UPD8

Food for Thought

Learning objectives

Personal Capability Objectives:
Creativity – coming up with novel solutions to problems
Communication – to justify opinions.
Science Objectives:
To use scientific information and ideas to inform discussion and decisions.

Try the activity

• Food for Thought Activity
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• Food for Thought Teacher Notes
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You will need Acrobat Reader installed to open the activity sheets.

Curriculum link

Ages 11-14

KS3 Science National Curriculum (from September 2008)

Key concepts: Applications and implications of science
1.2a – Exploring how the creative application of scientific ideas can bring about technological developments and consequent changes in the way people think and behave.

Key processes: Communication
2.3a – Use appropriate methods to communicate scientific information and contribute to presentations and discussions about scientific issues.

Range and content
3.4c – Human activity and natural processes can lead to changes in the environment.

Running the activity

Introducing the Task
• Use page 1 to introduce the context. Get students’ immediate reactions about how to make the takeaway shop as ‘green’ as possible
• Display page 2, and tell students they will be making decisions about the issues listed in the left column of the table. Give each small group a copy of this page.
• Give each small group copies of the planning cards cut from pages 3 and 4. Students use these to make decisions about the issues in the table on page 2. They then fill in the empty boxes – in pencil – on page 2. Display page 5 whilst students are working on this task.
• Next, display page 6. Groups use this to give themselves an ‘eco-friendly’ score. They look back over the planning cards and – if they wish – make changes to their decisions recorded in the table on page 2.
• Give each group – or individual – a copy of page 7. Get students to write an advert for the fish and chip shop, highlighting its eco-friendly attributes.

Reviewing the Task
• Discuss with the students how they formed and then justified their opinions during the task. Ask for instances where scientific information and ideas were used to inform the discussion and decisions.
• Get students to review the task using the assessment for learning Smart Grid.

Dilemmas
The dilemmas sheet (page 8) could be used as a basis for discussion about situations where individuals or organisations have to make decisions and possibly compromises about environmental issues. Individual ‘dilemmas’ could be allocated firstly to pairs, then to teams of 4 to 6 and then fed back to the whole class. The class could be encouraged to set up a dilemmas board to extend those shown on the sheet. Students would add additional dilemmas and their suggested responses.

Make a Difference
The task is completed by a making a difference activity that gives pupils a focus as to where and how they can explore things further. The make a difference activity is in effect a stimulus to further extended work and proactive involvement in engaging with the issues of climate change.

Web links

News links

Sustain Web

Provides lots of very useful background information on eating sustainably.

The Marine Stewardship Council

Lists accredited sources of sustainable fish

The Marine Conservation Society

Lists 'at risk' fish species that it would like consumers to stop buying

Growing Schools

This web site suggests how schools can grow vegetables

Reviews & Comments

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