive Writing: Doing The Work [hyperlinked: web]


Students to write a persuasive text

Assessment task: To free-range or not to free-range

You are to write a persuasive text by taking a position for or against the topic To free-range or not to free-range.

You will have three sessions to research and write a draft of your text.

Remember your text will need:

• an introduction

• background information

• paragraphs with key sentences explaining your argument

• conclusion

• bibliography (the list of resources you have used to collect your information)

I will review your drafts and then you will have to provide a word processed final copy.


So Let’s Talk About The Food You Eat > So Where Does The Food You Eat Come From?

web

web

work task

assess

A+













http://www.scootle.edu.au/ec/viewing/S5595/index.html

















You may wish students to use the following resources to assist them in preparing their texts. You may also get them to work in pairs, encouraging them to share ideas and review each other’s work:

Student support resources:

Students in Grade 6 produced the following two resources, which contain guiding questions:

1. Growing an organic edible garden - English Science (5,6) - ABC Splash (3mins 3 secs)

2. Grass fed beef or grain-fed beef? - English (5,6) - ABC Splash (3mins 56 secs)

The next two resources provide students with information about aspects of free-range farming:

3. Great Year 6 worksheet on Flip egg-vironment: Investigating animal welfare

4. Scootle: Organic and free-range

Teacher support resources providing background information:

ABC Bush Telegraph Wilbur 101: Ethical production at Wilbur’s farm [opens website]

Wilbur was bred by Tammi and Stuart Jonas who bought 69 acres near Daylesford to produce ethically raised rare-breed pigs. On their farm (Jonai Farm) they follow the same principles as the renowned US farmer, Joel Salatin, who believes in transparency in food production and the ethical raising of livestock in a free-range system.

Australian Organic Schools [opens website]

Australian Organic Schools educates children about where their food comes from and the benefits of organics for our health and the environment. Our programs provide free teaching resources to support schools to grow organic food, integrate food growing and preparation into the school’s curriculum, and contribute to whole-school environmental sustainability.

LT1 > Activity 2 > Work task 3So Let’s Talk About The Food You Eat > So Where Does The Food You Eat Come From?

movie

web

http://splash.abc.net.au/media/-/m/152968/growing-an-organic-edible-garden?source=search

http://splash.abc.net.au/media/-/m/153232/grass-fed-beef-or-grain-fed-beef-?source=search

http://www.eggs.org.au/assets/eggs.org.au/Education/AECL00027-Teacher-Resource-Yr6.pdf

http://www.choice.com.au/reviews-and-tests/food-and-health/food-and-drink/organic-and-free-range.aspx

http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/bushtelegraph/wilbur-101-broadcast/5167092


ACTIVITY 3: So What Is Needed To Make Food Grow?

Content Descriptor:

Science Science understanding: the growth and survival of living things. ACSSU094

Sustainability Inquiry and skills and reflecting and responding, discussing what they know and have learned about different views related to the sustainability of environments.

ELBH446

Learning Outcome Students will develop an understanding of the physical and biological needs to grow food and how to summarise key information from a range of sources, e.g. media.

Description

This activity introduces students to the physical and biological requirements for growing our food. Through using the resource ABC – From paddock to plate students will have the opportunity to gain an understanding of the role of farmers play in producing food.


Show students

Where does bread come from/ How do you grow rice – ABC From paddock to plate

NOTE: There are some excellent guiding activities associated with the two that are worth using. Or you could get students to discuss:

Where does bread come from/ How do you grow rice?

• After watching the two films, list what you think are needed for both wheat and rice to grow.

• What do you think farmers need to understand to make sure their crops grow successfully?

• The two films tell us that wheat and rice did not grow here before Europeans came to Australia – so how do you think these two crops arrived in Australia?

Tell students their notes will be helpful in undertaking future work, so they should ensure they can refer back to them.

2. Investigating and analysis

Student focussed discussion activities

Through discussion get the students, working in pairs, to consider and then show the steps they believe are involved in getting bread to their tables:

• Where does bread come from and how does it get to your table?

• What is the main ingredient of bread?

• What basic needs and growing techniques are required to grow this ingredient?

• How is it turned into bread?

• How do you think the bread gets to your table/plate? Draw the steps (flow chart)

Chemical science. Now would be a good time to have students consider the notion of changes that are reversible and irreversible. As an illustration, the transformation that occurs when wheat is processed to make bread involves changes that are irreversible, because bread is baked.


How do you grow rice?

Let’s think about what you learnt when you watched ‘How do you grow rice’. Where in Australia do you think it is best suited to grow? And where would you not find rice growing and why?

Students should consider the importance of rain, soil and sunlight, and that some places are too dry to grow wheat, etc. Therefore the growing of wheat or rice is not sustainable in those places.


So Let’s Talk About The Food You Eat > So What Is Needed To Make Food Grow?

discuss

learn

movie

http://splash.abc.net.au/res/teacher_res/3-paddock-plate.html































Work task 1: Let’s summarise what you have learnt


Students to summarise ideas learnt

• You are to summarise what you have learnt when watching the film and during the class discussion. You should make sure you explain what environmental elements and farming techniques are needed to grow crops.

• Add the word sustainable and its meaning to your glossary of terms.

Students should be able to explain that rain, soil and sunlight are important in growing crops. In some parts of Australia crops like wheat and rice are not sustainable without the use of farming techniques such as irrigation.

Work task 2: Loaves of bread and sustainability….

Teacher directed discussion. First you may need students to research how many families live in Australia or you could tell them. The information can be sourced via Google.

1. How many loaves of bread do you think might be eaten per week in Australia (it doesn’t have to be totally accurate – think about how many people/families live in Australia and if they all ate a loaf of bread per week –how many loaves would that be)? Ask students to think about how they might find out this information. If they have access to the internet, get them to see if they can find out the information.

2. How much wheat might be needed to produce the bread? Students need to think about how much land is needed to produce one loaf of bread.

3. If our population increases by 10% over the next 10 years, how much more wheat do you think will need to be grown to provide families with bread?

