Ready made, curriculum referenced lesson plans covering not only food technology but also science, ICT, Geography, PSHE and technology!
The Grain Chain isn’t just a resource for Food Technology or Home Economics teachers. We have lesson plans suitable for KS3 and KS4 science teachers, technology teachers, PSHE teachers, geography teachers and ICT teachers!
Furthermore, all of our secondary school lesson plans are curriculum AND skill referenced, so you can be sure that you are teaching your class the right topics whilst improving their key abilities.
And it doesn’t stop there. Primary school teachers can also get in on the action, with drama and art based activities, fun to make recipes and easy science projects.
We’ve highlighted one of our lesson plans per age group below. All you need to do is click on the link, print out the materials and put your feet up and enjoy the bank holiday. Remember – you can find loads more lesson plans by clicking on whichever note section is relevant to the age group of your class. http://www.grainchain.com/Teachers/Default.aspx.
KS1 lesson plan suggestion
Growing wheat seeds http://www.grainchain.com/Teachers/ks1/Growing-our-food/lesson1.aspx.
This will give children a basic understanding of what seeds need in order to grow. It will also make them aware that grain produces flour which can be made into everyday foods such as bread and breakfast cereals.
Children get a chance to be a farmer and plant their own seeds. Discuss where the seeds should be kept in the classroom and explain that they will need to watch them grow over a few days. Ask them for their ideas on what might happen to the seeds. What will they need to remember to do each day?
This can then be followed up a week later with our second growing wheat seeds lesson plan, which will encourage your class to think about what has happened to their seeds and why. http://www.grainchain.com/Teachers/ks1/Growing-our-food/lesson2.aspx.
KS2 lesson plan suggestion
A healthy, balanced diet http://www.grainchain.com/Teachers/ks2/Food-for-life/lesson1.aspx
At the end of this lesson, children should be able to name all of the five food groups. They should be aware that different nutrients have different functions which help to maintain a healthy body.
Using the printable resources, run through the Eat Well plate, explaining about the different food groups and what our bodies need them for. Ask pupils to draw and label a diagram of their own creation that illustrates how much of each food group should be eaten daily to maintain a healthy, balanced diet. Bring the class back together and share some of their work, recapping the main points.
KS3 lesson plan suggestion
Making and Baking: Technology http://www.grainchain.com/Teachers/ks3/baking/Default.aspx
This lesson plan will enable students to understand and be able to describe the steps involved in baking bread on an industrial scale. It will also help them develop their survey skills and knowledge of procedures.
Work through the “technology of baking” worksheet and get students to draw a flow chart of the industrial process of baking bread. Students could also look at labels from wrapped bread. Do the labels meet the requirements of information to be given to customers? Do they give any other information? Is this extra information useful? Students could then carry out a survey in the class of the types of bread eaten and preferred. Results of the survey could be presented graphically.
KS4 lesson plan suggestion
ICT in the flour and grain industry http://www.grainchain.com/Teachers/ks4/ict/Default.aspx
This lesson plan should enable students to develop an understanding of the overall picture of ICT in the flour and grain industry. It will also build on their presentation skills.
Organise the class into groups, so that each group contains four students. Each student should research one of the following topics:
- ICT in farming and storage;
- ICT in milling;
- ICT in baking;
- ICT in retailing and marketing (process controls).
Students should then report their findings back to their groups. Each group will then prepare a presentation or report to share with the class. A class discussion on the use of ICT in the industry should then take place.
Don’t forget that we have lots more ready-made lesson plans in the teachers section of the website. http://www.grainchain.com/Teachers/Default.aspx
Different people look forward to different things as September approaches. Parents breathe a sigh of relief as calm reins over the household once more. Children look forward to putting on their shiny new shoes and seeing their friends again. Teachers on the other hand can look forward to early starts, getting the classroom ready, planning next year’s lessons and learning 30 new names.
Our Inspire! Competition finalists attended an awards ceremony at Kensington Roof Gardens on Friday 25 June where, not only were they presented with their trophies but they were also treated to an Interactive baking demonstration by celebrity baker, Paul Hollywood. One lucky student, who came as his teacher’s guest, got the chance to participate!
Students were invited to jump on the “teacup ride” to investigate different breakfasts, and to test themselves on the “white water raft”, where they experimented with gluten. The “dodgems” activity challenged students to drive forward a healthy flour based snack for a child. The scheme ended with the “waltzer” activity which saw students evaluate their work. If you would like to see Simon’s entry, plus the exciting and inspiring lesson plans from our other finalists, we will be uploading them onto grainchain.com soon. Alternatively, if you have any useful tips or ideas that other teachers could benefit from, then please send them across to the Grain Chain team at 
y by the British Trust of Conservation Volunteers has shown that this generation of children do not know how their food grows or where their food comes from. Eight out of ten adults worry about how little children know about their food. It means that many children are growing up not knowing what is in the foods that they are eating- which is a shame as bread is not only really tasty but also really healthy and a great source of many different vitamins and minerals.
tish Sandwich Week
