Introduction
This Design and Technologies resource has been designed for Year two students in order to support them in learning about where the food for their school tuckshop comes from and how it is grown and prepared for healthy eating. The students will also learn that humans create designed solutions to serve needs such as cutting costs on the tuckshops food bill. By addressing the key idea 'Creating preferred futures' from the Technology curriculum the students will understand that they need to consider the possible benefits and impacts of their design solutions (Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority [ACARA], 2016b). They will also learn that their views on the benefits and impacts may vary from others within the school community (ACARA, 2016b). Students will be scaffolded through the design process by the guided portfolio to achieve this.
The resource also integrates elements of the Sustainability cross-curriculum priority as the students develop capacities for thinking and acting in ways that builds a more sustainable future (ACARA, 2016a). ‘Growing our own’ also enables differentiation, as the students determine and design a way to grow their chosen crop at school, work in pairs or individually and engage with a variety of on-line and off-line learning resources.
Curriculum
Technologies:
Design and Technologies Knowledge and Understanding
- Explore how plants and animals are grown for food, clothing and shelter and how food is selected and prepared for healthy eating (ACTDEK003).
Design and Technologies Processes and Production Skills
- Explore needs or opportunities for designing, and the technologies needed to realise designed solutions (ACTDEP005).
- Generate, develop and record design ideas through describing, drawing and modelling (ACTDEP006).
Cross curriculum priorities: Sustainability:
- Systems (OI.3) Sustainable patterns of living rely on the interdependence of healthy social, economic and ecological systems.
- Futures (OI.8) Designing action for sustainability requires an evaluation of past practices, the assessment of scientific and technological developments, and balanced judgements based on projected future economic, social and environmental impacts.
Teacher Information
This resource includes:
- Information for teachers, including:
- Overview of lessons
- Differentiation and possible extension activities
- Links to resources
- Design brief and ‘Grow our own’ guided portfolio
- 'Grow our own' Rubric
General
Class Management:
Students work as a whole class, individually and in pairs, inside and outside supervision may be necessary.
Time management:
This resource has been designed to run over a 10 week period with one lesson (ranging between 45-60 minutes long) per week. However this can be adapted to suit the individual class.
Lesson 1
Introduce design brief and review schools tuckshop menu and examine the Woolworths online shopping website to view costs of items etc. Discuss the need to ‘grow our own’ and how they could design solutions that could promote a sustainable future for the school. Examine menu to identify foods students can use for their assessment e.g. apples, tomatoes, carrots, lettuce etc. Discuss the benefits and impacts of growing these foods at school.
Lesson 2 and 3
Show videos, websites and images (suited to your menu) to students, examining where and how foods such as those identified in lesson one, grow. Explore the needs of these plants and how they could be met using sustainable practices. Students to select a food for their assessment and form pairs. Access computer lab or in-class ICTs and provide students with links to resources used that are suitable for their food choice. Students take notes of the basic needs of their chosen plant.
Lesson 4 and 5
Students complete page 2 and 3 of the guided portfolio. Show videos and websites of gardens to students, focusing on the different designs and sustainable practices used and the benefits and impacts. Explore school grounds for possible locations for their designs considering how these locations may benefit or impact others. Students consider sustainable practices and brainstorm design ideas using page 4 of guided portfolio.
Lesson 6 and 7
Students choose their final design idea of how the school can grow their chosen food. Students begin page 5 of the guided portfolio by drawing and labelling their chosen design. The students consider their designed solution from varying points of views by completing the points of view worksheet – page 6 of guided portfolio.
Lesson 8 and 9
Show PowerPoint ‘Can I eat it?’ and complete the ‘what’s changed?’ matching activity. Students work through page 7 of the guided portfolio explaining the needs of their plant, how these will be met, how the food produced will need to be prepared in order to be sold and how their design idea will promote a sustainable future for their school.
Lesson 10
Completion of guided portfolio – complete an extension activity if finished early.
Differentiation:
- Use of on-line and off-line resources catering to different learning styles.
- Self-paced with guidance.
- Incorporate a variety of working arrangements to suit learners' needs e.g. individual, paired, small group or whole class.
- Teacher/Teacher Aid support - read texts to or scribe for learners who require additional support with reading and/or writing.
- Option for individual working arrangement on the assessment task where working with peers will present unduly stress or issues for the wellbeing of learners.
Possible extension activities:
- Use of ICTs to develop a model of their design.
- Write a brief persuasive text to school administration expressing the need and benefits of adopting their design idea.
- Create a short presentation using Google Slides to explain how to develop their design and its purpose.
Links to on-line resources
Lesson 1
Websites:
Lesson 2 and 3
Videos:
Websites:
- Cucumber bush
- Growing lettuce
- Yates Garden greenies (tomatoes, strawberries and carrots)
Lesson 4 and 5
Videos:
- Building a school garden
- Gardening Activities for Kids – Growing Lettuce
- Vegetable gardens
- Making a garden for kids
- Science for Kids: Growing Lettuce Indoors
Other resources that may be used
On-line games:
Off-line resources
Lesson 2 and 3
Images:
Lesson 8 and 9
PowerPoint:
Activity sheet:
Design brief, guided portfolio and rubric
Bibliography
Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority [ACARA]. (2016b). Cross-curriculum priorities: Key ideas. Retrieved March 8, 2016, from http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/crosscurriculumpriorities/sustainability/key-ideas
Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority [ACARA]. (2016a). Technologies: learning area, key ideas. Retrieved March 8, 2016, from http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/technologies/key-ideas
All free download.com. (2015). Vegetable and fruit vector graphics. Retrieved May 17, 2016, from http://all-free-download.com
British Nutrition Foundation. (2016). Food a fact of life. Retrieved May 12, 2016, from http://www.foodafactoflife.org.uk/Sheet.aspx?siteId=14§ionId=63&contentId=143
Dugdale, K. (2015). Catch em' & Keep em'. Retrieved March 7, 2016, from http://total-technologies-teaching.weebly.com/design-and-technologies.html
Fotosearch. (2016). Tomato. Retrieved May 17, 2016, from http://cdn.grid.fotosearch.com/CSP/CSP393/k3930664.jpg
Kids in the garden. (2016). Growing vegetables with children. Retrieved May 13, 2016, from http://kidsinthegarden.co.uk/plants-for-kids/growing-vegetables-with-children/
The State of Queensland (Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority). (2016).P–10 Technologies standards elaborations. Retrieved May 8, 2016, from https://www.qcaa.qld.edu.au/p-10/aciq/standards-elaborations/p-10-technologies