FOOD and What It Does for Our BODIES
Topic: Health and Food
Subject Area: Natural Science
Grade: Primary 2
Food and What It Does for Our Bodies
DESCRIPTION AND OVERVIEW
In this lesson plan for my final project, I was asked to create an activity to replace the exam for our 2nd grade unit on Health and Food. We wanted the students to be able to demonstrate their knowledge of the unit’s information in a new and interactive way. Therefore, I decided to create original worksheets in Adobe Illustrator that students would work on in pairs and groups to culminate in a group-effort project that would be presented to the class. Our students have gotten used to the typical cycle of a unit in class– do activities, practice grammar and vocabulary in homework, review and then take an exam. This can become monotonous and disengage students from learning the information. To motivate students, the idea of a project in place of an exam was introduced. Additionally, the activities set forth in this lesson plan allow for team work, collaboration, and presentation/public speaking, all of which are vital skills we are hoping students learn at school in tandem with the information we go over in their books.
We began our unit on food by reviewing the food pyramid, the food groups, facts about nutrition and health and learning the necessary vocabulary for students to be successful in understanding the aforementioned topics.
OBJECTIVES
The main objective of this project is to review vocabulary related to food and health.
An additional objective is to have students collaborate and work in groups, which is a vital skill for students at this level to begin practicing.
Another objective is to practice oral presentation skills in English, as our grade 2 students are encouraged to speak as much English in the classroom as possible in order to develop this skill.
MATERIALS
- Food Group Worksheets: there are worksheets for each food group. These sheets are linked here and also available as images here on the website.
- Poster paper: teachers should create the outline of the group poster so that students can fill in the information easily for a standardized look to all presentations that includes vital information for collective student learning.
- Markers/coloring tools: Students will be coloring and drawing in their activities!
TIMING
This lesson should last between 45 minutes. A separate class period will be necessary for the presentation portion (estimated time per presentation being about 5-10 minutes).
TEACHER AND LANGUAGE ASSISTANT ROLE
Teachers and LAs will both distribute the materials. The LA is responsible for reviewing the food pyramid information at the start of the lesson. This specific vocabulary and structure is provided by the books used at our school, so it may need to be modified in other classrooms depending on unit/book differences. If clarification is needed, the teacher would step in and translate to Spanish. The LA will then explain the instructions to the class, revealing that students are working with a partner for the first activity. Once that first activity has finished, the poster project will be explained by the LA as the teacher hands out the prepared poster papers. As students work on all parts of this activity, both the teacher and LA will be available for questions and help as they circle the room. Both the teacher and LA will provide positive feedback and praise throughout the process.
ACTIVITIES
- As a class, we will introduce the food pyramid as it is taught in the activity books the students have for natural science. The LA will be at the chalk board asking questions to the students for them to provide the answers to fill out the groups of the food pyramid that is drawn on the board without labels.
- Once the food pyramid structure is reviewed as a class, the students pair up and complete an activity that helps them review the information they know about specific food groups, their food vocabulary and the facts about food groups.
- The worksheets specifically elicit information in various ways (coloring, fill-in-the-blank, matching, question-and-answer, examples both written and drawn) so that the students can demonstrate their knowledge and have fun at the same time.
- After the pairs finish their worksheets, as a group of four they combine the knowledge they’ve reviewed and fill in a poster together. Each group will have ONE food group to present on and create a poster for.
- The lesson plan ends with the student groups each sharing with the class their posters so they can practice speaking and using the vocabulary we have learned and reviewed in the Health and Food Unit as well. Since each group does one food group, this will also help students learn and review material from each other as they listen to other students’ presentations about the food groups they were not assigned themselves.
EVALUATION
The students first work in pairs so that we can see how much information they know on a more individual basis. Before moving on to the poster group project, the LA and teacher will correct the worksheets the students have completed and then give groups the green light to begin their group work. During corrections, the LA and teacher will ask clarifying questions to ensure the students understand the corrections and provide encouragement and praise. The posters will be graded as an “exam”. All students in the group (4 students per food group) will be required to talk during the presentation. We will specifically be looking at the vocabulary (examples: vitamins, energy, tomato, pasta, etc.) and the correct completion of the layout provided on their posters.
Q&A
How will the students know they have achieved the learning objectives?
Students will be encouraged to know they have achieved the learning objectives by the periodic evaluation by the teacher and LA. The first eval occurs once a pair completes their worksheet; the teacher/LA confirms the information is correct and allows them to begin the poster. This first evaluation will confirm to the students that they have successfully mastered the food pyramid, the nutrition facts and the food vocabulary related to their food group. Additionally, students will receive oral feedback from the teacher/LA after their presentation so that students know how the have performed in their oral speaking skills and team-working abilities.
How will you be responding to diverse learning styles and levels of achievement among your students?
Primarily, the idea of substituting a project for the usual exam is a huge step towards diversifying how students can demonstrate their competencies. Additionally, we have a very inclusive structure in Spanish primary schools that keep students of differing levels in the same class. By making this lesson collaborative, students can help each other and lean on each other for support. Sometimes being a student with a unique learning style or a different level of achievement can be frustrating and demotivating when working alone. When working together with your classmates, you can display your strengths and help each other with areas that need improvement! Further, I have created worksheets and a poster outline that encourages the students to demonstrate their knowledge in different forms, with a reason that is two-fold: (1) it is fun and interesting! (2) we have students who excel different ways. They can display their talents in artistic ways, in spelling, in their ability to complete process-of-elimination and matching, and their English speaking skills.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
English Resources - Colegio Público Martina García 