4. Do you think Australia will have enough land to support this increased growth?

5. What might we have to do to ensure we can continue to produce enough bread to feed us?

Have students consider things like the need to import wheat and how we might be able to make our farming land more sustainable. What is sustainable: what does it mean and why might it be important? 3

Teacher and student support resource:

ABC From paddock to plate [opens website]

3 Charlie Martin - previous Agribusiness education manager of the Gateway School to Agribusiness Program - Queensland

LT1 > Activity 3 > Work task 1So Let’s Talk About The Food You Eat > So What Is Needed To Make Food Grow?

movie

work task

work task
































ACTIVITY 4: Australian cuisine – the food you eat - a result of a diverse and connected world.

Content Descriptor:

Science Science understanding: the growth and survival of living things affected by the physical conditions of their environment.

ACSHE220

Science as a human endeavour: important contributions to the advancement of science have been made by people from a range of cultures.

ACSHE099

English Literacy: plan, rehearse and deliver presentations, selecting and sequencing appropriate content and multimodal elements.

For defined audiences and purposes, making appropriate choices for modality and emphasis.

ACELY1710

Geography Geographical knowledge and understanding: the various connections Australia has with other countries and how these connections change people and places.

ACHGK035

The effects that people’s connections with and proximity to places throughout the world have on shaping their awareness and opinion of those places.

ACHGK036

Geographical inquiry and skills: Communicating – present findings and ideas in a range of communication forms, for example: written, oral, graphic, tabular, visual and maps, using geographical terminology and digital technologies where appropriate.

ACHGS045

History Historical knowledge and understanding: Australia as a nation - stories of groups of people.Historical skills:

ACHHK115

Chronology, terms and concepts - sequence historical people and events. ACHHS117

Perspectives and interpretations: identify points of view in the past and present.

ACHHS123

Explanation and communication - use a range of communication forms (oral, graphic, written and digital technologies)

ACHHS125

Learning Outcome Students will gain an appreciation as to how scientific inquiry can introduce new ways of thinking about how our land was managed prior to European settlement; a greater understanding of the influence migration had on developing our Australian cuisine, including influencing what crops now grow in Australia; and how to communicate what they have learnt in both oral and written formats. They will also develop an understanding of sequencing events.

Description

This activity introduces scientific inquiry and sequencing of events, and aims to build an understanding of how food has contributed to creating a diverse and connected world.

Key inquiry questions (Australian curriculum Year 6 - geography):

• How do places, people and cultures differ across the world?

• What are Australian’s global connections between people and places?

• How do people’s connections to places affect their perception of them?


So Let’s Talk About The Food You Eat > Australian Cuisine – the food you eat - a result of a diverse and connected world.

learn



Food has connected us to other countries and affected our perception of people and places.

Teacher directed discussion:

Begin by getting students to think about the food they previously identified as their favourite food and what country they think it originally came from, for example: hamburgers – McDonald’s, pizza – America or Italy or perhaps somewhere else (maybe China?). Potatoes might be associated with Ireland but actually originated in the Americas (there is a Potato Museum in Lima, Peru).


Discuss the idea of where food came from with the students:

So how did all the food we eat first come to Australia?

• What do you think Australian food is?

• Where, when and how do you think different types of food arrived in Australia?

• What role do you think migrants played in bringing different foods to Australia. (Think about what you learnt in Year 5 history)

2. Investigating and analysis

Work task 1: Australian food before European settlement - did it exist?

Have students think about the food that may have already existed here prior to European settlement.

Introduce students to this concept by showing them:


Tasty bush tucker - Science (6) - ABC Splash (4mins 14 secs) and get them to complete the Things to think about section

http://splash.abc.net.au/media/-/m/30798/understanding-bush-foods

The film also covers key points such as the harsh conditions of the Australian environment, the adaption that native plants made to the environment, and why European style farms failed in their first years here.

OR


Work task 1: Bush tucker

• You are to find out (research) as many types of bush tucker as you can and where such food is found.

• Why do you think the European settlers didn’t eat the food that was already here?

• What food did they eat instead and why? In the beginning, did the food the early settlers brought to Australia survive, and if not why not?

• What were the consequences? (You may have them reflect on what they may have learnt in Year 5)

Get students to reflect on what farming techniques were introduced so that food could be produced by the early settlers.

a) If possible invite a member of the local Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander community to talk to the students about bush tucker.

b) It is thought that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders (First Nations People) didn’t farm the land as we do today, however this may not be correct. Science understanding has challenged this notion. A recently published book by Bruce Pascoe – Dark Emu also challenges this notion.

LT1 > Activity 4 > Work task 1So Let’s Talk About The Food You Eat > Australian Cuisine – the food you eat - a result of a diverse and connected world.

discuss

movie

work task

work task































Show students the

First Australians were also the first farmers - Science (6) - ABC Splash (3mins 27 secs) and have them consider:

Things to think about:

http://splash.abc.net.au/media/-/m/29898/indigenous-eel-farming?source=search

Discuss other examples, including fish traps and herding of kangaroos.

• Is this farming as Europeans understand it to be?

• What is the definition of farming?

Teacher Support Resource:

You may wish to consider the ideas put forward in a recently released book:

Dark Emu by Bruce Pascoe http://www.magabala.com/books/new-releases/dark-emu.html

Dark Emu argues for a reconsideration of the ‘hunter-gatherer’ tag for pre-colonial Aboriginal Australians and attempts to rebut the colonial myths that have worked to justify dispossession. Accomplished author Bruce Pascoe provides compelling evidence from the diaries of early explorers that suggests that systems of food production and land management have been blatantly understated in modern retellings of early Aboriginal history, and that a new look at Australia’s past is required.

Work task 2: The introduction of foods from other places

Have students reflect on earlier work tasks where they considered the food they eat. Then get them to think about the fact that, as it isn’t bush tucker, how did the food they eat today arrive in Australia?


Thinking about the history they have studied to date, what type(s) of food do they think came with the:

English colonists

• The arrival of the Chinese on the gold fields

• The influx of European migrants after the Second World War – the Greeks and Italians

• The first refugees from Vietnam, followed by those from the Middle East and then Africa

• What foods do they know of that don’t seem to link with these historical occurrences, such as: KFC, McDonald’s, Indian food like curries, etc. When and why do they think they arrived in Australia?

You may need to explain the background and terms such as the Second World War, European migrant, and refugee.

Student focussed activity.

Work task 2: The arrival of foods from other places

In pairs or groups (of no more than four) following our discussion of the arrival of different foods into Australia, find out when and what food was brought to Australia by the:

• English colonists

• Chinese on the gold fields

• European migrants after the Second World War – the Greeks and Italians

• Refugees from Vietnam, the Middle East and Africa

• When did other types of food arrive, such as: KFC, McDonald’s, Indian food like curries, etc

Extension Question

• Why do you think fast foods like McDonald’s arrived in Australia?



movie

discuss

discuss

web

work task









http://www.magabala.com/books/new-releases/dark-emu.html
















Teacher focussed activity:

Have students create a map showing the link between the countries where people came from and those parts of Australia where they settled, for example: the Chinese came from China and settled around the gold fields of Ballarat in Victoria; the Greeks and Italians settled mostly in Melbourne, the capital city of Victoria, etc.

Assessment Option

Work task 2: Timeline – the arrival of different foods in Australia

In your groups and using the information from your research on when different foods came to Australia, you will create a timeline starting with the food Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people ate right through to the food we eat today.

Criteria:

You will be assessed on how well you can put the events into a sequence.

Work task 3: Assessment Option (Summative)

Discuss with students what the word ‘cuisine’ means and the types of restaurants, cafés and fast food places that are in their communities. Tell them they are going to do a report and presentation on ‘Foods of the world’.

Student self-directed activity

Major project – Australian cuisine reflecting our diverse and connected world

You are to:

1. Choose a food linked to a particular country that has become a part of our Australian cuisine. You may choose Vietnamese, Chinese, Indonesian, Italian, American, Mexican, Indian, Persian, Ethiopian or any other one that you are interested in studying.

2. Research your food: what is it, what are its ingredients, what part of the world did it come from, who originally brought it to Australia (if it wasn’t here already), why did you choose it, if it is your favourite food think about why it is your favourite, how does it grow, etc?

3. Prepare a report and presentation to share with the class.

4. The report and presentation should include the following:

– An introduction – why you chose the food

– Background – e.g. where it came from

– Interesting things about the food you have chosen

– Maps and diagrams that help describe your food and its origin and will make your presentation interesting.

Presentation – this should be no more than five (5) minutes and should have an introduction, some interesting points you want to share, and a conclusion.

Extension question

• How do you think food is linked to the changes in Australian society – has it led to a more tolerant society?

work task

LT1 > Activity 4 > Work task 3So Let’s Talk About The Food You Eat > Australian Cuisine – the food you eat - a result of a diverse and connected world.

assess

A+

assess

A+










































Suggested Criteria:

The purpose of this assessment piece is for students to demonstrate:

• their understanding of geographical knowledge;

• sequencing of both historical events and information (content);

• that they can research information and choose appropriate content; and

• that they can communicate with their peers and teachers through the development of the report and its subsequent presentation.

In preparation for students to undertake this assessment option it is recommended that you:

• Discuss with students how they might go about researching the history: how and why did the cuisine/crop they have chosen come to Australia; did it come with immigrants or did it already grow here; what did farmers have to do to make sure the “food” could grow in Australia, or is it mostly imported? (Get them to think back to ‘How rice grows’, etc)

• Discuss with students what geographical data they may need to use to support their report and presentation, particularly including maps (e.g. choropleth maps 4) that will help explain the links between the diverse nature of Australian cuisine and how it is connected to the rest of the world.

Cooking your favourite dish a final task

Finally, students could cook a dish from one of the countries of their choice and share it with the class, during which they can explain where the ingredients came from, the processes that took place to get the food to the classroom table and some of its history.

OR

Taking a healthy eating approach students could do this activity in groups and share the dish with the class. This could be a great way to celebrate and consolidate prior learning as well as reinforcing aspects of healthy eating.

• Refer to the Australian Dietary Guidelines and categorise the ingredients in the dish according to the chart Australian Guide to Healthy Eating

• Students could discuss how their dish fits with healthy choices. Things students might have to consider include:

– What might they need to do to supplement the dish to ensure they eat healthily?

– Consider if some ingredients could or should be replaced to make it healthier?

– Is it a dish that could be included regularly in our diet or is it a “treat”?

• In their groups, students should be prepared to explain where the ingredients came from, the processes that took place to get the food to the classroom and some of its history plus how it fits into a healthy eating regime


How to create a choropleth map [opens website]

Provides a solid overview as to how to create maps that are required by Year 6 in geography

Bush Book – Volume 2 – Chapter 3: Food and Nutrition – The diet of Aboriginal people before European contact. [opens website]

Provides a short overview of the different types of bush tucker.

ABC – Splash

4 A choropleth map (Greek– + πλλλ[λλ]), («area/region» + «multitude») is a thematic map in which areas are shaded or patterned in proportion to the measurement of the statistical variable being displayed on the map, such as population density or per-capita income.

The choropleth map provides an easy way to visualise how a measurement varies across a geographic area or it shows the level of variability within a region.

movie

web



work task





http://www.eatforhealth.gov.au/sites/default/files/files/the_guidelines/n55a_australian_dietary_guidelines_summary_131014.pdf

http://www.eatforhealth.gov.au/guidelines/australian-guide-healthy-eating

http://www.teachingideas.co.uk/geography/chlormap.htm

http://www.nt.gov.au/health/healthdev/health_promotion/bushbook/volume2/chap3/before.html



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thematic_map

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Population_density

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Per-capita_income


TEACHER GUIDE

Year 6


Learning topic 2: So How Is The Food You Eat Produced?


Learning topic 2: So How Is The Food You Eat Produced?

Description This learning topic stimulates students to think about, and gain an understanding of, how our food is grown or produced. Students will have the opportunity to explore the biological needs of crops and farm animals, and how farmers use their scientific knowledge to help their decision making. They will also gain an understanding of how foods can change form, e.g. milk becoming cheese, and how this happens.

Students will apply their scientific knowledge and understanding and mathematical skills in a practical way by developing and or designing a garden, as well as selling the produce.

Learning Outcomes:By the end of this learning topic students should be able to:

1. Demonstrate their understanding of what physical conditions are required to grow food.

2. Explain how our food is produced and the importance of farmers.

3. Explain the processes of irreversible and reversible change.

4. Apply mathematical formulas: percentages, fractions, scales.

Key Inquiry Questions: How is our food produced?

• What are the physical needs (environment) to grow food – both crops and animals?

• Why does agriculture need to be sustainable?

Relevant parts of the Achievement Standards:Students will be able to:

English:

• compare and analyse information from different texts, including digital texts.

• create detailed texts elaborating on key ideas for a range of purposes and audiences. Make presentations and contribute actively to class and group discussions using a variety of strategies for effect.

• be able to create informative types of texts including reports in a particular style, e.g. news reports.

• demonstrate making considered choices from an expanding vocabulary and make and explain editorial choices.

Mathematics:

• interpret and compare a variety of data displays and evaluate secondary data displayed in the media.

• connect fractions, decimals and percentages as different representations of the same number.

• solve problems involving length and area.

Science:


• compare and classify different types of observable changes to materials, in this case food.

• construct multimodal texts to communicate ideas, methods and findings.

LT2 > Overview So How Is The Food You Eat Produced?


ACTIVITY 1: How and By Who is Some of the Food You Eat Produced?

Content Descriptor:

Science Science understanding: the growth and survival of living things affected by the physical conditions of their environment.

ACSSU094

Science Chemical science: changes to materials can be reversible, such as melting or freezing, or irreversible, such as burning or cooking.

ACSSU095

Learning Outcome Students will review what they have previously learnt about growing crops and the difference between a garden and a farm. They will expand their understanding of the physical and biological requirements for growing food in relation to the farming of animals and the processes involved from the paddock to plate. Students will also learn to classify changes to materials as irreversible and reversible.


Teacher directed discussion

Ask students to discuss how they think food is grown/produced. If Learning area 1 of the unit has been undertaken then this should provide the opportunity to assess the progress of your students: where are they now and where should they be?What is a crop? What crops have they already talked about and researched?

Work task 1: Farming animals to produce the food you eat

Discuss that producing food includes the farming of animals and not just crops. Revise the types of animals that provide them with the food they eat, for example: McDonald’s hamburgers – meat – produced by cattle.

Student directed activity

Why do cows make milk /How apiarists farm their bees– ABC From paddock to plate[opens website]

You have watched Why do cows make milk and How apiarists farm their bees, now answer the following questions:

Dairy

• Why do cows produce milk?

• What happens to the extra milk?

• What other types of food come from milk?

• What are the physical requirements to help cows make milk?

• What could happen to their physical environment that would mean they couldn’t make milk?

Bees

• Describe how honey gets on to your table and what conditions are needed to ensure bees can make honey. Make a flowchart that shows how the honey gets from the bee to your table.

Extension question

• Find out why bees and honey may become unsustainable in Australia.

Extension question

• What scientific knowledge do farmers need to make sure they can produce the greatest quantity of best quality food? Find out why bees and honey may not continue to be sustainable in Australia.

discuss

learn

work task

movie

LT2 > Activity 1 > Work Task 1

So How Is The Food You Eat Produced? > How and By Who is Some of the Food You Eat Produced??

























Assessment Option: News report

Students are to create a news report on the effect a natural disaster may have on farmers. To prepare students for this assessment task you will need to discuss with them the style of writing that makes a news report different to some of the other writing they have done.

Depending on the timeframe you could have students prepare either an online/newspaper report or a television report (this may take longer if students are to prepare a video).

The aim is for students to explain how natural events cause rapid changes to the earth’s surface and then to describe and predict the effect environmental changes can have on individual living things.

News Report: Natural disaster creates havoc for farmers

You are going to prepare a news report on a natural disaster that affected farmers in Australia.

Overview:

We have discussed how important the physical environment is to ensuring farmers can grow crops and farm animals so that we can have food on our table. But sometimes the physical environment can make life and the growing of crops and animals very hard.

Describe some examples of when you think this might occur. What is a natural disaster? List some types of natural disasters.

• Choose and research a natural disaster that would have had an effect on a farmer’s crop or animals.

• Prepare a news report in 150 words that could be used for either television or newspapers. It will need a catchy introduction, a body with some key facts, and a conclusion.

• Include a description of the natural disaster, why it occurred, and what happened to the farmer’s crops or animals (how they were affected).

[Hyperlink: PowerPoint – Student Activities and Tasks]

To help students in this task they should look at The Virtual Farm Visit found on the PRIMEZONE website, particularly the farmer from Kalyeeda Station in the Kimberlys who has to manage his farm through drought periods.

Work task 2: An introduction to chemical science – the notion of changes that are reversible and irreversible.


• Discuss with students the idea that cheese is made by milk changing. It’s a chemical change and is irreversible.

• Have students begin to think about the idea of classifying changes to foods (material): those that are reversible and those that are irreversible.

• Students should explore how cheese/yoghurt is made: in terms of the scientific concepts of reversible and irreversible, how they are classified as reversible or irreversible, and why. Which other foods might be able to be reversed and which can’t, e.g. chocolate can melt but it can also be reset? What about eggs used in cooking? How does this idea apply to food that is processed?

Teacher directed activity

Have students make yoghurt or ice cream. You could also make cheese but this is a bit more complex. Making butter is easy; students in their groups could undertake the following activity.

work task

assess

A+

LT2 > Activity 1 > Work Task 2So How Is The Food You Eat Produced? > How and By Who is Some of the Food You Eat Produced??
















http://virtualfarm.mla.com.au/


















Student directed activity

Making butter – is the change irreversible or reversible

Each group has a glass jar containing cream. In your groups take turns in shaking it. You will have to shake it very hard, then watch what happens.

Did you make butter? Why did this happen? Taste the butter you made. What does it taste like and smell like? Can it turn back into cream or is the process irreversible?

Extension activity: how do you think ice cream is made? In pairs write a procedure/ recipe for making ice cream.


Activity 1 can be expanded if you want to focus on other food groups such as eggs, meat or sugar.

OR

You could choose one food group and follow it from the paddock to the plate.

Suggested resources:

There is a range of great resources produced by industry groups that can be accessed via:

• SCOOTLE;

• PRIMEZONE;

• Various agricultural industry groups such as the Meat and Livestock Australia; and

• Visit to the local fruit and vegetable market, e.g. Brisbane Markets.

Here are some examples -

SCOOTLE:

Dairy - as an example of paddock to plate Scootle has a number of resources available – Discover Dairy

Eggs - Year 6 worksheet on flip egg-vironment

PRIME ZONE:

Has a wealth of resources focused on agriculture: http://www.primaryindustrieseducation.com.au

Take the Virtual Farm Visit

This program discusses sustainability issues on three Australian cattle and sheep farms in the Kimberlys, central-western NSW and Gippsland. Teacher guides include summaries of video content and questions for students. This appealing resource allows students to study the different farms from a range of viewpoints. Farmers discuss techniques, market influences, technology, and environmental factors in relation to quality products, land management and financial viability.

Farms of the future

Bing and Larry, Landlearn Vic’s mascots, take students on a fun journey via a four minute animated video showing how Australian farmers produce some of the best food in the world and the great variety of foods that are grown by farmers in Victoria.

work task

web


So How Is The Food You Eat Produced? > How and By Who is Some of the Food You Eat Produced??










http://www.primaryindustrieseducation.com.au

http://virtualfarm.mla.com.au/

http://www.dpi.vic.gov.au/agriculture/education-training/kids-zone



ACTIVITY 2: So How About Growing Your Own Garden – “Grow, cook, eat, learn”

Content Descriptor:

Science Science understanding: the growth and survival of living things affected by the physical conditions of their environment

ACSSU094

Chemical science: changes to materials can be reversible, such as melting or freezing, or irreversible, such as burning or baking.

ACSSU095

Mathematics Chance: describe probabilities using fractions, decimals and percentages.

ACMSP144

Fractions and decimals: compare fractions with related denominators and locate and represent them on a number line.

ACMNA124

Add and subtract decimals with and without digital technologies and use estimation and rounding to check the reasonableness of answers.

Money and financial mathematics: investigate and calculate percentage discounts of 10%, 25%, and 50% on sale items with and without technologies.

ACMNA128

Learning Outcome

Students will put into practice their scientific understanding in relation to the growth and survival of living things, and how these living things are affected by the physical conditions in their environment. Students apply mathematical skills to designing and selling produce from their garden: understanding scale, percentages and fractions.


Activity 2 can be as simple as creating a garden in a box or a small plot within the schoolyard, where students can grow an individual plant type such as tomatoes or herbs, or it can be as expansive as a full scale kitchen garden, such as the Stephanie Alexander kitchen garden project: https://www.kitchengardenfoundation.org.au/λ


• Revisit the idea of what a garden is. Consider the types of gardens that exist, making sure students understand the gardens in this activity are not flower gardens but ones that grow food we can eat.

• Have the students come up with suggestions, e.g. balcony gardens and communal gardens.

• Why might people want these sorts of gardens?

• When does a garden become a farm? We grow strawberries in gardens but that can’t feed everyone so we have strawberry farms.

learn

discuss

LT2 > Activity 2 > OverviewSo How Is The Food You Eat Produced? > So How About Growing Your Own Garden

https://www.kitchengardenfoundation.org.au/















Work task 1: Growing a Garden

Show students and have them consider:

a) Growing a garden

After watching Vegetable gardens - Science (3,4,6) - ABC Splash (5mins 18 secs) [hyperlinked – web]

complete the Things to think about section.

Showing students this movie is highly recommended as it provides a good introduction to how they can grow a garden almost anywhere, even if they live in a unit or an apartment. However, if you are unable to show the film the following is recommended.

Have students create their own garden in a box. You may wish to provide the students with herbs, the potting mix and the boxes (obtained from supermarkets), or you can have students collect their own box, potting mix and herbs. It is recommended that the students are provided with disposable gloves and that you demonstrate what they will need to do.

Garden in a box

Working in pairs, you are going to create your own garden in a box with a few plants such as herbs.

First watch the movie Vegetable gardens – [hyperlinked to web]

Then you will need to:

• Select the herbs you wish to grow.

• Fill the box with potting mix, make rows as shown in the film, plant your seeds, cover them with potting mix and water them in.

• You will now need to take responsibility for making sure your garden gets the attention needed to ensure the survival of your living herbs.

• You should make a checklist of what these important things are that you will need to do to make sure your herbs survive.

• Once your herbs have grown make a note of what was required to make sure they survived and thrived. If they didn’t survive try to work out why not.

Work task 2: Growing a garden and selling the produce.

As part of this activity students will have the opportunity to:

• prepare a garden space using mathematical scale;

• grow produce they will be able to sell;

• consider the environmental conditions required to ensure a healthy crop; and

• summarise their findings.

By undertaking this task students will have the opportunity to understand how food is grown while also applying mathematics to the construction of the garden and sale of the produce.

Note: this work task should be adapted to fit your students’ learning needs and their specific environment. If garden space is not available, this activity can be undertaken using polystyrene boxes.

At this stage it may be helpful to revise the concept of scale with students.

Scootle : Scale matters - range of numbers

Equipment required for the task: seeds or seedlings, pegs, tape measure, rulers

work task

work task

work task

movie

movie

web


So How Is The Food You Eat Produced? > So How About Growing Your Own Garden



http://splash.abc.net.au/media/-/m/106432/vegetable-gardens?source=search


























https://www.scootle.edu.au/ec/viewMetadata.action?id=L1997&q=scale+matters&topic=&start=0&sort=relevance&contentsource=&contentprovider=&resourcetype=&v=text&showLomCommercialResources=false&field=title&field=text.all&field=topic&contenttype=all&contenttype=%22Interactive%20resource%22&contenttype=%22Collection%22&contenttype=%22Image%22&contenttype=%22Moving%20image%22&contenttype=%22Sound%22&contenttype=%22Assessment%20resource%22&contenttype=%22Teacher%20guide%22&contenttype=%22Dataset%22&contenttype=%22StillImage%22&contenttype=%22MovingImage%22&commResContentType=all&commResContentType=%22App%20(mobile)%22&commResContentType=%22Audio%22&commResContentType=%22Book%20(electronic)%22&commResContentType=%22Book%20(printed)%22&commResContentType=%22Digital%20item%22&commResContentType=%22Learning%20object%22&commResContentType=%22Other%22&commResContentType=%22Printed%20item%22&commResContentType=%22Software%22&commResContentType=%22Teacher%20resource%22&commResContentType=%22Video%22&userlevel=all&userlevel=(0%20OR%201%20OR%202)&userlevel=(3%20OR%204)&userlevel=(5%20OR%206)&userlevel=(7%20OR%208)&userlevel=(9%20OR%2010)&userlevel=(11%20OR%2012)&kc=any&lom=true&scot=true&follow=true&topiccounts=true&rows=20&suggestedResources=R9633,M002544,L8630,M012677,M002545,M002543,R9625,L8631,M002538,M002533,R9624,L8629,M012858,M002541,M002542&fromSearch=true





Work task 2: Growing a garden and selling the produce

You are going to create your own small vegetable garden.

Equipment: seeds or seedlings, pegs, tape measure, rulers, gloves, potting mix or fertilisers, spades.

Choose at least four different vegetables to grow depending on the season (your teacher may provide you with appropriate seeds or seedlings).

Select a garden size, e.g. 20 m x 8 m.

Estimate the size by stepping out the dimensions, then measure out the garden size with a tape and place pegs in the corners.

Next draw a scaled map of your garden so it can fit on an A4 page (you are only going to draw the outside shape of your garden using scale, e.g. 1:100 - this is to introduce you to scale).

Your teacher will give you the width of rows for planting, e.g. 1 m, and tell you how far each vegetable should be away from each other, e.g. lettuces 30 to 40 cm.

Why do some plants need more space than others?

(To enable students to understand approximations when planting, get them to use rulers to help understand how far these measurements are, e.g. 30 to 40 cm from elbow to fingers).

Draw row lines to scale, with 2 or 3 rows for each vegetable.

Draw to scale with a cross for each plant. You can then add up the total number of seedlings needed for each vegetable you are going to grow.

Your teacher will tell you the number of seedlings in a punnet. You will then need to calculate how many punnets you will need.

Now go ahead and plant your garden.

You will now need to look after your garden by weeding, watering and mulching it until your produce is ready for sale. This will occur at the beginning of every lesson.

In the meantime you are also going to:

Prepare/design order forms in preparation for selling the goods.

Decide on a selling price, perhaps 60% of the supermarket price.

Find out the current supermarket prices per kg for your produce and then work out your selling price. For example, if zucchini are selling for $5.00 per kg in the supermarket, your selling price for zucchini will be $5.00 x 60%=$3.00.

You are to keep a working log of all your work, including how the environment has impacted on your garden. You are also to keep a financial record of money in and money out.

[Hyperlink: PowerPoint – Student Activities and Tasks]

OR

Work task 3: Design your own garden, based on Design your own park.

Working in a team of four you are going to design your own garden after having looked at ‘Design your own park’.

(Design your own park – found at Scootle)

This work task can easily be adapted to the concept of designing your own garden. It explores how to express fractions and display them in different ways. Students select boxes within the grid and view or enter corresponding fractions and their equivalents. They can also interact with a dynamic number line to express fractions differently. This learning object is one in a series of two objects combined as ‘Park fractions’.

work task

work task

web

LT2 > Activity 2 > Work Task 3So How Is The Food You Eat Produced? > So How About Growing Your Own Garden



































http://www.scootle.edu.au/ec/viewing/L121/index.html




The outcome of this activity is that students will understand fractions from a practical perspective.

OR

Work task 4: The kitchen garden

“In a garden there is nature, science, maths and vocabulary: in a kitchen it’s the same. It (the kitchen garden) crosses over so many areas of the curriculum.” Peter Burke, Principal, Daylesford Primary School.5

Many schools have developed their own garden. The school garden provides the perfect opportunity to deliver subjects such as mathematics and science within an agricultural context, as well as introducing students to healthy eating. Stephanie Alexander’s ‘Kitchen garden program’ provides funding support for kitchen gardens:

Work task 4: From the paddock/ocean to the plate

This is the final task, the one that will have students demonstrating that they understand the process of getting food from the paddock/garden onto their plates. Prior to students undertaking this task you may wish to revise what a flowchart is and help students understand the meaning of sequencing.

The section Supporting Resources from ABC Splash Paddock to plate resource may assist in showing students what a flow chart can look like.

Student self-directed activity

Work task 4: From the paddock/ocean to the plate

As a team of four you are going to:

Choose one of the foods you have talked about, e.g. milk, eggs, bread, meat, fish.

Create a flow chart that shows the steps in the process from the paddock to the plate.

You will need to think about sequence.

Teacher support resource

SCOOTLE:

Scale matters: range of numbers

Overview

Explore the use of scale on a number line. Select a ruler displaying a scale such as ones, tenths or hundredths. Look at a pair of numbers marked on a number line. Identify the number corresponding to another point. Or locate another point on the number line to complete a series of three numbers. Apply a marked scale to help you estimate the relative distances. This learning object is a combination of four objects in a series of seven objects.

Design your own park

Overview

Use this tool to explore how to express fractions and display them in different ways. Select boxes within the grid and view or enter corresponding fractions and their equivalents. Interact with a dynamic number line to express fractions differently. This learning object is one in a series of two objects combined as ‘Park fractions’.

5 “Grow and know” – Aplus, Weekend Australian, November 9-10 October 2013 p2

web

web

web

assess

A+


So How Is The Food You Eat Produced? > So How About Growing Your Own Garden

http://www.kitchengardenfoundation.org.au/join-the-program/join-the-program

http://splash.abc.net.au/media/-/m/38190/from-paddock-to-plate?source=search









https://www.scootle.edu.au/ec/viewMetadata.action?id=L121&q=&topic=&start=40&sort=alignment&contentsource=&contentprovider=&resourcetype=&v=text&showLomCommercialResources=false&field=title&field=text.all&field=topic&learningarea=%22Mathematics%22&contenttype=all&contenttype=%22Interactive%20resource%22&contenttype=%22Collection%22&contenttype=%22Image%22&contenttype=%22Moving%20image%22&contenttype=%22Sound%22&contenttype=%22Assessment%20resource%22&contenttype=%22Teacher%20guide%22&contenttype=%22Dataset%22&contenttype=%22StillImage%22&contenttype=%22MovingImage%22&commResContentType=all&commResContentType=%22App%20(mobile)%22&commResContentType=%22Audio%22&commResContentType=%22Book%20(electronic)%22&commResContentType=%22Book%20(printed)%22&commResContentType=%22Digital%20item%22&commResContentType=%22Learning%20object%22&commResContentType=%22Other%22&commResContentType=%22Printed%20item%22&commResContentType=%22Software%22&commResContentType=%22Teacher%20resource%22&commResContentType=%22Video%22&userlevel=(6)&kc=any&lom=true&scot=true&follow=true&topiccounts=true&rows=20&suggestedResources=&accContentId=ACMNA126&fromSearch=true



APPENDIX

1. Additional teacher support resourcesABC Bush Telegraph: School kids teach farm to plate ethos

Hobart primary school students are teaching each other about where their food comes from.

A great resource demonstrating how effective it is having students teach each other about food and the environment.

ABC Splash: Using greywater in the garden - Science (6,7)

ABC Splash: Building a school garden - Science (3,6)

Prime Zone: www.primezone.edu.au/λ

An excellent website for finding a range of topics related to agriculture

Building your school garden together

CarbonKids, CSIRO Education, PO Box 225, Dickson ACT 2602 or email: [email protected] or phone: (02) 6276 6804; URL http://www.csiro.au/resources/carbonkids.html

Sustainable farming:

Target 100 is an initiative by Australian cattle and sheep farmers, along with the broader industry, to deliver sustainable cattle and sheep farming by 2020.

Farms of the future:

Bing and Lary, Landlearn Victoria’s mascots, take students on a fun journey via a four minute animated video to show how our farmers produce some of the best food in the world, at the same time as describing how many different foods are grown by farmers in Victoria.

Meat and Livestock Australia: Cattle, sheep and goat industries fast facts

2. Links to the Australian curriculum

2.1 Relevant Australian curriculum content descriptions

Mathematics:

Strand: Statistics and probability

Chance: describe probabilities using fractions, decimals and percentages (ACMSP144).

English:

Strand: Literacy

• Creating texts: reread and edit student’s work (ACELY1714).

• Plan, rehearse and deliver presentations, selecting and sequencing appropriate content and multimodal elements for defined audiences and purposes, making appropriate choices for modality and emphasis (ACELY1710).

• Use comprehension strategies to interpret and analyse information and ideas, comparing content from a variety of textual sources including media and digital texts (ACELY1713).

web

APPENDIX

http://splash.abc.net.au/media/-/m/30744/using-greywater-in-the-garden?source=search

http://splash.abc.net.au/media/-/m/30753/the-patch-school-garden

www.primezone.edu.au/

www.primezone.edu.au/

http://www.primaryindustrieseducation.com.au/primezone/buildingschoolgarden.pdf

http://www.csiro.au/resources/carbonkids.html

http://www.target100.com.au/Home

http://www.mla.com.au/Cattle-sheep-and-goat-industries


Science:

Strand: Science understanding

• Biological needs of plants and changes to material.

• The growth and survival of living things affected by the physical conditions of their environment (ACSHE220) and the use of scientific knowledge to inform personal and community decisions.

Strand: Science as human endeavour

• Important contributions to the advancement of science have been made by people from a range of cultures (ACSHE099).

History:

Strand: Historical knowledge and understanding

• Australia as a nation: stories of groups of people (ACHHK115).

Strand: Historical skills

• Chronology, terms and concepts: sequence historical people and events (ACHHS117).

• Perspectives and interpretations: identify points of view in the past and present (ACHHS123).

• Explanation and communication: use a range of communication forms (oral, graphic, written and digital technologies) (ACHHS125).

Geography:

Strand: Geographical knowledge and understanding

• The various connections Australia has with other countries and how these connections change people and places (ACHGK035). The effects that people’s connections with and proximity to places throughout the world have on shaping their awareness and opinion of those places (ACHGK036).

Strand: Geographical inquiry and skills

• Communicating: present findings and ideas in a range of communication forms, for example written, oral, graphic, tabular, visual and maps, using geographical terminology and digital technologies where appropriate (ACHGS045).

2.2 Australian curriculum achievement standards

This unit supports the following key learning areas and aims to achieve the following standards identified in the Australian curriculum for Year 6.

This unit will enable students to:

English

Receptive modes (listening, reading and viewing)

• compare and analyse information from different texts, including digital texts. They will be able to listen to discussions, clarifying content and challenging others’ ideas in relation to “Where food comes from”. (ACELY 1710)

Productive modes (speaking, writing and creating)

• create detailed texts elaborating on key ideas for a range of purposes and audiences (ACELY 1713). Make presentations and contribute actively to class and group discussions using a variety of strategies for effect (ACELA 1524); and

• be able to create informative types of texts including reports, reviews, explanations and discussions ( ACELA 1524) (ACELY 1712).

APPENDIX


Mathematics

• solve problems involving all four operations with whole numbers.

• solve problems involving the addition and subtraction of related fractions.

• interpret and compare a variety of data displays and evaluate secondary data displayed in the media (ACMSP147) and (ACMSP148).

Science


• explain how scientific knowledge is used in decision making and identify contributions to the development of science by people from a range of cultures.

• follow procedures to develop and investigate questions and design investigations into simple cause and effect relationships.

History

• sequence events and people (their lifetime) in chronological order and represent time by creating timelines.

• identify a range of sources and locate and compare information to answer inquiry questions.

Geography

• explain the characteristics of diverse places in different locations at different scales from local to global.

• describe the interconnection between people and places.

• develop geographical questions to frame an inquiry.

• locate information from a range of sources to answer inquiry questions, and represent data and location of places and their characteristics in different graphic forms, e.g. large-scale and small-scale maps.

• interpret data and other information to identify and compare spatial distributions, patterns and trends to draw conclusions.

APPENDIX


List of websites

Teacher support resources listed in the text

Australian Curriculum – Content Descriptors and Achievement Standards http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/Year6

Agriculture – The Greatest Story Never Told – You Tube Video Google – Agriculture – The Greatest Story Never Told

Bill Baileys – FACE Google – Bill Baileys – FACE

ABC From Paddock to Plate http://splash.abc.net.au/res/teacher_res/3-paddock-plate.html

PRIME ZONE: www.primezone.edu.au/

Maths Year 5 and 6 Chance Data – data (Scootle) https://www.scootle.edu.au/ec/login.action

Topic 10- Lessons – Farm to Fork http://www.organicschools.com.au/teaching-resources/curriculum-materials/topic-10-farm-to-fork/

The art of persuasive writing: doing the work http://www.scootle.edu.au/ec/viewing/S5595/index.html

Growing an organic edible garden - English Science (5,6) - ABC Splash (3mins 3 secs) http://splash.abc.net.au/media/-/m/152968/growing-an-organic-edible-garden?source=search

Grass-fed beef or grain-fed beef? - English (5,6) - ABC Splash (3mins 56 secs) http://splash.abc.net.au/media/-/m/153232/grass-fed-beef-or-grain-fed-beef-?source=search

Great Year 6 worksheet on flip egg-viornment – Investigating animal welfare. http://www.eggs.org.au/assets/eggs.org.au/Education/AECL00027-Teacher-Resource-Yr6.pdf

Scootle: Organic and Free Range http://www.choice.com.au/reviews-and-tests/food-and-health/food-and-drink/organic-and-free-range.aspx

ABC Bush Telegraph Wilbur 101 Ethical Production at Wilbur’s Farm http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/bushtelegraph/wilbur-101-broadcast/5167092

Australian Organic Schools http://www.organicschools.com.au/

Where Does Bread Come From/ How Do You Grow Rice – ABC From Paddock to Plate http://splash.abc.net.au/res/teacher_res/3-paddock-plate.html

Tasty bush tucker - Science (6) - ABC Splash and get them to complete the – http://splash.abc.net.au/media/-/m/30798/understanding-bush-foods

First Australians were also the first farmers - Science (6) - ABC Splash (3mins 27 secs) http://splash.abc.net.au/media/-/m/29898/indigenous-eel-farming?source=search

Bush Book – Volume 2 – Chapter 3: Food and Nutrition – The diet of Aboriginal People before European contact. http://www.nt.gov.au/health/healthdev/health_promotion/bushbook/volume2/chap3/before.html

How to create a choropleth map http://www.teachingideas.co.uk/geography/chlormap.htm

Why do cows make milk /How apiarists farm their bees– ABC From Paddock to Plate http://splash.abc.net.au/res/teacher_res/3-paddock-plate.html

APPENDIX



https://www.scootle.edu.au/ec/login.action

http://www.organicschools.com.au/teaching-resources/curriculum-materials/topic-10-farm-to-fork/

http://www.scootle.edu.au/ec/viewing/S5595/index.html

http://splash.abc.net.au/media/-/m/152968/growing-an-organic-edible-garden?source=search

http://splash.abc.net.au/media/-/m/153232/grass-fed-beef-or-grain-fed-beef-?source=search




http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/bushtelegraph/wilbur-101-broadcast/5167092

http://www.organicschools.com.au/






http://www.teachingideas.co.uk/geography/chlormap.htm

Eggs http://www.eggs.org.au/

Vegetable gardens - Science (3,4,6) - ABC Splash (5mins 18 secs) http://splash.abc.net.au/media/-/m/106432/vegetable-gardens?source=search

Vegetable gardens – http://splash.abc.net.au/media/-/m/106432/vegetable-gardens?source=search

Scootle : Scale matters: range of numbers

Design your own park – found at Scootle

Stephanie Alexander’s Kitchen Garden Program–. http://www.kitchengardenfoundation.org.au/join-the-program/join-the-program

Virtual Farm visit http://www.mla.com.au/Cattle-sheep-and-goat-industries

Additional Teacher Support Resources:

ABC Bush Telegraph: School Kids Teach Farm to Plate Ethos

Hobart primary school students are teaching each other about where their food comes from A great resource demonstrating how effective having students teach each other about food and the environment. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-09-12/kids-teaching-kids-primary-school-environment-food-education/4954036#.UjQUaxB2X_0.email

ABC SPLASH:

Using greywater in the garden - Science (6,7) - ABC Splash http://splash.abc.net.au/media/-/m/30744/using-greywater-in-the-garden?source=search

Building a school garden - Science (3,6) - ABC Splash http://splash.abc.net.au/media/-/m/30753/the-patch-school-garden

Building your School Garden Together http://www.primaryindustrieseducation.com.au/primezone/buildingschoolgarden.pdf

CarbonKids, CSIRO Education, PO Box 225, Dickson ACT 2602 or email: [email protected] or phone: (02) 6276 6804; URL http://www.csiro.au/resources/carbonkids.html

Sustainable Farming http://www.target100.com.au/Home

Meat and Livestock Australia has – Beef Industry Fast Facts http://www.mla.com.au/Cattle-sheep-and-goat-industries

http://www.eggs.org.au/




https://www.scootle.edu.au/ec/viewMetadata.action?id=L121&q=&topic=&start=40&sort=alignment&contentsource=&contentprovider=&resourcetype=&v=text&showLomCommercialResources=false&field=title&field=text.all&field=topic&learningarea=%22Mathematics%22&contenttype=all&contenttype=%22Interactive%20resource%22&contenttype=%22Collection%22&contenttype=%22Image%22&contenttype=%22Moving%20image%22&contenttype=%22Sound%22&contenttype=%22Assessment%20resource%22&contenttype=%22Teacher%20guide%22&contenttype=%22Dataset%22&contenttype=%22StillImage%22&contenttype=%22MovingImage%22&commResContentType=all&commResContentType=%22App%20(mobile)%22&commResContentType=%22Audio%22&commResContentType=%22Book%20(electronic)%22&commResContentType=%22Book%20(printed)%22&commResContentType=%22Digital%20item%22&commResContentType=%22Learning%20object%22&commResContentType=%22Other%22&commResContentType=%22Printed%20item%22&commResContentType=%22Software%22&commResContentType=%22Teacher%20resource%22&commResContentType=%22Video%22&userlevel=(6)&kc=any&lom=true&scot=true&follow=true&topiccounts=true&rows=20&suggestedResources=&accContentId=ACMNA126&fromSearch=true

http://www.kitchengardenfoundation.org.au/join-the-program/join-the-program


http://splash.abc.net.au/media/-/m/30744/using-greywater-in-the-garden?source=search

http://splash.abc.net.au/media/-/m/30753/the-patch-school-garden

http://www.primaryindustrieseducation.com.au/primezone/buildingschoolgarden.pdf

http://www.csiro.au/resources/carbonkids.html

http://www.target100.com.au/Home


AgriFood Skills Australia

General inquiries:Phone: 02 6163 7200Fax: 02 6162 0610Email: [email protected]: www.agrifoodskills.net.au

Location:Level 3, 10-12 Brisbane AvenueBartonACT 2600

Postal address:PO Box 5450KingstonACT 2604

Documents

Food in the Australian Curriculum: an educational unit for ... · ii So You Think You Know Where Your Food Comes From? Food in the Australian Curriculum Programme Introduction Food